Love Is Stronger Than Fear with Amy Julia Becker: Recent Episodes
Amy Julia Becker
How do we pursue hope and healing in the midst of personal and social brokenness? For Season 5 of the Love is Stronger than Fear podcast, you can look forward to hearing from filmmakers and authors and practitioners about FAITH and healing, DISABILITY and healing, SELF-CARE and healing, and how we can begin to REPAIR our social fabric. Begins September 7!
If you’ve struggled with questions about God, suffering, or whether faith can make sense of the world’s brokenness, you’re not alone. Poet Christian Wiman joins Amy Julia Becker to talk about pain, joy, doubt, and the lifelong hunger for God. Together, they explore a faith honest enough to hold both questions and hope.
S10 E10:
00:00 The Genesis of Glimmerings
04:41 Navigating Differences in Faith
12:24 The Role of Personal Encounters
18:45 The Intersection of Suffering and Longing for God
23:33 The Relationship Between Love, Suffering, and Hope
36:37 Sustaining Faith in Everyday Life
39:53 Cutting Through the Noise: Faith Beyond Differences
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Glimmerings: Letters on Faith Between a Poet and a Theologian by Miroslav Volf and Christian Wiman
- My Bright Abyss by Christian Wiman
- Miroslav Volf on Reimagining the Good Life: The Cost of Ambition
_
SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia's Substack: amyjuliabecker.substack.com
WATCH this conversation on YouTube: Amy Julia Becker on YouTube
JOIN the conversation on Instagram: @amyjuliabecker
LISTEN to more episodes: amyjuliabecker.com/shows/
_
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Christian Wiman is the Clement-Muehl Professor of the Arts at Yale Divinity School. He is the author, editor, or translator of fifteen books, including Zero at the Bone: Fifty Entries Against Despair and Hammer Is the Prayer: Selected Poems. His work appears regularly in Harper’s, The New Yorker, and Commonweal.
More about Chris: https://divinity.yale.edu/profile/christian-wiman
Glimmerings: Letters on Faith Between a Poet and a Theologian
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
When a child grows up with a sibling with a disability, what defines their childhood? Author Brian Trapp reflects on life with his twin brother with cerebral palsy. Brian shares how his childhood was a source of unexpected gifts, deep connection, and lifelong formation. He joins Amy Julia Becker to consider:
- Limits of labels like “glass child” and “mental age”
- Family and flourishing together
- The complexity of identity
- Sibling and caregiving relationships
- Range of Motionby Brian Trapp
S10 E9:
00:00 The Bond of Brotherhood: Growing Up with Disability
08:55 Glass Child Syndrome and Sibling Experiences
18:23 Analogies for Family Life with Disability
23:27 The Complexity of Identity within Relationships and Caregiving
32:07 Fiction vs. Memoir: Exploring Personal Narratives
35:31 Understanding Mental Age and Its Implications
40:23 Reimagining Disability: A House of Laughter
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Cognoscenti essay by Brian Trapp: My twin brother was disabled, but I don't consider myself a 'glass child'
- Julia Miele Rodas’ essay: “Limited Visibility; Or Confessions of a Satellite”
- Range of Motion: A Novel by Brian Trapp
_
SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia's Substack: amyjuliabecker.substack.com
WATCH this conversation on YouTube: Amy Julia Becker on YouTube
JOIN the conversation on Instagram: @amyjuliabecker
LISTEN to more episodes: amyjuliabecker.com/shows/
_
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Brian Trapp is the author of Range of Motion. He is director of Disability Studies at the University of Oregon, where he also teaches creative writing and edits the Northwest Review. His essay about being a sibling to his twin brother Danny was featured on NPR’s Here and Now. Find out more at: https://briantrappwriter.com/
__
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
Difference exposes our tendency to rank people as “better” or “worse.” Theologian Brian Brock, PhD, joins Amy Julia Becker to explore a life rooted in connection, creatureliness, and love. They consider:
- Social hierarchy and disability stigma
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, community, and moral responsibility
- Human worth and personhood
- Joining Creation's Praise
S10 E8:
00:00 Introduction: Joining Creation's Praise
04:35 Human Beings Are Creatures
11:57 Human Exceptionalism and Disability
16:00 Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Disability, Moral Responsibility, and Community
21:19 Euthanasia and Historical Context
24:07 Creation, Redemption, and Human Worth
32:22 Understanding Personhood in Modern Ethics
40:59 Reimagining the Good Life Through Creation
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Joining Creation's Praise: A Theological Ethic of Creatureliness by Brian Brock
_
SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia's Substack: amyjuliabecker.substack.com
WATCH this conversation on YouTube: Amy Julia Becker on YouTube
JOIN the conversation on Instagram: @amyjuliabecker
LISTEN to more episodes: amyjuliabecker.com/shows/
_
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Brian Brock (DPhil, King’s College, London) is Chair of Moral and Practical Theology at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. He has written scholarly works on the use of the Bible in Christian ethics, the ethics of technological development, the theology of disability and the doctrine of creation. He is founder and managing editor of the academic monograph series T&T Clark Enquires in Theological Ethics, is Managing Editor of the Journal of Disability and Religion and President of the Society for the Study of Christian Ethics. He is also a husband and father of three children, including Adam, who is 21, a delightful human being with Down’s Syndrome and autism. His most recent book is Joining Creation's Praise: A Theological Ethic of Creatureliness.
Professor Brian Brock | The University of Aberdeen
__
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
S10 E7—Saying "I'm sorry" isn't enough to repair personal or institutional harm. Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, author of On Repentance and Repair, joins Amy Julia Becker to share an ancient framework for repentance and repair that challenges our culture's obsession with quick apologies. Together they discuss forgiveness, institutional responsibility, and breaking cycles of harm.
00:00 Defining Repentance and Repair
04:29 The Current State of Repentance in Society
07:10 Maimonides' Process of Repentance
17:00 The Influence of Distorted Protestantism on American Culture
22:50 The Complexity of Forgiveness and Purpose of Repentance
28:45 Institutional Harm and the Challenges of Repair
41:59 Repentance as a Path to a Good Life
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg
_
SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia's Substack: amyjuliabecker.substack.com
WATCH this conversation on YouTube: Amy Julia Becker on YouTube
JOIN the conversation on Instagram: @amyjuliabecker
LISTEN to more episodes: amyjuliabecker.com/shows/
_
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg is the award-winning author of eight books who now makes her primary writing home at LifeIsASacredText.com
She has received the Lives of Commitment Award from Auburn Seminary, and the Rabbinic Human Rights Hero Award from the human rights organization T’ruah, was named by Newsweek as a “rabbi to watch,” and as a “faith leader to watch” by the Center for American Progress.
Her newest book,On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World is a National Jewish Book Award winner and an American Library Association’s Sophie Brody Honor Book. It was hailed by Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley as “A must read for anyone navigating the work of justice and healing.”
__
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
S10 E6—Is disability a tragedy to overcome, a burden to bear, an inspirational lesson for everyone else? Or is there a different story to tell, and who gets to tell it? Craig Thomas, co-creator of How I Met Your Mother, joins Amy Julia Becker to discuss That’s Not How It Happened, his novel written from nearly two decades of growing up with a son with a rare genetic condition. Together they explore:
- Disability representation
- Overprotective parenting
- Independence and agency
- The power of authentic storytelling
00:00 The Story Behind "That's Not How It Happened"
08:15 Character Perspectives and Empathy in Storytelling
10:50 Disability and Family Dynamics: Parents and Siblings
15:26 Exploring Agency, Independence, and Shared Humanity
20:55 The Complexity of Emotions in Disability Narratives
27:42 Challenging Myths Around Disability
29:30 The Importance of Authentic Disability Representation in Media
38:45 Reimagining Life with Disability
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Novel: That’s Not How It Happened by Craig Thomas
- TV Show: How I Met Your Mother
- Movie: Champions
_
SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia's Substack: amyjuliabecker.substack.com
WATCH this conversation on YouTube: Amy Julia Becker on YouTube
JOIN the conversation on Instagram: @amyjuliabecker
LISTEN to more episodes: amyjuliabecker.com/shows/
_
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Craig Thomas is the co-creator of the Emmy-winning comedy series How I Met Your Mother. His prose has appeared in The New Yorker, The Boston Globe, McSweeney's, and The Iowa Review. He lives in New York City with his wife, Rebecca, his daughter, Celia, and his son, Elliot, whose unique journey has had a huge impact on his life and work. That’s Not How It Happened is his first novel.
https://www.instagram.com/craigtthomas/ and https://craigthomaswriter.com/
__
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
S10 E5—Where does racism come from? Many of us assume it's rooted in hatred or fear, but what if it’s actually rooted in greed? As we approach Juneteenth, a day that commemorates freedom while reminding us of the work still before us, pastor and historian Malcolm Foley, PhD, joins Amy Julia Becker to talk about his book The Anti-Greed Gospel. He traces the roots of racism to economic exploitation and invites the church to respond with solidarity, truth-telling, and tangible love.
00:00 Introduction to the Link Between Greed and Racism
10:56 Ida B. Wells and the Power of Economic Appeals
18:11 The Cycle of Exploitation and Status
22:54 Creative Resistance to Exploitation, Violence, and Lies
29:05 Economic Solidarity in Contemporary Church
35:23 Examples of Creative Anti-Violence in Action
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- The Anti-Greed Gospel: Why the Love of Money Is the Root of Racism and How the Church Can Create a New Way Forward by Malcolm Foley
- Book of Revelation
- Matthew 6:24
- Acts 2 and 4
- Philippians 2
_
SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia's Substack: amyjuliabecker.substack.com
WATCH this conversation on YouTube: Amy Julia Becker on YouTube
JOIN the conversation on Instagram: @amyjuliabecker
LISTEN to more episodes: amyjuliabecker.com/shows/
_
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Malcolm Foley (PhD, Baylor University) is a pastor, historian, and speaker who serves as special adviser to the president for equity and campus engagement at Baylor University. He has written for Christianity Today, The Anxious Bench, and Mere Orthodoxy. Foley copastors Mosaic Waco, a multicultural church in Waco, Texas, where he lives with his wife, Desiree.
Insta & threads: @revdocmalc
@BrazosPress
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
S10 E4—Do you ever wonder what your life would look like if you had made different decisions a long time ago? Author Karen Swallow Prior joins Amy Julia Becker for a conversation about regret, human limitations, and her experience of not having children. Together, they explore what it means to face the losses of the past while remaining open to the unexpected opportunities and possibilities that can emerge alongside them.
00:00 Introduction to Personal Narratives
04:22 Navigating Infertility and Ethical Dilemmas
07:10 The Role of Faith and Community in Decision-Making
11:01 Control, Risk, and Reproductive Technologies
17:30 The Intersection of Calling and Life Choices
20:57 Navigating Regret, Limits, and Choices
25:07 Historical Context of Childlessness
29:07 Imagination and Reality in Family Dynamics
37:25 Reimagining the Good Life Without Children
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Christianity Today essay by Karen Swallow Prior: “The Birds and the Bees, Babies and Me”
- Institute for Family Studies essay by Amy Julia Becker: “Confessions of a Middle-Aged Mother”
- You Have a Calling: Finding Your Vocation in the True, Good, and Beautifulby Karen Swallow Prior
- The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
_
SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia's Substack: amyjuliabecker.substack.com
WATCH this conversation on YouTube: Amy Julia Becker on YouTube
JOIN the conversation on Instagram: @amyjuliabecker
LISTEN to more episodes: amyjuliabecker.com/shows/
_
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Karen Swallow Prior, Ph.D. is the 2025-26 Karlson Scholar at Bethel Seminary. She is a popular writer and speaker, a contributing writer for The Dispatch, and a columnist for Religion News Service. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Vox, The Washington Post, Christianity Today, and many other places. Her most recent book is You Have a Calling: Finding Your Vocation in the True, Good, and Beautiful(Brazos 2025).
CONNECT with Karen: karenswallowprior.com
- Facebook: Karen Swallow Prior
- Instagram: karenswallowprior
- X: @KSPrior
- Substack: @karenswallowprior
__
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
S10 E3—The return of the R-word is about more than language. The words we choose both reflect and shape our moral imagination. When disability becomes an insult or a political weapon, it influences how we understand human worth, vulnerability, and belonging. In this conversation, Christina Cipriano, PhD, joins Amy Julia Becker to explore her research on political language and disability, including the return of the R-word. They discuss what these patterns reveal about the systems shaping care, education, and belonging, and they consider: how can we resist dehumanizing language and choose words that move us toward justice and joy?
00:00 Introduction to Disability Discourse Matters
06:53 Asset-Based vs. Deficit-Based Perspectives
10:27 Personal Narratives and Language Choices
19:49 The Rise, Fall, and Rise of the R Word
23:42 Dehumanization in Political Rhetoric
28:47 Historical Context of Disability Discourse
33:00 Disability Language and Future Generations
40:48 Reimagining Disability and the Good Life
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Disability Discourse Matters
- The Education Collaboratory at Yale | Child Study Center
- Spread the Word – Special Olympics
- Montclair University: Use of the Slur [r-word] Triples on X After Elon Musk Shares the Word in a Post
- Be Unapologetically Impatient by Christina Cipriano
- Euphemism Treadmill article
_
SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia's Substack: amyjuliabecker.substack.com
WATCH this conversation on YouTube: Amy Julia Becker on YouTube
JOIN the conversation on Instagram: @amyjuliabecker
LISTEN to more episodes: amyjuliabecker.com/shows/
_
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Christina Cipriano, PhD, is currently an associate professor of applied developmental and educational psychology at the Yale Child Study Center in the Yale School of Medicine and Director of the Education Collaboratory. This fall Dr. Cipriano will transition to be the inaugural Joseph W. and Alma W. Keilty Endowed Chair in Education and Professor with tenure at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the Education Collaboratory will be moving to the College of Education at UMass Amherst. An award-winning scholar and internationally regarded expert in the science of learning and development, Chris received her PhD from Boston College, her EdM from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and her undergraduate degree from Hofstra University. Dr. Cipriano has published over one hundred and twenty papers, commentaries, and reports, spanning top-tier journals such as Child Development and the Review of Educational Research as well as media outlets including The Washington Post, NPR, The New York Times, PBS, and Education Week. Her award-winning and best-selling new book, Be Unapologetically Impatient: The Mindset Required to Change the Way We Do Things (2025), is the latest must-read for every educator, provider, parent, and person interested in improving the lives of children and families, right now. A prolific public scholar, educator, and speaker, Chris privileges her positionality as a first-generation high school graduate and mother of four children in her science.
https://www.drchriscip.com/
https://www.disabilitydiscoursematters.org/
https://www.beunapologeticallyimpatient.com/
https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/christina-cipriano/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinacipriano/
LinkedIn @ChristinaCipriano
Instagram @DrChrisCip
BlueSky @DrChrisCip
Twitter @DrChrisCip
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
S10 E2—What do you do when you’ve done all the “right” spiritual things and still feel exhausted? Tish Harrison Warren, a writer and Anglican priest, joins Amy Julia Becker to explore burnout, spiritual dryness, midlife weariness, and the practices that help us stay rooted when God feels distant. For those who are tired, discouraged, or wondering why faith feels harder than it used to, here’s hope for the long middle of life from Tish’s latest book, What Grows in Weary Lands.
00:00 Introduction to Tish Harrison Warren
03:29 Exploring Spiritual Weariness and Doubt
14:47 Understanding Fortitude and Resilience
23:23 The Imagined Good Life
30:20 Navigating the Desert of Faith
35:10 The Practice of Stability
44:04 Community in Seasons of Aridity
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Books by Tish Harrison Warren:
- What Grows in Weary Lands
- Liturgy of the Ordinary
- Prayer in the Night
_
SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia's Substack: amyjuliabecker.substack.com
WATCH this conversation on YouTube: Amy Julia Becker on YouTube
JOIN the conversation on Instagram: @amyjuliabecker
LISTEN to more episodes: amyjuliabecker.com/shows/
_
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Tish Harrison Warren is an Anglican priest and the author of several books, including Liturgy of the Ordinary, which won Christianity Today’s 2018 Book of the Year, and Prayer in the Night, which won Christianity Today’s 2022 Book of the Year and the 2022 ECPA Christian Book of the Year. She formerly wrote a weekly newsletter for The New York Times, which focused on faith in public discourse and private life. She was also a columnist at Christianity Today. Her articles and essays have appeared in Comment Magazine, The Point Magazine, Religion News Service, and elsewhere. She currently serves as the C.S. Lewis Theological Writer-in-Residence for The Anglican Episcopal House of Studies at Baylor’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary. She is a senior fellow with the Trinity Forum and an assisting priest at Immanuel Anglican Church. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and three children.
https://tishharrisonwarren.com/
https://www.instagram.com/tishharrisonwarren/
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
S10 E1—When you walk into a room, what does that room tell you about who you are as a human being? What assumptions go into our restaurants and civic buildings and churches and homes and schools? What do they say about who we are and about how we relate to each other? Artist and design researcher Sara Hendren joins Amy Julia Becker to explore how modern spaces—from office buildings to nursing homes—shape what we believe about dignity, dependence, and belonging. Together they uncover how design can either diminish or restore our shared humanity, and why the good life depends on reimagining how we live together.
00:00 Introduction to Design and Humanity
05:24 Understanding the Machine Model and Anti-Human Design
14:32 What Spaces Communicate About Being Human
29:29 Design Choices and Human Dignity
34:49 Innovations in Dementia Care Design
37:26 Art and Dignity for Individuals with Disabilities
41:32 The Metaphysics of Dignity and Human Connection
51:07 Designing for the Good Life: Relationality and Community
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- What Can a Body Do? How We Meet the Built World by Sara Hendren
- Previous podcast conversation: “S3 E15 | Who Belongs? Disability and the Built World with Sara Hendren”
- Comment Magazine essay by Sara Hendren: “Pattern Recognition: Design for humans in unexpected places.”
- Short film: Simple Machine
- Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
_
WATCH this conversation on YouTube: Amy Julia Becker on YouTube
SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia's Substack: amyjuliabecker.substack.com
JOIN the conversation on Instagram: @amyjuliabecker
LISTEN to more episodes: amyjuliabecker.com/shows/
_
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Sara Hendren is an artist, design researcher, writer, and professor at Northeastern University. Her book What Can a Body Do? How We Meet the Built World explores the places where disability shows up in design at all scales: assistive technology, furniture, architecture, urban planning, and more. It was named one of the Best Books of 2020 by NPR and won the 2021 Science in Society Journalism book prize.
Her art and design works have been exhibited on the White House lawn under the Obama presidency, at the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Seoul Museum of Art, the Vitra Museum, and many others, and her work is held in the permanent collections at MoMA and the Cooper Hewitt. She has been an NEH Public Scholar and a fellow at New America, and her commentary and criticism have been published in Harper’s, Art in America, The New York Times, the Washington Post, and elsewhere.
Website: sarahendren.com
__
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
What makes a life good? In this new season of Reimagining the Good Life, Amy Julia Becker invites listeners into thoughtful conversations about faith, family, disability, belonging, beauty, repair, community, and what it means to be human. This season features interviews with:
- Tish Harrison Warren about persevering with grace through midlife
- Malcolm Foley about the role of greed and pride in racism and what we can do to respond with love
- Brian Brock about disability and creation
- Dr. Chris Cipriano at Yale about politics and language and disability
- Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg about her book On Repentance and Repair
- Craig Thomas, author of the book That's Not How It Happened and co-creator of How I Met Your Mother, about how we tell the story of family and Down syndrome.
Follow the show now and join us beginning May 19 for a new season of Reimagining the Good Life.
WATCH on YouTube: Amy Julia Becker on YouTube
SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia's Substack: amyjuliabecker.substack.com
JOIN the conversation on Instagram: @amyjuliabecker
LISTEN to more episodes: amyjuliabecker.com/shows/
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
Exciting news! New episodes are dropping on my Take the Next Step podcast, and I’m sharing this one here so you won’t miss out. Be sure to follow Take the Next Step with Amy Julia Becker wherever you listen so you are sure to get future episodes. https://pod.link/1838911087
More about Take the Next Step: amyjuliabecker.com/step/
___
What if inclusion in schools didn’t have to be a constant fight? Adrian Wood, PhD, shares what actually helped her son with autism thrive in their public school system. Adrian and Amy Julia Becker explore:
- Building trust with educators
- Collaboration and creativity
- Navigating IEPs and transitions
- Small changes that make a big difference
Ask Me Anything: Record (or email) your question for our upcoming Ask Me Anything episode: amyjuliabecker.com/qr/
04:30 Navigating Public School for Children with Disabilities
06:53 Creative Thinking and Working Together as a Team
15:55 Strategies for Success
__
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- VLOG: Tales of an Educated Debutante
_
WATCH this conversation on YouTube: Amy Julia Becker on YouTube
SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia's Substack: amyjuliabecker.substack.com
JOIN the conversation on Instagram: @amyjuliabecker
LISTEN to more episodes: amyjuliabecker.com/shows/
_
ABOUT:
Adrian Wood is the creator of the vlog Tales of an Educated Debutante. She has a PhD in Educational Research and contributes to Today Parents, The Today Show, and the Love What Matters blog. She lives in rural eastern North Carolina with her family. She is the co-author of Autism Out Loud.
CONNECT with Adrian on her website (talesofaneducateddebutante.com), Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
__
Take the Next Step is produced in collaboration with Hope Heals. Hope Heals creates sacred spaces of belonging and belovedness for families affected by disabilities to experience sustaining hope in the context of inclusive, intentional, inter-ability communities. Find out more about our resources, gatherings, and inter-ability communities at hopeheals.com. Follow on Instagram @hopeheals.
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
S9 E9 — Our culture feels like a battlefield, but perspectives and actions change when we see it as a garden we’ve forgotten how to tend. Artist and author Makoto Fujimura shares with Amy Julia Becker how art, wonder, and imagination can restore our capacity to love, hope, and tend culture with care. Together they explore his book Art Is: A Journey into the Light, slow art, spiritual imagination, and a gentler way to live faithfully in a fractured world.
00:00 Introduction to Makoto Fujimura and the Process of Art
07:08 Stewardship Responsibility for Imagination and Creativity
13:34 The Importance of Slow Art and Observation
19:19 Engaging with Darkness in Art
22:15 The Role of Artists within the Darkness of Society
29:07 Giving Away Beauty: The Heart of Art
34:07 Imagination, Faith, and Love
42:58 Culture Care: Changing the Metaphor
__
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Art Is: A Journey into the Light, Art and Faith: A Theology of Making, and Culture Care: Reconnecting with Beauty for Our Common Life by Makoto Fujimura
- Embers International
- Amy Julia’s episode with Justin Giboney: “How the Civil Rights Generation Can Lead Us Out of the Culture War” with Justin Giboney
- Amy Julia’s Take the Next Step podcast - new episodes beginning February 4, 2026
_
WATCH this conversation on YouTube: Amy Julia Becker on YouTube
SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia's Substack: amyjuliabecker.substack.com
JOIN the conversation on Instagram: @amyjuliabecker
LISTEN to more episodes: amyjuliabecker.com/shows/
_
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Makoto Fujimura is a leading contemporary artist whose process driven, refractive “slow art” has been described by David Brooks of New York Times as “a small rebellion against the quickening of time”. In addition to his work as an artist, Mako is an author whose latest work is entitled Art Is: A Journey into the Light. From 2003 to 2009, he served as a Presidential appointee to the National Council on the Arts. He is a celebrated speaker and advocate for the arts and has received five Honorary Doctor of Arts degrees.
https://makotofujimura.com/
https://www.instagram.com/iamfujimura/
___
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
S9 E8 — We're living through a season of deep division, political unrest, and global instability. Justin Giboney, political strategist and author of Don't Let Nobody Turn You Around, joins Amy Julia Becker to help us recover a moral imagination shaped by faith—one that resists polarization, refuses hatred, and offers a better way forward in public life.
00:00 Guidance from the Civil Rights Generation
07:18 The Black Church's Public Witness
10:00 The Civil Rights Movement vs Progressive Activism
13:52 Forgiveness and Redemption
17:28 Navigating the Culture Wars
25:39 The AND Campaign: Bridging Divides in Politics
28:51 Cultivating Moral Imagination
31:51 The Impact of Social Media
37:52 Practices for Living Out a Moral Imagination
__
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
• Don't Let Nobody Turn You Around: How the Black Church's Public Witness Leads Us out of the Culture War by Justin Giboney
• AND Campaign: andcampaign.org
• Church Politics podcast
• Amy Julia's Take the Next Step podcast: amyjuliabecker.com/step/
_
WATCH this conversation on YouTube: Amy Julia Becker on YouTube
SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia's Substack: amyjuliabecker.substack.com
JOIN the conversation on Instagram: @amyjuliabecker
LISTEN to more episodes: amyjuliabecker.com/shows/
_
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Justin Giboney (JD, Vanderbilt University) is an author, ordained minister, attorney, and political strategist. He is the founder and president of the AND Campaign, a Christian civic organization focused on raising civic literacy, promoting civic pluralism, and equipping Christians to engage politics with the love and truth of Jesus Christ. Justin is dedicated to promoting Christ-centered values as the basis for engagement in politics and social issues.
BOOK: Don’t Let Nobody Turn You Around
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/justinegiboney/
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
S9 E7 — Your body is trying to tell you something. Are you listening? In this episode, corporate lawyer Justin Whitmel Earley joins Amy Julia Becker to explore how spiritual life is also embodied life. As you reflect on the year ahead, this conversation invites you to think not in terms of resolutions, but in terms of habits that nurture health and wholeness. Justin and Amy Julia reflect on:
- How breathing can reconnect body and soul
- How fasting, feasting, and everyday meals contribute to the spiritual life
- How to understand pain and sickness in a world that is both beautiful and broken
- Why sleep matters spiritually
00:00 Intro: Anxiety Journey
05:20 The Body and Soul Connection
09:25 Cultural Disconnect
14:46 Breath: A Practice to Reconnect Body and Soul
23:35 Food: Fasting, Feasting, and Ordinary Fare
32:08 Understanding Pain and Sickness in a Broken World
38:18 The Spiritual Significance of Sleep
_
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Bible verses: Ephesians 2; Genesis 1-2; Genesis 2:7; Genesis 2:9; Psalm 23
- Kelly Kapic interview with Amy Julia
- Embodied Hope by Kelly Kapic
_
WATCH this conversation on YouTube: Amy Julia Becker on YouTube
SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia's Substack: amyjuliabecker.substack.com
JOIN the conversation on Instagram: @amyjuliabecker
LISTEN to more episodes: amyjuliabecker.com/shows/
_
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Justin Whitmel Earley is a writer, speaker, and lawyer. He is the author of The Common Rule, Habits of the Household, and Made for People, though he spends most days running his business law practice. Through his writing and speaking, Justin empowers God’s people to thrive through life-giving habits that form them in the love of God and neighbor. He continually explores both how physical habits are more spiritual than we think and how spiritual habits are more physical than we think. He lives with his wife and four boys in Richmond, Virginia, spends a lot of time around fires and porches with friends, and is a part-owner of a local gym. You can follow him online at justinwhitmelearley.com.
ONLINE:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/justinwhitmelearleyauthor/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinwhitmelearley/
X: https://x.com/Justin_W_Earley
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@justinwhitmelearley1630
Website: https://www.justinwhitmelearley.com/
__
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
S9 E6 — In a season of parties and entertaining, it’s good to remember that hospitality means something very different—welcoming the stranger and caring for one another. In The Hospitality of Need, Kevan Chandler, born with a progressive disability, explores how dependence can expand life and deepen community. His story points us back to our shared human neediness, reflected in the baby lying in the manger.
00:0 Reimagining the Good Life
06:12 Gift of Interdependence
12:52 Understanding Need and Hospitality
17:37 Proximity and Need
21:43 Peer to Peer Caregiving
26:39 A Journey to Skellig Michael
32:53 Spiritual Realities of Need
38:12 Invitation Into Need
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Amy Julia’s interview with Kevan on Take the Next Step
- The Hospitality of Need: How Depending on One Another Helps Us Heal and Grow Together by Kevan Chandler and Tommy Shelton
- We Carry Kevan
- I John 1
_
WATCH this conversation on YouTube: Amy Julia Becker on YouTube
SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia's Substack: amyjuliabecker.substack.com
JOIN the conversation on Instagram: @amyjuliabecker
LISTEN to more episodes: amyjuliabecker.com/shows/
_
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
KEVAN CHANDLER is the founder of the nonprofit organization We Carry Kevan and speaks worldwide about friendship and disability. He and his wife, Katie, enjoy doing everything together, including growing vegetables and reading to each other.
Kevan was the second of his siblings to be diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, type 2, a rare neuromuscular disease. In 2016, he and his friends took a trip across Europe, leaving his wheelchair at home, and his friends carried him for three weeks in a backpack.
An avid storyteller, Kevan is an author and speaker worldwide about his friendships and unique life with a disability, being a featured speaker for Tedx and Google, as well as various conferences, pharmaceutical companies, and universities.
__
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
S9 E5 — There is a lot of conversation right now about the role of women and men in society. Whether we’re talking about the Jeffrey Epstein scandal or the viral essay "The Great Feminization" and all the commentary it sparked, it’s clear we’re in a cultural moment where we don’t quite know how to talk about men and women. Should we see men and women as interchangeable? What does equality look like when our bodies are not the same? Can we admit our neediness and maintain our dignity as women or as men? These are some of the questions I'm asking Leah Libresco Sargeant as we talk about her new book, The Dignity of Dependence.
00:00 The World is the Wrong Shape for Women
6:14 The Lie of Autonomy and How It Harms Everyone
21:09 Building a Just Society: Dismantling False Anthropology
22:52 Understanding Disability and Unemployment
25:43 Societal Examples of Dependent Communities
30:15 The Dignity of Dependence
32:51 Legacy of Care in Society
38:20 The Costs of Devaluing Vulnerability
41:14 Practices for Embracing Dependence
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- The Dignity of Dependence: A Feminist Manifesto by Leah Libresco Sargeant
- Sara Hendren’s What Can a Body Do
- Amy Julia’s interview with Sara Hendren: Who Belongs? Disability and the Built World with Sara Hendren
_
WATCH this conversation on YouTube: Amy Julia Becker on YouTube
SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia's Substack: amyjuliabecker.substack.com
JOIN the conversation on Instagram: @amyjuliabecker
LISTEN to more episodes: amyjuliabecker.com/shows/
_
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Leah Libresco Sargeant is the author of several books, including The Dignity of Dependence. She runs the substack Other Feminisms, which focuses on how to advocate for women as women in a world that makes an idol of autonomy. She lives in Maryland and works in family policy in D.C.
Other Feminisms: https://www.otherfeminisms.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/leahlibresco
__
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
S9 E4 — What if real freedom doesn’t come from more self-esteem—but from self-forgetfulness? Amy Julia Becker and author and pastor Sharon Hodde Miller explore the difference between the false self and the true self—and how thinking about ourselves less without thinking less of ourselves leads to healing, humility, and purpose.
00:00 Introduction
01:58 Defining Self and Self-Forgetfulness
07:33 Understanding the Self and Healing
09:50 Noticing Ourselves
14:12 False Self vs. True Self
16:31 The Concept of Self-Denial
19:18 The Role of the Body in Self-Understanding
22:08 Embracing Insecurity, Humility, and Limitations
29:33 The Role of Self in Parenting
31:34 Beyond Self: Purpose and Community
38:12 Practicing Humility in Daily Life
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Free of MeandGazing at God• Books by Sharon Hodde Miller
- The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness by Tim Keller
- To Be Made Well and White Picket Fences by Amy Julia Becker
- Amy Julia's new podcast: Take the Next Step amyjuliabecker.com/step/
_
WATCH this conversation on YouTube: Amy Julia Becker on YouTube
SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia's Substack: amyjuliabecker.substack.com
JOIN the conversation on Instagram: @amyjuliabecker
LISTEN to more episodes: amyjuliabecker.com/shows/
_
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Sharon Hodde Miller (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) leads Bright City Church in Durham, NC with her husband, Ike. She writes, travels around the country speaking at churches and conferences each year, and holds a PhD on women and calling. Sharon is the author of three books: Gazing at God, Free of Me, and Nice. Sharon lives in North Carolina with her husband and 3 young children. To read more of her writing, you can visit her site, SheWorships.com, and you can connect with her on Instagram at @sharonhmiller.
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
S9 E3 — What is the good life? Is it a life marked by money and success and achievement? Or a life marked by love? Author and professor Kelly Kapic joins Amy Julia Becker to rethink our obsession with productivity and self-reliance. They explore:
- Why “independence” is not the ideal
- How love—not intelligence or achievement—defines our humanity
- How receiving our limits can lead to rest, belonging, and deeper joy
Subscribe to Amy Julia’s Substack newsletter: amyjuliabecker.com/subscribe/
00:00 Exploring Humanity's Limits and Gifts
04:30 The Distinction Between Limits and Brokenness
09:35 Redefining Human Value Beyond Achievement
12:16 The Role of Love in Defining Humanity
19:45 The Gift of Humble Dependence in Relationships
26:03 Recognizing and Cultivating Gifts
28:21 The Good Life: Beyond Material Success and Happiness
34:33 Embracing Limits within Work, Rest, and Love
39:16 Practices for Accepting Limits and Cultivating Love
__
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Books: You Were Never Meant to Do It All, You're Only Human, and Embodied Hope by Kelly Kapic
- Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman
- When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert
- Becoming Whole by by Brian Fikkert and Kelly Kapic
- World Happiness Report
- I Corinthians 13
__
WATCH this conversation on YouTube: Amy Julia Becker on YouTube
SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia's Substack: amyjuliabecker.substack.com
JOIN the conversation on Instagram: @amyjuliabecker
LISTEN to more episodes: amyjuliabecker.com/shows/
_
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Kelly M. Kapic (PhD, King's College, University of London) is professor of theological studies at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, where he has taught since 2001. He is a popular speaker and the award-winning author or editor of more than fifteen books, including the devotional You Were Never Meant to Do It All, The God Who Gives, and the Christianity Today Book Award winners You're Only Human and Embodied Hope: A Theological Meditation on Pain and Suffering. Kapic has been featured in Christianity Today and The Gospel Coalition and has worked on research teams funded by the John Templeton Foundation. He also contributes to the Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care and various other journals. kellykapic.com
___
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
S9 E2 — What if disability isn’t something to fix, but a way to see God and one another more clearly? Theologian John Swinton joins Amy Julia Becker to explore how our ideas of perfection, healing, and humanity can distort—or deepen—our understanding of the good life. Together, they imagine a church and a world that welcomes every body as good, beloved, and whole. They explore:
- How culture shapes (and distorts) our perceptions of disability and beauty
- What it means for a world to be both wounded and beloved
- Why the difference between goodness and perfection matters
- How interdependence includes both beauty and a cost
__
TAKE THE NEXT STEP PODCAST: amyjuliabecker.com/step/
SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia’s newsletter: amyjuliabecker.com/subscribe/
__
00:00 Introduction
02:54 Significance of Disability in Faith
05:50 Cultural Perceptions of Disability
08:50 The Image of God and Human Relationships
11:45 Understanding Goodness vs. Perfection
18:18 Goodness and Suffering
23:55 The Power of Naming and Identity
27:38 Relationality and the Cost of Interdependence
35:38 Resisting Culture's Distortions of the Image of God
__
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Christianity Today essay: “It Was Good, Not Perfect.”
- Genesis 1-3
_
WATCH this conversation on YouTube: Amy Julia Becker on YouTube
SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia's Substack: amyjuliabecker.substack.com
JOIN the conversation on Instagram: @amyjuliabecker
LISTEN to more episodes: amyjuliabecker.com/shows/
_
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
John Swinton is Professor in Practical Theology and Pastoral Care and Chair in Divinity and Religious Studies at the University of Aberdeen. For more than a decade John worked as a registered mental health nurse. He also worked for a number of years as a hospital and community mental health Chaplain alongside of people with severe mental health challenges who were moving from the hospital into the community. In 2004, he founded the University of Aberdeen’s Centre for Spirituality, Health and Disability. He has published widely within the area of mental health, dementia, disability theology, spirituality and healthcare, end of life care, qualitative research and pastoral care. John is the author of a number of monographs including Finding Jesus in the Storm: The spiritual lives of people with mental health challenges. (Eerdmans 2020) which won the Aldersgate prize for outstanding interdisciplinary work within theology. His book Dementia: Living in the memories of God won the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Ramsey Prize for excellence in theological writing.
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
S9 E1 — Some people get paid to do what they love, but most don’t. How can we find meaning in everyday work that we don’t always love doing? How can we discover our purpose in life? Author Karen Swallow Prior and Amy Julia Becker explore:
- Why passion is not the same as calling
- How vocation centers on service and relationships, not just career
- Pursuing truth, goodness, and beauty in ordinary life
- How multiple callings unfold across a lifetime
- Wisdom for discerning and living into a deeper purpose
Subscribe to my weekly newsletter: amyjuliabecker.com/subscribe
New! Take the Next Step podcast: amyjuliabecker.com/step
00:00 Introduction
02:04 Exploring the Call to Creativity
05:39 The Myths of Passion and Work
08:55 Defining Calling and Vocation
12:32 The Relational Aspect of Calling
15:31 Pursuing Truth, Goodness, and Beauty
22:28 The Intersection of the True, the Good, and the Beautiful
26:04 The Good Life and Purpose
31:46 The Role of Suffering in Calling
36:55 Navigating New Callings and Responsibilities
40:44 Finding Meaning and Calling in Everyday Tasks
__
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- You Have a Calling: Finding Your Vocation in the True, Good, and Beautiful by Karen Swallow Prior
_
WATCH this conversation on YouTube: Amy Julia Becker on YouTube
SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia's Substack: amyjuliabecker.substack.com
JOIN the conversation on Instagram: @amyjuliabecker
LISTEN to more episodes: amyjuliabecker.com/shows/
_
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Karen Swallow Prior, Ph.D. is the 2025-26 Karlson Scholar at Bethel Seminary. She is a popular writer and speaker, a contributing writer for The Dispatch, and a columnist for Religion News Service. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Vox, The Washington Post, Christianity Today, and many other places. Her most recent book is You Have a Calling: Finding Your Vocation in the True, Good, and Beautiful (Brazos 2025).
CONNECT with Karen: karenswallowprior.com
- Facebook: Karen Swallow Prior
- Instagram: karenswallowprior
- X: @KSPrior
- Substack: @karenswallowprior
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
What really makes life worth living? This season on Reimagining the Good Life, Amy Julia Becker dives into the ideas, assumptions, and cultural narratives that shape how we live. Upcoming conversations include:
- Karen Swallow Prior on calling
- Sharon Hodde Miller on self-forgetfulness
- Kelly Kapic on human limitations
- Leah Libresco Sargeant on the dignity of dependence
If you’re curious about culture, disability, family, and faith—and how big ideas can change everyday life—this season is for you.
__
WATCH on YouTube: Amy Julia Becker on YouTube
SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia's Substack: amyjuliabecker.substack.com
JOIN the conversation on Instagram: @amyjuliabecker
LISTEN to more episodes: amyjuliabecker.com/shows/
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
This is the very first episode of my new podcast, Take the Next Step, and I’m sharing it here so you won’t miss the launch. Be sure to follow Take the Next Step with Amy Julia Becker wherever you listen so you don’t miss future episodes. (New episodes of Reimagining the Good Life are coming in October!)
Follow the new podcast at: amyjuliabecker.com/step/
__
Feeling overwhelmed by the challenges of disability? Katherine Wolf, author, advocate, and co-founder of Hope Heals, joins Amy Julia Becker to explore how families can reimagine disability, build connection, and celebrate life.
From the dinner table to the slow work of recovery, learn how to find delight in the story you have. Discover:
- How to experience joy in the process, not just the outcome
- Daily habits to cultivate gratitude and delight
- How to build a supportive, connected community
- Why purpose and contribution matter for every family
_
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Katherine’s books, resources, gatherings, and inter-ability communities: hopeheals.com.
- Luke 14
_
WATCH this conversation on YouTube: Amy Julia Becker on YouTube
SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia's Substack: amyjuliabecker.substack.com
JOIN the conversation on Instagram: @amyjuliabecker
LISTEN to more episodes: amyjuliabecker.com/shows/
_
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Katherine Wolf is an author, advocate, and co-founder of Hope Heals. After she survived a near-fatal brainstem stroke at age 26, her family’s journey through disability has become a public witness that good and hard can co-exist in the same story. Through caregiving, storytelling, and lived theology, Katherine is inviting others into a vision of hope, interdependence, and embodied resilience. She and her husband Jay live in Atlanta with their two sons.
Website: www.hopeheals.com
Instagram: @hopeheals
_
Take the Next Step is produced in collaboration with Hope Heals. Hope Heals creates sacred spaces of belonging and belovedness for families affected by disabilities to experience sustaining hope in the context of inclusive, intentional, inter-ability communities. Find out more about our resources, gatherings, and inter-ability communities at hopeheals.com. Follow us on Instagram @hopeheals.
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
I’m so excited to share something new with you! My new show, Take the Next Step, is a podcast for families experiencing disability—filled with real talk, real tools, and real hope. Tune in over at Take the Next Step each week for conversations with parents, therapists, and advocates about how we can cultivate belonging and build a flourishing future for the entire family.
You can find the new show by searching "Take the Next Step with Amy Julia Becker" on your podcast app, or find it online at amyjuliabecker.com/step
And stay tuned - new episodes of Reimagining the Good Life coming in October.
__
WATCH this conversation on YouTube: Amy Julia Becker on YouTube
SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia's Substack: amyjuliabecker.substack.com
JOIN the conversation on Instagram: @amyjuliabecker
LISTEN to more episodes: amyjuliabecker.com/shows/
_
Take the Next Step is produced in collaboration with Hope Heals. Hope Heals creates sacred spaces of belonging and belovedness for families affected by disabilities to experience sustaining hope in the context of inclusive, intentional, inter-ability communities. Find out more about our resources, gatherings, and inter-ability communities at hopeheals.com. Follow us on Instagram @hopeheals.
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
When Heather Avis says she’s one of “the lucky few,” she means it. In this episode, we talk about growing up with our children with Down syndrome, what it means to delight in our kids, and how all of us can participate in shifting the narrative around disability toward love and belonging. Our conversation highlights her new children’s book, I Like You So Much, and focuses on:
- Proclaiming the worth of our children
- The role of children's books in shifting disability narratives
- Understanding identity
- Exploring mutuality in relationships
- The importance of spaces of belonging
- Delight and celebration in parenting
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- I Like You So Much by Heather Avis
- More of Heather’s books
- The Lucky Few podcast
- Small Talk by Amy Julia Becker
- Heather’s Substack
- Reimagining the Good Life Workshop
- Subscribe to Amy Julia’s Substack newsletter
_
WATCH this conversation on YouTube by clicking here. READ the full transcript and access detailed show notes by clicking here or visiting amyjuliabecker.com/podcast.
_
ABOUT:
Heather Avis is a New York Times bestselling author, public speaker, podcaster, and a Down syndrome advocate. She is the founder of and chief visionary officer at The Lucky Few, an advocacy organization dedicated to shouting worth, shifting narratives, and reimagining what it looks like when we create spaces of belonging. She lives in Southern California with her husband Josh and three kids, Macyn, Truly, and August and two Goldendoodles, Maeby and George Michael.
Website: https://www.heatheravis.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theluckyfewofficial/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheLuckyFewOfficial/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC99_OFh29y9lVqZyHY2Xztw
Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lucky-few/id1349646917
New Book, I Like You So Much: https://www.amazon.com/Like-You-So-Much-Celebrating/dp/0310166594/
Photo Credit: © Camilynne Photography
___
Let’s stay in touch. Subscribe to my newsletter to receive weekly reflections that challenge assumptions about the good life, proclaim the inherent belovedness of every human being, and envision a world of belonging where everyone matters.
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
Ambition is the air we breathe—but what is it costing us? In this episode, Amy Julia Becker and theologian Miroslav Volf discuss his latest book, The Cost of Ambition. They unpack the hidden damage of a culture obsessed with competition and invite us to imagine a new way of being, for ourselves and our society, rooted not in achievement, but in love, mutuality, and genuine abundance. They explore:
- Striving for superiority in American culture
- The dark side of competition
- Longing for what we have
- Striving for excellence vs. striving for superiority
- The illusion of individual achievement
- Practices for embracing love and generosity
- Reimagining human relationships beyond superiority
__
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- The Cost of Ambition: How Striving to Be Better Than Others Makes Us Worse by Miroslav Volf
- Abundance by Ezra Klein
- The Sabbath by Abraham Heschel
- Luke 18:9-14, Philippians 2, 1 Corinthians 12:21-26, Mark 10:35-45
- The Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55)
- Works of Love by Søren Kierkegaard
- Subscribe to Amy Julia's newsletter
_
WATCH this conversation on YouTube by clicking here. READ the full transcript and access detailed show notes by clicking here or visiting amyjuliabecker.com/podcast.
_
ABOUT:
Miroslav Volf (DrTheol, University of Tübingen) is the Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology at Yale Divinity School and founding director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture in New Haven, Connecticut. He has written or edited more than two dozen books, including the New York Times bestseller Life Worth Living, A Public Faith, Public Faith in Action, and Exclusion and Embrace (winner of the Grawemeyer Award in Religion and selected as among the 100 best religious books of the 20th century by Christianity Today). Educated in his native Croatia, the United States, and Germany, Volf regularly lectures around the world. CONNECT with Miroslav Volf on X at @miroslavvolf.
Photo Credit: © Christopher Capozziello
___
Let’s stay in touch. Subscribe to my newsletter to receive weekly reflections that challenge assumptions about the good life, proclaim the inherent belovedness of every human being, and envision a world of belonging where everyone matters.
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
What if the perfect family doesn’t exist—and never was supposed to? Theologian Emily McGowin, PhD, joins Amy Julia Becker to explore family life in America and what the Bible really says (and doesn’t say) about family life. They discuss:
- the idealized version of the American family
- the misconceptions surrounding a biblical blueprint for family
- creating a home centered on love, not expectations
- apprenticing ourselves to love through daily household practices
___
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Households of Faith: Practicing Family in the Kingdom of God by Emily Hunter McGowin, PhD
- Amy Julia's episode with Matthew Mooney about families, disability, suffering, and "the good life'
- Small Talk: Learning from my Children about What Matters Most by Amy Julia Becker
__
WATCH this conversation on YouTube by clicking here. READ the full transcript and access detailed show notes by clicking here or visiting amyjuliabecker.com/podcast.
_
ABOUT:
Emily Hunter McGowin (PhD, University of Dayton) is associate professor of theology at Wheaton College. She is the author of Quivering Families and Christmas, and coeditor of God and Wonder. Her articles have appeared in Christianity Today and The Week. She is a priest and canon theologian in the Anglican diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others. She and her husband, Ron, also a priest, live in Chicagoland with their three children. Follow her on Twitter: @EmilyMcgowin and visit her website at: emilymcgowin.com.
___
Let’s stay in touch. Subscribe to my newsletter to receive weekly reflections that challenge assumptions about the good life, proclaim the inherent belovedness of every human being, and envision a world of belonging where everyone matters.
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
Is disability a tragedy? Is it a gift? What place is there for grief and for joy in this story of disability so many of us are living within our families? Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently portrayed disability as tragic, as something that needs to be fixed, in his comments about autism. In response, Matthew Mooney, co-founder of 99 Balloons, joins Amy Julia Becker to share a better and truer story of disability. They explore:
- Societal perceptions of disability
- How relationships change the story of disability
- Recognizing the inherent worth of every individual
- Navigating grief, loss, and suffering
- Cultivating the beauty found in community
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- 99 Balloons
- Amy Julia's Vox essay: My daughter has Down syndrome. Would I “cure” her if I could?
- NYT Essay by Emily May: Kennedy Described My Daughter's Reality
- I Corinthians 12, Exodus 4, and John 9:3
- Hans Reinders
- RFK Jr.’s statements about autism
_
WATCH this conversation on YouTube by clicking here. READ the full transcript and access detailed show notes by clicking here or visiting amyjuliabecker.com/podcast.
_
ABOUT:
When Matthew and his wife Ginny were 30 weeks pregnant, they learned their son Eliot had trisomy 18. Eliot was born eight weeks later and lived for 99 days. The Mooneys founded 99 Balloons, a nonprofit supporting individuals with disabilities locally and globally.
Matthew now serves on the 99 Balloons Board and lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas, with Ginny and their three children—Hazel, Anders, and Lena.
A writer, speaker, and consultant on disability and inclusion, Matthew is also an attorney and a PhD candidate in Theological Ethics at Aberdeen University. His work has taken him to Haiti, Mexico, Ukraine, Uganda, India, and beyond.
Websites: 99 Balloons :: matthewlylemooney
Social: insta
___
Let’s stay in touch. Subscribe to my newsletter to receive weekly reflections that challenge assumptions about the good life, proclaim the inherent belovedness of every human being, and envision a world of belonging where everyone m
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
For some of us, Christian summer camp is where we felt most at home. But for campers at white Evangelical church camps in particular, camp was also often the place to inherit an image of God—and of each other—that was incomplete at best and toxic at worst. Author Cara Meredith joins Amy Julia Becker on the podcast to explore belonging, betrayal, and new beginnings as they talk about Cara's latest book, Church Camp: Bad Skits, Cry Night, and How White Evangelicalism Betrayed a Generation. They examine:
- Personal experiences of church camp, including joy, exclusion, and betrayal
- Complexities of faith and belonging
- Emotional manipulation
- Reconstructing faith
- Deciding if church camp is right for your child
_
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Amy Julia's Live, In-Person Workshop on May 3: Reimagining Family Life with Disability
- Free resource: 5 Ways to Experience God's Love and Practice Peace
- Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church by N.T. Wright
_
WATCH this conversation on YouTube by clicking here. READ the full transcript and access detailed show notes by clicking here or visiting amyjuliabecker.com/podcast.
_
ABOUT:
Cara Meredith is a speaker, public theologian, and development director who found home at a church camp in the Santa Cruz Mountains. After serving in various roles, she continued as a speaker for two decades at camps up and down the West Coast. With a master of theology (Fuller Seminary) and a background in education and nonprofit work, she is also the author of The Color of Life. Her writing has been featured in national media outlets such as The Oregonian, The New York Times, The Christian Century, and Christianity Today, among others. She lives with her family in Oakland, California. CONNECT with Cara on her website (carameredith.com) or on Facebook and Instagram.
___
Let’s stay in touch. Subscribe to my newsletter to receive weekly reflections that challenge assumptions about the good life, proclaim the inherent belovedness of every human being, and envision a world of belonging where everyone matters.
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
How do we redefine success, community, and family when parenting a child with disabilities? In this conversation, Amy Julia Becker and Adrian Wood, PhD, creator of the vlog Tales of an Educated Debutante and co-author of Autism Out Loud, discuss community, belonging, autism, and the ways they have grown up with their children. They explore:
- Cultural perceptions of family life with disability
- Navigating family dynamics
- Communication
- Building community connections
- Collaborating with schools for better outcomes
- Redefining success
_
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Autism Out Loud: Life with a Child on the Spectrum, from Diagnosis to Young Adulthood by Kate Swenson, Carrie Cariello, Adrian Wood
- Amy Julia’s Reimagining Family Life with Disability workshop
- Amy Julia's Live, In-Person Workshop on May 3
_
WATCH this conversation on YouTube by clicking here. READ the full transcript and access detailed show notes by clicking here or visiting amyjuliabecker.com/podcast.
_
ABOUT:
Adrian Wood is the creator of the vlog Tales of an Educated Debutante. She has a PhD in Educational Research and contributes to Today Parents, The Today Show, and the Love What Matters blog. She lives in rural eastern North Carolina with her family.
CONNECT with Adrian on her website (talesofaneducateddebutante.com), Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
___
Let’s stay in touch. Subscribe to my newsletter to receive weekly reflections that challenge assumptions about the good life, proclaim the inherent belovedness of every human being, and envision a world of belonging where everyone matters.
___
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
How does language, both careless and careful, shape our world? What's the connection between social status and the words we choose? How does technology influence our understanding of culture and control? Amy Julia Becker and special guest Andy Crouch examine these questions in a conversation about language, culture, and culture making. They also ask:
- What does the recent rise of the r-word tell us about our culture?
- In what ways are technology and vulnerability interconnected?
- How can we show up with care in our relationships and creative endeavors?
_
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia's weekly email
- Praxis
- Culture Making by Andy Crouch
- “Where the Magic Doesn’t Happen” by Andy Crouch
- “The Trump administration’s rhetoric about disability diminishes us all” by Amy Julia Becker
- “Embracing the Mystery (more than the magic) of Christmas” by Amy Julia Becker
- Breaking Ground essay | “Wrestling with Sovereignty in a Kairos Year” by Amy Julia Becker
- Ken Myers and Mars Hill Audio
- Playing God by Andy Crouch
- Strong and Weak by Andy Crouch
- The Tech-Wise Familyby Andy Crouch
- Philippians 2: 5-8
- Marc Andreessen: The Techno-Optimist Manifesto
_
CONNECT with Andy Crouch on his website: https://andy-crouch.com/
_
WATCH this conversation on YouTube by clicking here. READ the full transcript and access detailed show notes by clicking here or visiting amyjuliabecker.com/podcast.
_
ABOUT:
Andy Crouch is partner for theology and culture at Praxis, a venture-building ecosystem advancing redemptive entrepreneurship. His writing explores faith, culture, and the image of God in the domains of technology, power, leadership, and the arts. He is the author of five books (plus another with his daughter, Amy Crouch).
___
Let’s stay in touch. Subscribe to my newsletter to receive weekly reflections that challenge assumptions about the good life, proclaim the inherent belovedness of every human being, and envision a world of belonging where everyone matters.
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
What happens when we step into silence? Author Pico Iyer joins Amy Julia Becker to discuss his book Aflame: Learning from Silence. He reflects on his time spent in monasteries and how he grounds the ethereal idea of silence in the very earthy realities of everyday life—filled with deadlines, relationships, and the unexpected, like the wildfire that consumed his home in southern California. Pico and Amy Julia examine:
- the profound lessons that arise from moments of crisis
- how practices of silence transform lives and relationships
- the importance of community and service
- the essence of a good life
_
Women's Conference 2025 | Greenwich, CT
Meet Amy Julia in person!
_
Free Resource/PDF Download:5 Ways to Experience God's Love and Practice Peace
_
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Aflame: Learning from Silence by Pico Iyer
- Iyer's 1990 Time essay: "California: In The Blazing Eye of the Inferno"
_
CONNECT with Pico Iyer on his website (www.picoiyerjourneys.com).
_
WATCH this conversation on YouTube by clicking here. READ the full transcript and access detailed show notes by clicking here or visiting amyjuliabecker.com/podcast.
_
ABOUT:
Pico Iyer is the author of fifteen books, translated into twenty-three languages, and has been a constant contributor for more than thirty years to Time, The New York Times, Harper’s Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, and more than 250 other periodicals worldwide. His four recent talks for TED have received more than eleven million views.
___
Let’s stay in touch. Subscribe to my newsletter to receive weekly reflections that challenge assumptions about the good life, proclaim the inherent belovedness of every human being, and envision a world of belonging where everyone matters.
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
When U.S. foreign aid is frozen, what happens to the people who depend on it? In this episode, Dr. Matthew Loftus and Amy Julia Becker dive into the effects of USAID cuts, including:
- The life-or-death consequences for HIV patients
- The difficult choices clinics and hospitals now face
- The political and religious divisions driving the debate
- What it means to be pro-life
- How concerned Americans can respond
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Amy Julia's Substack email newsletter about USAID: Caring for Humans is Slow, Messy, and Beautiful
- NYT opinion essay by Leah Libresco Sargeant, Matthew Loftus, Kristin M. Collier, and Kathryn Jean Lopez:
“As Fellow Pro-Lifers, We Are Begging Marco Rubio to Save Foreign Aid” - ProPublica article:
"The Trump Administration Said These Aid Programs Saved Lives. It Canceled Them Anyway." - Washington Post article
- Matt’s thesis: Discipline and Flourish
- African Mission Healthcare
- Subscribe to Amy Julia's weekly email
_
WATCH this conversation on YouTube by clicking here.
READ the full transcript and access detailed show notes by clicking here or visiting amyjuliabecker.com/podcast.
_
ABOUT:
Matthew Loftus lives with his family in East Africa, where he has taught and practiced Family Medicine since 2015. He is especially passionate about Family Medicine education and mental health care in mission hospitals. He grew up in a family of 15 children and did all of his medical training in Baltimore. He also holds an M.A. in Theology from St. Mary's Ecumenical Institute in Baltimore and has written for several publications, including Christianity Today, Mere Orthodoxy, First Things, and The New York Times. You can learn more about his work and writing at www.matthewandmaggie.org
___
Let’s stay in touch. Subscribe to my newsletter to receive weekly reflections that challenge assumptions about the good life, proclaim the inherent belovedness of every human being, and envision a world of belonging where everyone matters.
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
In the work of reimagining, religion can play a significant part. What does it mean to be human? Does God exist? Is the universe good? Is there order and purpose to human life? These are the types of questions that help to shape our imagination about our individual lives and our life together. New York Times columnist Ross Douthat joins Amy Julia Becker to discuss his latest book, Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious. They explore:
- the current cultural landscape of religion in America
- the rise of secularism and the existential angst many face in a post-religious world
- the importance of engaging with religious questions
- the relationship between religion and politics
- how individuals can begin their journey of seeking meaning and purpose
__
RESOURCES:
Amy Julia's Lenten Daily Devotional
Amy Julia's To Be Made Well Lenten Bible Study—Small Group Video Series
__
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious by Ross Douthat
- Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
- The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis
- Paul Kingsnorth
- J.R.R. Tolkien
- Looking for Faith? Here’s a Guide to Choosing a Religion. by Ross Douthat
__
CONNECT with Ross on X (@DouthatNYT).
__
Watch this conversation on YouTube by clicking here. Read the full transcript and access detailed show notes by clicking here or visiting amyjuliabecker.com/podcast.
__
ABOUT:
Ross Douthat has been a New York Times Opinion columnist since April 2009. Previously, he was a senior editor at the Atlantic. He is the author of The Deep Places; The Decadent Society; To Change the Church; Bad Religion; Privilege; and, with Reihan Salam, Grand New Party. He is the film critic for National Review. He lives with his wife and five children in New Haven, Connecticut.
___
Let’s stay in touch. Subscribe to my newsletter to receive weekly reflections that challenge assumptions about the good life, proclaim the inherent belovedness of every human being, and envision a world of belonging where everyone matters.
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
Recent political changes and executive orders have polarized the complex conversation around diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA). David M. Bailey, the Founder and CEO of Arrabon, joins Amy Julia Becker to discuss:
- the consequences of dismantling DEIA initiatives
- the implications of colorblindness and meritocracy
- the role of the church in advocating for justice
- the importance of maintaining hope and engagement amidst societal polarization
- the need for critical thinking and compassion
- practical steps for hope and community involvement
_
Amy Julia's Lenten Daily Devotional
Amy Julia's To Be Made Well Lenten Bible Study—Small Group Video Series
Arrabon Lenten Resources: available soon at arrabon.com
__
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Arrabon: a spiritual formation ministry that equips Christ-followers to actively and creatively pursue racial healing in their communities.
- David Bailey previously on the podcast:
S6 E12 | How to Cultivate Racial Healing
S3 E1 | Waking Up to Privilege
S3 E19 | Loving Our Enemies in a Nation Divided
S5 E4 | What’s So Controversial About Critical Race Theory? - President Trump’s Executive Order
- Barbara Newman
_
CONNECT with David Bailey at @wearearrabon and @davidmbailey on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
_
MORE: Watch this conversation on YouTube by clicking here. Read the full transcript and access detailed show notes by clicking here or visiting amyjuliabecker.com/podcast.
_
ABOUT:
David M. Bailey is a public theologian, culturemaker, and catalyst focused on cultivating reconciling communities. David is the Founder and CEO of Arrabon, a spiritual formation ministry that equips the American Church to actively and creatively pursue racial healing in their communities. He is the co-author of the study series, A People, A Place, and A Just Society. David is an ordained minister rooted at East End Covenant Fellowship, serving on the preaching team, and his greatest honor is to be married to his wonderful wife, Joy.
___
Let’s stay in touch. Subscribe to my newsletter to receive weekly reflections that challenge assumptions about the good life, proclaim the inherent belovedness of every human being, and envision a world of belon
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
Is disability a tragedy? Are disabled people “inspiring”? The language we use often reveals our assumptions about disability. Carrie Hahn, a pediatric speech-language pathologist and mother, joins me on the podcast to talk about her book Beyond Inclusion: How to Raise Anti-Ableist Kids.
Maybe you feel like our culture is too full of language police and that we should just move on to more important things. Or maybe you worry that you'll never get your words right. Whether you feel cynicism or despair, this conversation is for you.
Carrie's stories and suggestions offer ALL of us a way to put a reimagined life into practice. We discuss:
- The complexities of navigating ableism
- How to cultivate inclusion and belonging one word at a time
- Ways to respond when we get the language wrong
- Why recognizing individuality matters
- Simple tips to make spaces more welcoming and accessible
_
REIMAGINING FAMILY LIFE WITH DISABILITY WORKSHOP FREE RESOURCE: From Exclusion to Belonging
__
ON THE PODCAST:
- Beyond Inclusion: How to Raise Anti-Ableist Kids by Carrie Hahn
- Stella Young
- A Disability History of the United States by Kim E. Nielsen
- REIMAGINING FAMILY LIFE WITH DISABILITY WORKSHOP
_
CONNECT with Carrie Hahn on her website (informdisability.com), Facebook (@informspeechandlanguage), and Instagram (@carriecch80)
_
WATCH this conversation on YouTube by clicking here. Read the full transcript and access detailed show notes by clicking here or visiting amyjuliabecker.com/podcast.
_
ABOUT:
Carrie Hahn is a pediatric speech-language pathologist and mother. She has served children of a variety of ages in a variety of settings and has taken on additional endeavors of interest, such as an autism support group for caregivers, the distribution of a parent education newsletter, and giving talks at conferences for family advocacy groups. She creates and shares content related to disability and neurodivergence on her website and social media and uses her platform to promote education and advocacy. Hahn is the mother of two neurodivergent children, one of whom also has physical disabilities. Her book ‘Beyond Inclusion: Raising Anti-Ableist Kids” came out in July of 2024. Carrie’s professional and personal lives have intensified her passion for making a safer and less ableist world.
___
Let’s stay in touch. Subscribe to my newsletter to receive weekly reflections that challenge assumptions about the good life, proclaim th
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
"Just try harder. Work harder. Think harder." But what if the key to creativity, whether that’s in our art or in the art of our daily lives, isn’t more effort but surrender? Carey Wallace, artist and author of The Discipline of Inspiration, joins Amy Julia Becker to talk about:
- How discipline and spiritual practices nurture inspiration
- The role of surrender in the creative process
- How all humans can explore their creative potential and embrace the joy of creation
- Art as a communal experience
- How the discipline of inspiration empowers meaningful change in our world that is good and mutually beneficial
_
REIMAGINING FAMILY LIFE WITH DISABILITY WORKSHOP_
ON THE PODCAST:
The Discipline of Inspiration by Carey Wallace
Image Seminar: The Discipline of Inspiration (a five-week craft workshop)
Slow Productivity by Cal Newport
Jon Batiste interview on Fresh Air
Once a Queen: A Novel by Sarah Arthur
Once a Castle by Sarah Arthur
_
CONNECT with Carey Wallace on her website (disciplineofinspiration.org), Instagram (@disciplineofinspiration), or Facebook (@disciplineofinspiration).
_
WATCH this conversation on YouTube by clicking here. Read the full transcript and access detailed show notes by clicking here or visiting amyjuliabecker.com/podcast.
_
ABOUT THE GUEST:
Carey Wallace is the author of The Discipline of Inspiration (Eerdmans), The Blind Contessa’s New Machine (Penguin), and The Ghost In The Glass House (Clarion). She works to help people from all walks of life find inspiration and build strong creative habits to sustain a lifetime of creation. She performs as a songwriter, exhibits her own fine art, and has spoken on art, faith, and justice with students at Princeton, Julliard, Emory, Pratt, and Yale. Her articles and poems have appeared in Time, Detroit’s Metro Times, and America. She is the founder of a retreat for artists in Michigan, and the Discipline of Inspiration creative habit formation program, which has been in operation for over a decade across the US and internationally. She grew up in small towns in Michigan, and lives and works in Brooklyn.
_
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
How do we attend to diverse voices in our churches and society without silencing or patronizing each other? Author and professor Esau McCaulley, PhD, joins Amy Julia Becker to discuss The New Testament in Color: A Multiethnic Bible Commentary. They talk about:
- the importance of connecting church and culture
- the insights provided by scholars from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities
- the harm caused by limiting biblical interpretation to a Western-centric lens
- the role of the church in today's society
- the transformative power of listening and learning from each other
_
AMY JULIA'S Books_
ON THE PODCAST:
NYT essays by Esau McCaulley
The Esau McCaulley Podcast
Reading While Black: book; podcast episode
How Far to the Promised Land: book; podcast episode
_
CONNECT with Dr. McCaulley on his website (esaumccaulley.com) and on social media (@esaumccaulley)
_
Watch this conversation on YouTube by clicking here. Read the full transcript and access detailed show notes by clicking here or visiting amyjuliabecker.com/podcast.
_
ABOUT:
Esau McCaulley, PhD, is an author and The Jonathan Blanchard Associate Professor of New Testament and Public Theology at Wheaton College. His writing and speaking focus on New Testament Exegesis, African American Biblical Interpretation, and Public Theology. He has authored numerous books including, Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope, which won numerous awards including Christianity Today’s Book of the Year. Esau also served as the editor of New Testament in Color: A Multi-Ethnic Commentary on the New Testament.
On the popular level, Esau’s recent memoir, How Far to the Promised Land, was named by Amazon as a top five non-fiction book of 2023. He has also penned works for children, including Josey Johnson’s Hair and the Holy Spirit and Andy Johnson and the March for Justice. Esau is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times, and senior editor for Holy Post Media as well as the host of a new podcast with the Holy Post. His writings have appeared in places such as The Atlantic, Washington Post, and Christianity Today.
_
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
How do we decide who has a life worth living? Author and professor emerita Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, PhD, joins Amy Julia Becker to discuss what it means to:
- be human
- live in community
- care for one another
- navigate the complicated ethics of selective abortion
- find the language and stories to talk about a life worth living
_
ADVENT DEVOTIONAL: Prepare Him Room: Advent Reflections on What Happens When God Shows Up
_
ON THE PODCAST:
Plough essay: “The Body She Had” by Rosemarie Garland-Thomson
Book: About Us: Essays from the New York Times about Disability by People with Disabilities
Sara Hendren’s episode: “Who Belongs? Disability and the Built World”
_
CONNECT with Dr. Garland-Thomson on her website: rosemariegarlandthomson.com
_
Watch this conversation on YouTube by clicking here. Read the full transcript and access detailed show notes by clicking here or visiting amyjuliabecker.com/podcast.
_
About:Rosemarie Garland-Thomson is professor emerita of English and bioethics at Emory University. She works in disability culture, bioethics, and health humanities. She is a Hastings Center Senior Advisor and member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is co-editor of About Us: Essays from the New York Times about Disability by People with Disabilities and author of Staring: How We Look and several other books.
_
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
Political divides don't just disappear after elections. If you long for a hopeful way forward, this conversation is for you. Pastor Corey Widmer talks with Amy Julia Becker about how to navigate political polarization with humility, love, and a commitment to Jesus' way of life.
Corey and Amy Julia discuss:
- Political engagement and identity formation
- The dangers of political idolatry and hyperindividualism
- How to embody love and curiosity in political discourse
- Living out the way of Jesus in a polarized world
- How to respond to the election results
_
FREE DOWNLOAD: 5 Ways to Experience God's Love and Practice Peace
_
ON THE PODCAST:Sermon on the Mount
The Beatitudes
Rich Villodas on the podcast
The AND Campaign
How to Be Christian in the Election | White Paper
How to Be Christian in the Election | Sunday School series
The Good Life of the Kingdom | Sermon
_
Watch this conversation on YouTube by clicking here. Read the full transcript and access detailed show notes by clicking here or visiting amyjuliabecker.com/podcast.
_
Guest Bio:
Rev. Corey Widmer is Senior Pastor of Third Church, a Presbyterian congregation in Richmond, VA. A graduate of University of Virginia and Princeton Theological Seminary, he also has a Ph.D. in theology from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Corey is married to Sarah, a public health nurse, and they have 4 teenage daughters. Corey loves reading, exploring the outdoors, and pickleball!
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
What freedom could we offer one another as humans if we weren’t so stuck on the "treadmill of achievements and quantified learning"? Pepper Stetler, PhD, is the author of A Measure of Intelligence: One Mother's Reckoning with the IQ Test. She joins Amy Julia Becker on the podcast to share her personal journey navigating the world of IQ testing with her daughter Louisa, who has Down syndrome. Amy Julia and Dr. Stetler explore:
- the historical roots of these intelligence assessments
- IQ testing's societal implications
- the ethical dilemmas the tests present for parents and educators
- how IQ tests shape our understanding of intelligence and the pursuit of a fulfilling life
- ways to challenge conventional notions of achievement and success
_
Noonday Lucky Few bracelet (in celebration of Down Syndrome Awareness month): https://noondaycollection.com/products/lucky-few-bracelet
_
On the Podcast:
A Measure of Intelligence: One Mother's Reckoning with the IQ Testby Pepper Stetler
Alfred Binet
DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)
Henry Goddard
_
Connect with Dr. Stetler on her website (pepperstetler.com) or X(@PepperStetler).
_
Watch this conversation on YouTube by clicking here. Read the full transcript and access detailed show notes by clicking here or visiting amyjuliabecker.com/podcast.
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
The way we tell the stories of our past plays a crucial role in shaping our imagination for the future. Author and historian Jemar Tisby, Ph.D., insists in his work that we tell a fuller story of our past, especially when it comes to the history of race and justice within the United States. Jemar joins Amy Julia Becker to discuss his latest book, The Spirit of Justice. Their conversation includes:
- The persistent spirit of justice in the Black Christian experience in America
- The historical and ongoing struggles against racism
- How faith and storytelling fuel resilience and hope
Amy Julia's book:
White Picket Fences: Turning toward Love in a World Divided by Privilege
_
Guest Bio:
Jemar Tisby, PhD, is the author of new book The Spirit of Justice, and he also wrote the New York Times bestselling The Color of Compromise, and the award-winning How to Fight Racism. He is a historian who studies race, religion, and social movements in the twentieth century and serves as a professor at Simmons College of Kentucky, a historically Black college.
_
Connect Online with Dr. Tisby:
Website: https://jemartisby.com/ | Instagram | Facebook | Substack/Newsletter
_
On the Podcast:
- The Spirit of Justice: True Stories of Faith, Race, and Resistance by Jemar Tisby
- The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism by Jemar Tisby
- Mississippi Civil Rights Museum
- Amy Julia’s previous conversations with Jemar:
S5 E10 | How Kids Can Fight Racism with Jemar Tisby, PhD
S4 E1 | How Do We Fight Racism? with Jemar Tisby
S3 E6 | Now Is the Time for Justice with Jemar Tisby
_
TRANSCRIPT here _
YouTube video herewith closed captions _
Let’s Reimagine the Good Life together. Find out more at amyjuliabecker.com.
We want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
Send us a text
What does it mean to be human? Who counts as a human being and why? Anthropologist Tom Pearson has been asking these questions for a living for a long time, and then his daughter was born and diagnosed with Down syndrome, prompting him to ask the questions all over again in his book An Ordinary Future.
Amy Julia and Tom discuss:
- Normalcy, disability, and the human experience
- Cultural perceptions of disability and the historical context of eugenics and institutionalization
- How prenatal testing influences societal views of disability
- Interdependence and its relationship to the human experience
- The ways disability is a source of innovation and community, not just an inevitability
FREE RESOURCE: 10 Ways to Move Toward a Good Future {especially for families with disability}
Guest Bio:
Tom Pearson is a cultural anthropologist with wide-ranging interests in the fields of environmental justice and disability studies. He teaches at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, where he also chairs the social science department. His writing has appeared in numerous scholarly journals and other public outlets. The birth of his daughter Michaela and her diagnosis with Down syndrome thrust him into an unfamiliar world of disability and difference. His book An Ordinary Future: Margaret Mead, the Problem of Disability, and a Child Born Differentexamines this experience in relation to Margaret Mead's path to disability rights activism. It confronts the dominant ideas, disturbing contradictions, and dramatic transformations that have shaped our perspectives on disability over the last century.
Connect Online:Website | Twitter
On the Podcast:
- Washington Post: A mystery illness stole their kids’ personalities. These moms fought for answers.
- An Ordinary Future: Margaret Mead, the Problem of Disability, and a Child Born Different by Thomas Pearson
TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/tom-pearson/
YouTube Channel: video with closed captions
Let’s Reimagine the Good Life together. Find out more at amyjuliabecker.com.
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
Send us a text
The ways we have envisioned success—whether it’s more wealth, social media followers, recognition, or power—might actually lead us away from an abundant, spacious life. Pastor Rich Villodas, author of The Narrow Way, joins Amy Julia Becker on the podcast to examine how the Sermon on the Mount challenges prevailing notions of success and the good life and invites us to reimagine faithfulness to Jesus.
Amy Julia and Rich discuss:
- Reimagining success, morality, and individualism
- Interior examination and the integration of love
- The paradox of the narrow path and the spacious life in Jesus’ words
- Practices for reimagining the good life in a world of distractions
- Embracing grace and seeking transformation
Check out Amy Julia's live, online WORKSHOP: Reimagining Family Life with Disability. Use code FAMILY24 at checkout and take 30% off!
Guest Bio:
Rich Villodas is the author of 4 books, including his latest The Narrow Path: How the Subversive Way of Jesus Satisfies Our Souls. He is the lead pastor of New Life Fellowship, a large multiracial church with more than 75 countries represented, in Elmhurst, Queens, and Long Island, New York. He is the co-host of the Resilient Pastor podcast. He’s been married to Rosie since 2006, and they have two beautiful children, Karis and Nathan.
Connect Online with Rich: Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
On the Podcast:
- Matthew 5-7
- BibleProject Podcast: Sermon on the Mount series
- Hope Heals Camp
- Matthew: A Commentary, Volume 1 by Dale Bruner
- Pete Scazzero
TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/rich-villodas-2024/
YouTube Channel: video with closed captions
Let’s Reimagine the Good Life together. Find out more at amyjuliabecker.com.
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
Send us a text
How do we envision the good life in a way that is hopeful and human and freeing and good?
My name is Amy Julia Becker. I help people reimagine the good life through my writing and speaking on disability, faith, and culture.
My hope for the work I do, and for this show, is that we would:
–Challenge the assumptions about what makes life good
–Proclaim the inherent belovedness of every human being
–And envision a world of belonging
–Where everyone matters
Discover captivating conversations with leading authors, professors, and experts who delve into what it truly means to be human and what makes life good. If you're ready to explore helpful, beautiful perspectives on belonging and belovedness and mattering, now is the perfect time to join.
Subscribe today to catch new episodes every other week, beginning September 10. Let’s reimagine the good life together.
Mark your calendar, and make sure you’re subscribed. You won’t want to miss this.
REIMAGINING THE GOOD LIFE is available wherever you get your podcasts.
Also, check out my live, online WORKSHOP: Reimagining Family Life with Disability. Use code FAMILY24 to take 30% off registration! It begins September 18th!
YouTube Channel: video with closed captions
Let’s Reimagine the Good Life together. Find out more at amyjuliabecker.com.
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
Send us a Text Message.
What does it mean to live a good life? How do we find meaning and happiness in our everyday lives? In this episode, Amy Julia Becker sits down with Meghan Sullivan, co-author of The Good Life Method and philosophy professor at Notre Dame, to explore:
- The narrow American understanding of the good life
- How to help students (and all of us) explore the big questions about life, purpose, and meaning
- How individuals with intellectual disabilities contribute to our understanding of humanity
- The relationship between love, attention, and the good life
- Expanding our conceptions of work and vocation
_
SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia's Reimagining the Good Life newsletter.
_
Guest Bio:
Meghan Sullivan is the Wilsey Family College Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. She serves as Director of the University-wide Ethics Initiative and is the founding director of Notre Dame’s Institute for Ethics and the Common Good, which will launch in the summer of 2024. In 2022, Sullivan published The Good Life Method with Penguin Press (co-authored with her teaching collaborator Paul Blaschko) based on a wildly popular introductory philosophy course she developed at Notre Dame called “God and the Good Life.” Sullivan has degrees from the University of Virginia, Oxford University, and Rutgers University, where she earned a PhD in philosophy. She studied at Balliol College, Oxford University, as a Rhodes Scholar.
_
Connect Online:
- Website: meghansullivan.org
- Facebook: @sullivan.meghan
_
On the Podcast:
- The Good Life Method: Reasoning Through the Big Questions of Happiness, Faith, and Meaning by Meghan Sullivan, Ph.D. and Paul Blaschko
- Questions for a Life Worth Living with Matt Croasmun (Yale)
- Young Minds in Critical Condition by Michael Roth
_
TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/meghan-sullivan/
_
YouTube: video with closed captions
_
Let’s Reimagine the Good Life together. Find out more at amyjuliabecker.com.
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
Send us a Text Message.
In a society often obsessed with intelligence, can we reimagine a good life that encompasses joy, meaning, and respect for all? What does it mean to respect and support individuals with profound intellectual disabilities? What role do those most intimately involved in providing care have in advocacy? Professor Amy Lutz, Ph.D., author of Chasing the Intact Mind, joins Amy Julia Becker to discuss:
- How the severely autistic and intellectually disabled were excluded from the debates that affect them most
- Controversy and misconceptions about sheltered workshops/14(c) programs
- The importance of meaningful relationships and community
- Building a caring and committed workforce of caregivers
- Listening to caregivers and families
_
FREE RESOURCE: 10 Ways to Move Toward a Good Future (especially for families affected by disability)
_
GUEST BIO
Professor Amy Lutz, Ph.D., is a historian of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research locates at the intersection of disability history and bioethics. She is a founding board member of the National Council on Severe Autism (NCSA) and the author of Chasing the Intact Mind and several other books. She lives outside Philadelphia with her husband and five children, including Jonah, her 25-year-old son with profound autism.
_
CONNECT ONLINE
- Website: amysflutz.com/
_
ON THE PODCAST
- Chasing the Intact Mind: How the Severely Autistic and Intellectually Disabled Were Excluded from the Debates That Affect Them Most by Amy Lutz, Ph.D.
- The Lancet Commission on the future of care and clinical research in autism
- Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act
- United States Commission on Civil Rights 2020
- John Swinton
- Amy Julia’s essay about the spiritual lives of people with intellectual disabilities
_
TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/amy-lutz/
_
YouTube Channel: video with closed captions
Let’s Reimagine the Good Life together. Find out more at amyjuliabecker.com and subscribe here to receive my weekly thoughts and reflections.
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
Send us a Text Message.
How do you hold onto hope in the midst of suffering? How can we trust in the goodness of God in a world of pain? What does the good life look like in the midst of disability and uncertainty? Katherine Wolf, author with Alex Wolf of Treasures in the Dark, survived a catastrophic stroke at the age of 26 and continues her recovery to this day. She offers thoughtful answers to these questions as she talks with Amy Julia Becker about:
- Her personal journey of suffering and hope
- Practices and habits of hope
- Caring for others in pain
- Differences between hope and toxic positivity
- The non-linear journey and unexpected realities of healing
FREE RESOURCE: 10 Ways to Move Toward a Good Future (especially for families affected by disability)
_
Guest Bio:
Katherine & Jay Wolf are communicators and advocates. They married and moved to Los Angeles to pursue careers in law and the entertainment industry. Their son, James was born in 2007, and six months later Katherine’s life nearly ended with a catastrophic stroke. Miraculously, she survived and continues her recovery to this day, including having a miracle baby, John in 2015. Katherine and Jay have shared their journey of steadfast hope through their books and at speaking events. Together, they founded Hope Heals camp, a community for families with disabilities like them. Katherine, Jay and their two sons live in the Atlanta area.
_
Connect Online:
- Website: hopeheals.com
FREE RESOURCE: 10 Ways to Move Toward a Good Future (especially for families affected by disability)
_
On the Podcast:
- The GoodHard Story podcast
- Treasures in the Dark by Katherine Wolf, with Alex Wolf (+ more of Katherine’s books)
- Hope Heals Camp
- Mend Coffee & Goods in Atlanta
- Sara Groves’ Open My Hands
- Mike Foster | People of the Second Chance
- Psalm 84:11
- John 16:33
- John 9
- Isaiah 45:3
- FREE RESOURCE: 10 Ways to Move Toward a Good Future (especially for families affected by disability)
_
TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/katherine-wolf/
_
YouTube video
_
Let’s Reimagine the Good Life together. Find out more at amyjuliabecker.com.
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
We are heading into another contentious Presidential election. For people of faith, for people who care about character and gentleness and values, for people who are inclined to disengage from politics altogether, what are we to do? Michael Wear, author of The Spirit of Our Politics, joins Amy Julia Becker to talk about:
- His work as a staffer in the Obama White House (Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships)
- How political anger and polarization malform individuals, families, churches, and communities
- Habits and practices for gentle, hopeful political engagement
- Stewarding political influence for the good of our neighbors
- Politics and identity
- A new imagination for political engagement
Workshop with Amy Julia: Reimagining Family Life With Disability
_
Guest Bio:
“Michael Wear is the Founder, President and CEO of the Center for Christianity and Public Life, a nonpartisan, nonprofit institution based in the nation's capital with the mission to contend for the credibility of Christian resources in public life, for the public good. For well over a decade, he has served as a trusted resource and advisor for a range of civic leaders on matters of faith and public life, including as a White House and presidential campaign staffer. He is the author of The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life, a paradigm-shifting book that advances a vision for spiritual formation in the context of political life, and the author and co-author of several other books.”
_
Connect Online:
- Website: www.michaelwear.com
_
On the Podcast:
- Dallas Willard
- The Center for Christianity and Public Life
- The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard
- The Great Omission by Dallas Willard
- Eitan Hersh
- Acts 8
- Workshop with Amy Julia: Reimagining Family Life With Disability
_
TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/michael-wear/
_
YouTube Channel: video with closed captions
_
Let’s Reimagine the Good Life together. Find out more at amyjuliabecker.com.
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
What's the difference between limitations and brokenness? What does it mean to be blessed? How can a dual diagnosis of Down syndrome and autism be a part of a flourishing life? Micha Boyett, a writer, poet, and mom, joins Amy Julia Becker to talk about her new book Blessed Are the Rest of Us. They explore the intersection of blessing, limits, and longing within the context of the Beatitudes, including:
- The meaning of 'blessed' and how it relates to the gifts and challenges of being human
- Flourishing in the midst of grief and hardship
- The importance of insisting on presence and inclusion for people with disabilities
- How to recognize and accept limitations without equating them with brokenness
- Using our imaginations, minds, and bodies to move toward a new vision of the good life
Workshop with Amy Julia: Reimagining Family Life With Disability
Guest Bio:Micha Boyett is the author of Blessed Are the Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole. She is cohost of the award-winning The Lucky Few podcast, creator of The Slow Way podcast and newsletter, and has written for publications such as the Washington Post and Christianity Today. Micha lives with her husband and three children in northern New Jersey and works part-time as a youth pastor at Good Shepherd Church in New York City.
Connect Online:
- Website: michaboyett.com
- Instagram: @michaboyett
- Threads: @michaboyett
On the Podcast:
- {The Transition to Adulthood} Amy Julia on the Lucky Few Podcast
- {Living into the Really Real} Micha on Amy Julia’s podcast
- The Beatitudes
- The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing: A Theological Commentary by Jonathan T. Pennington
- Nick Cave on Krista Tippett’s On Being podcast
- Amy Julia’s book White Picket Fences
- The Slow Way podcast and newsletter
- Workshop with Amy Julia: Reimagining Family Life With Disability
TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/micha-boyett/
YouTube Channel: video with closed captions
Let’s Reimagine the Good Life together. Find out more at amyjuliabecker.com.
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
{Please note that we discuss abuse in this episode.}
How do we love people across our political and social divides? What are the costs and gifts of loving our political neighbor? Nancy French, author of Ghosted: An American Story, talks with Amy Julia Becker about:
- Her experiences as a ghostwriter for GOP politicians and her decision to leave the industry
- Polarization within the church and the political landscape
- Inadequate responses to abuse from both the church and the culture
- The cost of speaking out
- Finding hope and connection in surprising ways
New Workshop with Amy Julia: Reimagining Family Life With Disability
_
GUEST BIO:Nancy French has collaborated on multiple books for celebrities - five of which made the New York Times best seller list - and written books under her own name. She has conducted a multi-year journalistic investigation, written commentary, and published for the nation’s most prominent newspapers and magazines. Her memoir, Ghosted, is a story of poverty, success and the rise and fall of political influence. She lives in Franklin, Tennessee with her husband – journalist David French – and family.
_
CONNECT ONLINE
- Website: nancyfrench.com
- Instagram: @nancyjanefrench
- Facebook: @NancyAndersonFrench
- Twitter: @NancyAFrench
_
ON THE PODCAST:
- New Workshop with Amy Julia: Reimagining Family Life With Disability
- Ghosted: An American Story by Nancy French
- The Washington Post: What it’s like to experience the 2016 election as both a conservative and a sex abuse survivor by Nancy French
- Nancy’s Kanakuk Kamp investigation
- David French at the New York Times
_
TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/nancy-french/
_
YouTube Channel: video with closed captions
_
Let’s Reimagine the Good Life together. Find out more at amyjuliabecker.com.
_
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
Why does it matter that most churches don’t welcome people with disabilities in leadership? If a church excludes people with disabilities, is it really a church? Rev. Dr. Andrew Draper, coauthor of Disabling Leadership, talks with Amy Julia Becker about:
- Ways in which churches exclude and marginalize people with disabilities
- Why it’s essential to centralize people with disabilities in church life and leadership
- How disability inclusion benefits the whole congregation
- Reimagining church employment practices to create opportunities for people with disabilities
- Why churches are tempted to pursue efficiency and productivity, and the invitation to a different way
- How to minister in the midst of humanness
Workshop: Reimagining Family Life with Disability
EVENT: Festival of Faith & Writing
__
Guest Bio:
Rev. Dr. Andrew T. Draper (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is founding teaching pastor at Urban Light Community Church in Muncie, Indiana, and adjunct theology faculty at Anderson School of Theology and Winebrenner Seminary. He is the author of A Theology of Race and Place, Christian Mission and Poverty, and numerous articles on race, disability, and the church. He is the coauthor of Disabling Leadership: A Practical Theology for the Broken Body of Christ.
_
Connect Online:
- Read Andrew's blog.
- Follow him on Twitter: @AndrewTDraper
_
On the Podcast:
- Disabling Leadership: A Practical Theology for the Broken Body of Christ by Andrew T. Draper, Jody Michele, and Andrea Mae
- Brian Brock
- I Corinthians 12
- Friendship House (Western Theological Seminary)
- Friendship House (Aberdeen)
- Workshop: Reimagining Family Life with Disability
_
TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/andrew-draper/
_
YouTube: video with closed captions
_
Let’s reimagine the good life together. Find out more at amyjuliabecker.com.
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
Why would a Christian author immerse her stories in darkness? Why would she use violent imagery that directly relates to Christianity, race, class, disability, and illness? And how can this darkness guide us toward the importance of love in the flesh, of personal connection and vulnerability? In this conversation, Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson, author of Flannery O’Connor’s Why Do the Heathen Rage? A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a Work in Progress, and Amy Julia Becker explore:
- Flannery O'Connor's unique perspective on faith and darkness
- The portrayal of disability in O’Connor’s stories
- Love in the abstract versus love in the flesh
- Challenges of publishing an unfinished manuscript
- How the prophetic imagination in O'Connor's work confronts the dominant culture's illusions about the good life
Register for the Festival of Faith & Writing
__
Guest Bio:
Jessica Hooten Wilson (PhD, Baylor University) is the Fletcher Jones Endowed Chair of Great Books at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. She is the author or editor of eight books, including Flannery O’Connor’s Why Do the Heathen Rage? A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a Work in Progress, Reading for the Love of God, The Scandal of Holiness (winner of a Christianity Today 2023 Award of Merit), and Giving the Devil His Due: Demonic Authority in the Fiction of Flannery O’Connor and Fyodor Dostoevsky (winner of a 2018 Christianity Today Book of the Year Award). Wilson speaks around the world on topics as varied as Russian novelists, Catholic thinkers, and Christian ways of reading.
__
Connect Online:
- Website: https://jessicahootenwilson.com/
- Instagram: @drjessicahootenwilson
- Facebook: @JessicaHootenWilson
- Twitter: @HootenWilson
On the Podcast:
- Flannery O’Connor’s Why Do the Heathen Rage? A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a Work in Progress
- Register for the Festival of Faith & Writing
TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/jessica-hooten-wilson
__
Let’s Reimagine the Good Life together through the lens of disability, faith, and culture. Find out more at amyjuliabecker.com.
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
Is blindness an incidental characteristic, like hair color? Or is it an identity? What language should we use to talk about disability, and why does it matter? Andrew Leland, author of The Country of the Blind, joins Amy Julia Becker on the podcast for a conversation examining:
- Blindness and identity
- The importance of language and the use of metaphors in relation to disability
- How the experience of disability can involve beauty, power, and loss
- The role of allies in advocating with disabled individuals
- How Andrew has reimagined the good life
_
Amy Julia’s upcoming events
_
Guest Bio:
Andrew Leland is a writer, audio producer, editor, and teacher living in Western Massachusetts. His first book, The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight, about the world of blindness (and figuring out his place in it), was published in July 2023 by Penguin Press. You can find links to order a copy here.
_
Connect Online:
- Website: www.andrewleland.org
- Instagram: @quailty
_
On the Podcast:
- Amy Julia’s upcoming events
- Leland’s New Yorker essay “How to Be Blind”
- National Federation of the Blind
- Sara Hendren’s book and podcast episode with Amy Julia
- Amy S. F. Lutz’s Chasing the Intact Mind
- Death Panel podcast
- John McWhorter’s NYT essay: “When We Do, and Don’t, Need a New Phrase to Describe Reality”
- Disability Language Style Guide
TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/andrew-leland/
_
YouTube: video with closed captions
_
Reimagine the Good Life with me through the lens of disability, faith, and culture as we challenge assumptions about the good life, proclaim the inherent belovedness of every human being, and envision a world of belonging. Find out more at amyjuliabecker.com.
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
This podcast has a new name: Reimagining the Good Life. If you’re asking, “Why a name change?” and “Why now?”—I have answers! Author and teacher Patricia Clarke talks with me about:
- How disability challenges assumptions about the good life
- Accepting limitations and finding freedom within them
- How faith and culture shape our understanding of the good life
- The power of reimagining what’s possible
- What all of this has to do with changing the podcast name!
_
GUEST BIO:
Patricia Clarke is a speaker, teacher, and writer who brings people from different backgrounds together to talk about faith. She holds a master’s degree in English Literature, a Barnabas Counseling Certificate, and is currently enrolled in the Master of Theology program at Fuller Theological Seminary. In her new workbook, Lifted by Love, Clarke weaves her personal faith, love of storytelling, and teaching skills together to bring the wisdom of the Bible into daily life. She currently lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband and four children. For up-to-date information, follow her on Instagram @patriciaclarkestudies or visit her website to subscribe to her updates: patriciaclarke.org.
_
On the Podcast:
- Patricia Clarke’s book Lifted by Love
- Steve Perkins at Greenhouse Coaching
- Amy Julia’s book White Picket Fences
- Andrew Leland’s book Country of the Blind
- Micha Boyett’s book Blessed Are the Rest of Us
- Treasures in the Darkby Katherine Wolfe and Alex Wolf
- John McWhorter’s misunderstanding of disability
- Subscribe to Amy Julia’s updates
_
TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/podcast-reimagining-good-life/
_
YouTube Channel: video with closed captions
_
Reimagine the Good Life with me through the lenses of disability, faith, and culture. Find out more at amyjuliabecker.com.
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
Is faith something that should always stay the same? Or is it something that evolves by necessity? Sarah Bessey, author of Field Notes for the Wilderness, talks with Amy Julia Becker about:
- Her evolving faith journey
- How to adapt and thrive in an evolving faith
- Making room for change, in ourselves and others
- Navigating the intersection of anger and joy
- How to discover what we're hoping for, not just what we’re against
- How to embrace the gifts of an evolving faith
__
MY LENTEN RESOURCES:
- LENTEN DAILY DEVOTIONAL
- Lenten Small Group Guide & Video Series
_
Guest Bio:Sarah Bessey is the author or editor of five books, including the New York Times bestsellerA Rhythm of Prayer. Her latest book is Field Notes for the Wilderness: Practices for an Evolving Faith.. She also leads Evolving Faith, a conference and online community for people who are reimagining their faith with hope. Bessey lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with her husband and their four children.
_
Connect Online:
- Website: sarahbessey.com
- Instagram: @sarahbessey
- Facebook:@sarah.styles.bessey
_
On the Podcast:
- Jesus Feminist: An Invitation to Revisit the Bible's View of Women
_
TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/sarah-bessey/
_
YouTube Channel: video with closed captions
_
Season 7 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
Holiday culture wars and consumerism bring more chaos than joy to the world. But there’s hope. The countercultural season of Advent offers a different way to prepare for Christmas. Tish Harrison Warren, former New York Times columnist and author, talks with Amy Julia Becker about:
- How the practices of Advent disarm the culture wars
- Ways that Advent helps us grieve and hope
- Why waiting to celebrate Christmas matters
- PLUS why Tish chose to leave the New York Times
Give a book for Christmas!
__
Guest Bio:
Tish Harrison Warren is a priest in the Anglican Church in North America. She is a former New York Times columnist the author of Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life (Christianity Today's 2018 Book of the Year) and Prayer in the Night: For Those Who Work, or Watch, or Weep (Christianity Today's 2022 Book of the Year and the 2022 ECPA Christian Book of the Year). Her latest book is Advent: The Season of Hope. She is a founding member of The Pelican Project and a Senior Fellow with the Trinity Forum. She lives with her husband and three children in Austin, Texas.
__
Connect Online:
- Visit Tish's website at tishharrisonwarren.com
- Follow Tish on Instagram: @tishharrisonwarren
__
On the Podcast:
- Advent: The Season of Hope
- More of Tish's books
- Tish’s final essay at the Times
- Amy Julia's books
__
TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com//tish-harrison-warren/
__
YouTube Channel: video with closed captions
__
Season 7 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
Anxious parents. Anxious families. Anxiety is contagious. How do I know if I’m an anxious parent? And if I am one, how is that affecting my kids? What can I do about it—for their sake and for mine? Therapist and author Sissy Goff, LPC-MHSP, joins Amy Julia Becker on the podcast to talk about:
- How to identify and stop anxiety loops
- Why failure is good for parents and kids
- Common parenting strategies that DON’T work
- Practical tools for changing thought and behavior patterns
- PLUS you get to listen in to Amy Julia’s own parenting therapy session when she tells Sissy the hardest thing for her as a parent right now!
Advent Devotional: Prepare Him Room is available now!
__
GUEST BIO:
“Sissy Goff, LPC-MHSP, has worked as the director of child and adolescent counseling at Daystar Counseling Ministries since 1993. She speaks to parents and children's ministers across the country, is a frequent guest on media outlets, and is the author of 13 books including her latest, The Worry-Free Parent. She also co-hosts the chart-topping Raising Boys and Girls podcast, with fellow Daystar Counselor David Thomas.”
__
Connect Online:
- Website: www.raisingboysandgirls.com
- Instagram: @RaisingBoysandGirls and @sissygoff
- Facebook: @raisingboysandgirls
- YouTube: @raisingboysandgirls
__
On the Podcast:
- The Worry-Free Parent: Living in Confidence so Your Kids Can Too (Bethany House)
- The Worry-Free Parent Workbook
__
TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/sissy-goff/
__
YouTube Channel: video with closed captions
Season 7 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
How do we show up for each other in the midst of pain? Is it possible to hope when we’re suffering? Psychiatrist Curt Thompson, author of The Deepest Place, joins Amy Julia Becker to talk about:
- How to identify the denial and shame we’ve connected to suffering
- How to form durable hope in the darkest places
- How to help a friend in the midst of suffering
__
Guest Bio:
“Inspired by deep compassion for others and informed from a Christian perspective, psychiatrist Curt Thompson shares fresh insights and practical applications for developing more authentic relationships and fully experiencing our deepest longing: to be known. He helps people process their longings, grief, identity, purpose, perspective of God, and perspective of humanity, inviting them to engage more authentically with their own stories and their relationships. Only then can they feel truly known and connected and live into the meaningful reality they desire to create. Curt and his wife, Phyllis, live outside of Washington DC and have two adult children.”
__
Connect Online:
- Website: curtthompsonmd.com
- Instagram: @curtthompsonmd
- Facebook: @CurtThompsonMD
- Twitter: @curt_thompsonmd
__
On the Podcast:
- The Deepest Place: Suffering and the Formation of Hope
- Amy Julia’s book: To Be Made Well: An Invitation to Wholeness, Healing, and Hope
- Hope Heals Camp
- Hebrews 12:1-3
- The Bible Project
- Genesis 2
- Genesis: The Story We Haven't Heard by Paul Borgman
__
TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/curt-thompson/
__
YouTube Channel(interviewvideo with closed captions)
__
Season 7 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
What happens when women receive a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome? How does that diagnosis affect those women and their families? How does it affect our whole society? Stephanie Meredith joins Amy Julia Becker for a conversation about her new report on the bias doctors have when giving a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome, including:
- The landscape of prenatal testing
- How doctors approach it and what they could do better
- Why these conversations matter outside the Down syndrome space
__
FREE DOWNLOAD: 5 THINGS I WISH I'D KNOWN WHEN OUR DAUGHTER WAS DIAGNOSED WITH DOWN SYNDROME
__
Guest Bio:Stephanie Meredith is the Director of the National Center for Prenatal and Postnatal Resources at the University of Kentucky’s Human Development Institute and co-author and lead author of numerous studies, including “The impact of implicit and explicit bias about disabilities on parent experiences and information provided during prenatal screening and testing” in the Disability and Health Journal. In addition, she is a 4th-year doctoral student at Georgia State University with a focus on disability and health and the mother of a 23-year-old with Down syndrome and two younger daughters.
__
Connect Online:
- www.lettercase.org
- Instagram: @lettercaseorg
- Facebook: @lettercaseorg
__
On the Podcast:
- Report in the Disability and Health Journal
- TIME: Doctors Don’t Know How to Talk About Down Syndrome
- Lettercase
- HHS and Disability Discrimination
- NYT: When They Warn of Rare Disorders, These Prenatal Tests Are Usually Wrong
- S7 E3 | Netflix’s Down for Love with Robyn Paterson
__
TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/stephanie-meredith/
YouTube Channel: video with closed captions
Season 7 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
Have you watched the new show on Netflix called Down for Love? It’s a reality dating show for people with Down syndrome, and we’re celebrating the start of Down Syndrome Awareness month with a conversation with the producer of Down for Love, Robyn Paterson. We talk about:
- How the show was created
- The diversity of the Down syndrome community
- The universal desire for love, relationships, and connection
- BONUS CONTENT: At the end of the episode, I talk with Penny, our 17-year-old daughter who has Down syndrome, about her thoughts on Down for Love.
___
FREE DOWNLOAD: 5 THINGS I WISH I'D KNOWN WHEN OUR DAUGHTER WAS DIAGNOSED WITH DOWN SYNDROME
___
TIME ESSAY: Doctors Don't Know How to Talk About Down Syndrome
___
GUEST BIO:
“Robyn Paterson is a New Zealand-based producer, director and writer known for Down for Love (2022), Grand Designs New Zealand (2015) and In the Zone (2018). She works across various roles within multiple formats, including television factual, documentary & entertainment series, documentary feature, web-series, comedy, and drama. She has a background as an actress and presenter, and is the current president of the Directors & Editors Guild of Aotearoa New Zealand.”
___
Connect Online:
- Website: https://www.robynpaterson.co.nz/
- Instagram: @_robynpaterson_
___
On the Podcast:
- Down for Love
- New Zealand Down Syndrome Association
___
TRANSCRIPT: amyjuliabecker.com/robyn-paterson/
YouTube Channel: video with closed captions
___
Season 7 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
Do you wrestle with anxiety? Are you plagued with worries? Do you think you’ve conquered anxiety? Curtis Chang, author of The Anxiety Opportunity, joins Amy Julia Becker for a conversation that uncovers:
- what anxiety really is all about
- spiritual practices for facing anxiety
- practical ways we can grow in the midst of anxiety
__
Guest Bio:
Curtis Chang is a theologian and consulting faculty member of Duke Divinity School and a Senior Fellow at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is the founder of Redeeming Babel and the host of the Good Faith podcast. His latest book is The Anxiety Opportunity: How Worry Is the Doorway to Your Best Self.
__
Connect Online:
- Redeeming Babel
- Instagram: @redeemingbabel
- Facebook: @redeemingbabel
- Twitter: @hcurtischangRB
__
On the Podcast:
- The Anxiety Opportunity: How Worry Is the Doorway to Your Best Self
- To Be Made Well: An Invitation to Wholeness, Healing, and Hope
- The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
- The Good Faith podcast
- Matthew 6:25-34
- Matthew 26:36-46
- Psalm 139
- Jesus Is the Question: The 307 Questions Jesus Asked and the 3 He Answered by Martin B. Copenhaver
__
Transcript: amyjuliabecker.com/curtis-chang/
YouTube Channel: video with closed captions
__
Season 7 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
Connect with me:
- YouTube
- Website
Thanks for listening!
“Whose stories matter?” Esau McCaulley, author of How Far to the Promised Land, joins Amy Julia Becker for an honest, hopeful conversation about:
- being Black in America
- honoring the messiness and complexity of our humanity
- holding on to hope in the goodness of God
“How do the people whom we love, who hurt us, shape the kind of people we become? And how do we make peace with that?”
_
Guest Bio:
“Rev. Esau McCaulley, PhD is an author and associate professor of New Testament at Wheaton College. His writing and speaking focus on New Testament theology, African American Biblical interpretation, and Christian public theology. His new memoir How Far to the Promised Land, questions the narrative of exceptionalism that he, and other Black survivors, are conditioned to give when they “make it” in America. His book Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope won numerous awards, including Christianity Today’s book of the year. Esau is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times. His writings have also appeared in places such as The Atlantic, Washington Post, and Christianity Today.”
_
Connect Online:
- Website: esaumccaulley.com
- Instagram: @esaumccaulley
- Facebook: @OfficialEsauMcCaulley
- Twitter: @esaumccaulley
_
On the Podcast:
- Previous episode: S3 E11 | The Black Church’s Gift to Christianity with Esau McCaulley
- Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope
- Children’s book: Josey Johnson’s Hair and the Holy Spirit
- Lent: The Season of Repentance and Renewal
- Genesis 25:19-27:45
_
For transcript, go here: amyjuliabecker.com/esau-mccaulley
_
Season 7 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
_
*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.
Connect with me:
- Website
Thanks for listening!
Love is stronger than fear.
What if we really believed it? What if we lived into love and weren’t overcome by anxiety? What if, even in the midst of the harrowing realities of our global catastrophes and the mundane realities of our everyday lives—what if we could live in a way that deepens who we are, that connects us to ourselves, to God, to one another?
I’m Amy Julia Becker, and this is a podcast about what it means to be human beings who seek love rather than fear, hope rather than cynicism, healing rather than division.
In this season, I am excited to talk with Esau McCaulley about wrestling with his humanity as a Black man in America, and with Curtis Chang about the possibilities that open up when we face our own anxiety. Other guests include New York Times columnist Tish Harrison Warren and bestselling author Curt Thompson. We’ll talk about disability and culture and spirituality and maybe some politics and, again, about walking with courage along a way of grace and love.
The first episode will drop on September 5th. Meanwhile, now is the time to let other people know about this podcast by sharing this trailer with them, leaving a rating or review, and, if you haven’t already, subscribing so you can get new content every two weeks.
Connect with me:
- Website
Thanks for listening!
Is racism baked into our nation’s DNA? Is there any hope for change? John Blake, a CNN journalist and author of More Than I Imagined, explores the personal and social aspects of race as he shares:
- his own experience as a biracial kid growing up in West Baltimore
- time at Howard University and working for CNN
- understanding of race and faith in America
- experience of learning about his own white family as a young adult
- reasons for hope
_
Guest Bio:
John Blake is an award-winning journalist at CNN.com and an author. He has been honored by the Associated Press, the Society of Professional Journalists, the American Academy of Religion, the National Association of Black Journalists, the Religion Communicators Council and with the GLAAD Media Award…He has spoken at high schools, colleges, symposiums and in documentaries about topics such as race, religion and politics. Blake is a native of Baltimore, Maryland and a graduate of Howard University.
_
Connect Online:
- Website
_
On the Podcast:
- More Than I Imaginedby John Blake
- Cry of the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
- Beloved by Toni Morrison
Transcript available at: amyjuliabecker.com/john-blake/
_
Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
_
A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.
Connect with me:
- Website
Thanks for listening!
How do we prepare now to die well? Can we reimagine care of the dying in all of its messiness as a gift?
Dr. Lydia Dugdale, a medical ethicist, internal medicine doctor, professor, and author of The Lost Art of Dying, talks with Amy Julia Becker about:
- Disability
- Death
- Medical assistance in dying
- Honoring all human life as the gift it is without idolizing life
__
Guest Bio:
“Lydia Dugdale MD, MAR, is the Dorothy L. and Daniel H. Silberberg Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at Columbia University. Prior to her 2019 move to Columbia, she was Associate Director of the Program for Biomedical Ethics and founding Co-Director of the Program for Medicine, Spirituality, and Religion at Yale School of Medicine. She is an internal medicine primary care doctor and medical ethicist. Her first book, Dying in the Twenty-First Century (MIT Press, 2015), provides the theoretical grounding for this current book. She lives with her husband and daughters in New York City.”
__
Connect Online:
- Website: lydiadugdale.com
__
On the Podcast:
- Book: The Lost Art of Dying: Reviving Forgotten Wisdom
__
Interview transcript and more: amyjuliabecker.com/lydia-dugdale
__
Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
__
*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.
Connect with me:
- Website
Thanks for listening!
Do you feel like you have to stay strong to survive? Aundi Kolber, a licensed professional counselor and author, talks with Amy Julia Becker about her latest book, Strong Like Water. They discuss how to:
- become strong in new ways
- receive and participate in healing
- live with compassion towards ourselves and carry love in our bodies
__
Guest Bio
“Aundi Kolber is a licensed professional counselor (MA, LPC) and author of the critically acclaimed Try Softer. She has received additional training in her specialization of trauma- and body-centered therapies and is passionate about the integration of faith and psychology. Aundi regularly speaks at local and national events, and she has appeared on podcasts such as The Lazy Genius with Kendra Adachi, Typology, Go and Tell Gals, and The Next Right Thing with Emily P. Freeman. As a survivor of trauma, Aundi brings hard-won knowledge about the work of change, the power of redemption, and the beauty of experiencing God with us in our pain.”
__
Connect Online:
- Aundi’s website
- Aundi on Instagram
- Aundi on Twitter
__
On the Podcast:
- Book: Strong like Water: Finding the Freedom, Safety, and Compassion to Move through Hard Things--and Experience True Flourishing
- Dr. Gabor Maté
__
Transcript:
For transcript and more, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/aundi-kolber/
__
Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.
Connect with me:
- Website
Thanks for listening!
In an environment of deconstruction, how do we identify what needs to be torn down? And in the midst of the rubble, what are we rebuilding? Dr. Yolanda Pierce, author of In My Grandmother’s House, joins Amy Julia Becker for a conversation about:
- grandmother theology
- deconstructing Christian faith
- Black Jesus and unlearning racial hierarchies
- hope that something true and good and beautiful can be renewed and rebuilt within the church and within our world
__
Guest Bio:“Yolanda Pierce, PhD, is a scholar, writer, womanist theologian, and accomplished administrator in higher education. She was appointed the Founding Director of the Center for African American Religious Life at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). And she currently serves as Professor and Dean of the Howard University School of Divinity.” Dr. Pierce will soon be Dean of Vanderbilt Divinity School.
__
Book: In My Grandmother’s House: Black Women, Faith, and the Stories We Inherit __Connect Online:
- Website: yolandapierce.com
- Twitter: @YNPierce
__
For the transcript, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/yolanda-pierce
The transcript will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.
__
Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
Connect with me:
- Website
Thanks for listening!
How do we step into the good work of kingdom justice? In this episode:
- hear the story of Michelle Ferrigno Warren, a faith-rooted justice advocate and activist
- learn how to be a faithful ally in this life-giving, transformative justice work
__
Guest Bio:Michelle is the president and CEO of Virago Strategies, a consulting group that provides strategic direction and project management for civic engagement campaigns alongside communities affected by racial and economic injustice. She helped found Open Door Ministries in downtown Denver to address poverty, addiction, and homelessness. She is also the author of a new book,Join the Resistance. __
Connect Online:
- Website: michelleferrignowarren.com
- Instagram: @michelleferrignowarren
- Facebook: @michelle.f.warren.1
- Twitter: @mcfwarren
__
On the Podcast:
- Michelle’s books: Join the Resistance and The Power of Proximity
- Open Door Ministries
- I John 3:18
- Nicholas Wolterstorff
- Micah 6:8
- Hebrews 11
- Amos 5:24
__
Transcript and more: amyjuliabecker.com/michelle-ferrigno-warren
__
Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
__
*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.
Connect with me:
- Website
Thanks for listening!
What should you hope for? What’s worth investing your life in? How do you define and create a flourishing life? Matt Croasmun, coauthor of Life Worth Living, joins me to discuss:
- How to ask life’s big questions
- Why pursuing those questions matters
- How to disagree with respect, friendship, and kindness in the midst of those questions
“Matt Croasmun is an Associate Research Scholar and the Director of the Life Worth Living program at the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School and a Lecturer of Divinity and Humanities at Yale University. He is also a staff pastor at the Elm City Vineyard Church, a dynamic, diverse, urban church.”
Connect Online:
- Website: matthewcroasmun.com
- Twitter: @mattcroasmun
On the Podcast:
- Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most by Miroslav Volf, Matthew Croasmun, and Ryan McAnnally-Linz
- Education's End: Why Our Colleges and Universities Have Given Up on the Meaning of Lifeby Anthony Kronman
Transcript and more: amyjuliabecker.com/matt-croasmun/
Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.
Connect with me:
- Website
Thanks for listening!
In an anxious, rational world, is there a place for enchantment? Katherine May, New York Times bestselling author of Wintering and Enchantment, talks with Amy Julia Becker about awakening wonder, relearning enchantment, connecting to the natural world, and living every day with a continual sense of the presence of God. __
Guest Bio:“Katherine May is an internationally bestselling author and podcaster living in Whitstable, UK. Her journalism and essays have appeared in a range of publications including The New York Times, The Observer and Aeon. Katherine lives with her husband, son, two cats and a dog. She loves walking, sea-swimming and pickling slightly unappealing things.” __
Connect Online:
- Website: katherine-may.co.uk/
- Instagram: @katherinemay_
__
On the Podcast:
- Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age
- Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times
- New Yorker essay: The End of the English Major
- Genesis 1
- Zen Peacemakers
For transcript and more, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/katherine-may/
Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
__
*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.
Connect with me:
- Website
Thanks for listening!
On World Down Syndrome Day, Jillian Benfield, author of The Gift of the Unexpected, talks with me about whether it is hard to be the parent of a child with a disability, how our perspective on ourselves, faith, and the world has changed through our experiences as parents, and about the gift of the unexpected.
__
Guest Bio:
“Jillian Benfield is a former journalist and news anchor. She holds a broadcast journalism degree from the University of Georgia. Her essays about living an unexpected life have appeared on sites such as TODAY, Good Morning America, Yahoo! News, and ABC News. Jillian regularly advocates for the full inclusion of people with disabilities in her writings, in her community, and as a part of the National Down Syndrome Congress’s National Down Syndrome Advocacy Coalition. Jillian and her husband, Andy, and their three children make their home on Florida’s Space Coast.”
__
Connect Online:
- Website: jillianbenfield.com
- Instagram: @JillianBenfieldBlog
- Facebook: @jillianbenfield
- Twitter: @JillianBenfield
____
On the Podcast:
- Book: The Gift of the Unexpected: Discovering Who You Were Meant to Be When Life Goes Off Plan
- The Journey by Adam Hamilton
- Down Syndrome Diagnosis Network
Transcript and more are available at: https://amyjuliabecker.com/jillian-benfield/
__
Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order* here*! Learn more about my writing and speaking at* amyjuliabecker.com****.
A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel*.
Connect with me:
- Website
Thanks for listening!
What do our bodies tell us about ourselves and our world? And how do we listen? Lindsey Medford, author of My Body and Other Crumbling Empires, talks with Amy Julia Becker about physical and social healing and the beauty of limitations and interdependence. They discuss how healing connects to slowing down, technology, food banks, capitalism, and more. ___
Guest Bio:“Lyndsey Medford lives with a rare autoimmune disorder in the American South and is the author of My Body and Other Crumbling Empires: Lessons for Healing in a World That is Sick. She writes and speaks about spirituality and justice from a disabled and feminist perspective, through loves of friendship and land passed down by her family, in the tradition of the Christian mystics.”
More about My Body and Other Crumbling Empires: Lessons for Healing in a World That is Sick: “We live in a world that is sick. Both literally sick, with chronic illness on the rise, and figuratively sick, facing ever increasing rates of burnout, disconnection, and disaster. Lyndsey Medford draws on her experience living with a rare autoimmune disease to offer broader lessons we need to heal what ails us, both individually and communally. Whether our burnout stems from illness, systemic racism, poverty, or simply sin’s separation, we’re all in need of hope, and we are called to heal together.”
___
Connect with Lyndsey online:
- Website: lyndseymedford.com
- Instagram: @lyndseymedford
- Twitter: @lyndseymedford
___
For show notes, transcript, and more: amyjuliabecker.com/lyndsey-medford/
Coming soon
__
Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com**.
A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel*.
Connect with me:
- Website
Thanks for listening!
What is casual racism? And how did a non-fiction writer end up writing a mystery series? Author Patricia Raybon talks with Amy Julia Becker about faith and “casual racism,” Black history month, and the beauty and truth that emerge from creative storytelling.
__
Giveaway: Share this episode on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter by February 26th and tag me when you share. You’ll be entered for a chance to win a copy of Patricia’s latest book, Double the Lies.
__
Guest Bio:
“A writer of faith by day and mystery by night, Patricia Raybon is an award-winning Colorado author, essayist, and novelist who writes daring and exciting books and novels at the intersection of faith and race. After a notable career in newspaper journalism and journalism education, Patricia turned to fiction with release of a 1920s mystery series about a prim, poor but clever Black female theologian—a fan of Sherlock Holmes—who solves murder and crime in Colorado’s dangerous Klan era.”
__
Connect Online:
- Website: www.patriciaraybon.com
- Instagram: @patriciaraybon
- Facebook: @patricia.raybon
- Twitter: @patriciaraybon
__
On the Podcast:
- Patricia’s 1st interview on Amy Julia’s podcast: S3 E3 | Our Different Stories Divide Us
- All That Is Secret by Patricia Raybon
- Double the Lies by Patricia Raybon
- White Picket Fences by Amy Julia Becker
- Story by Robert McKee
- https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/
For full show notes, transcript, and more, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/patricia-raybon/
___
Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
__
*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.
Connect with me:
- Website
Thanks for listening!
In the wake of Tyre Nichols’ death in Memphis, David M. Bailey, founder of Arrabon, talks with Amy Julia Becker about the long, deep, painful, hopeful work of healing in a world that is often filled instead with quick reactions.
__
Guest Bio:David M. Bailey is the founder and chief vision officer of Arrabon, which “cultivates Christian communities to pursue healing and reconciliation in a racially divided world…For the past 5 years we have successfully partnered with organizations across the country, providing guidance, education and the tools to build more empathetic, reconciled communities.”
Connect Online:
- Website: arrabon.com
- Twitter: @davidmbailey
- Instagram: @davidmbailey
- Follow Arrabon on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter: @wearearrabon
___
On the Podcast:
- David M. Bailey on the podcast: S5 E15 | To Be Made Well; S5 E4 | What’s So Controversial About Critical Race Theory?; S3 E19 | Loving Our Enemies in a Nation Divided; S3 E1 | Waking Up to Privilege
- Tyre Nichols
- Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby
- Jemar Tisby on the podcast: S5 E10 | How Kids Can Fight Racism; S4 E1 | How Do We Fight Racism?; S3 E6 | Now Is the Time for Justice
- Reconciling All Things by Emmanuel Katongole and Chris Rice
- Amy Julia’s book To Be Made Well
- Arrabon courses
- Matthew 6:9-13
- Amy Julia's video series for Lent
- Amy Julia's Lenten devotional
__
Interview transcript and more: amyjuliabecker.com/david-bailey
__
Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
__
A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.*
Connect with me:
- Website
Thanks for listening!
Pain is more than a physical sensation; it has cultural, relational, and spiritual dimensions as well. Dr. Haider Warraich, a cardiologist and the author of The Song of Our Scars, talks with Amy Julia Becker about these dimensions, the opioid epidemic, and ways we can be a part of the story of healing, for ourselves and others. __
Guest Bio:“Haider Warraich is a doctor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and the VA Boston Healthcare System. He is the author of Modern Death and State of the Heart, and regularly writes for the New York Times and Washington Post, among others. He lives in Wellesley, Massachusetts.” __
Connect Online:
- Twitter: @haiderwarraich
__
On the Podcast:
- The Song of Our Scars: The Untold Story of Pain
For full show notes, transcript, and more, go to: https://amyjuliabecker.com/haider-warraich/
__
This conversation is a great pair with previous conversations on the podcast that I’ve had with Dr. Matthew Loftus and Liuan Huska.}
__
Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, ToBe Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.
Connect with me:
- Website
Thanks for listening!
Does anxiety characterize your relationship with time? Author Jen Pollock Michel talks with Amy Julia Becker about our posture toward time and her new book In Good Time. She offers gentle reflections on learning new habits of being and of receiving the lives we have been given.
__
Guest Bio:“Jen Pollock Michel is a writer, speaker, coach, and podcast host. She is the author of five books. Her fifth book, In Good Time, released December 13, 2022. She holds a B.A. in French from Wheaton College, an M.A. in Literature from Northwestern University, and is working to complete an M.F.A from Seattle Pacific University. After eleven years of living in Toronto, Jen now lives in Cincinnati with her husband and her two youngest children. You can follow Jen on Twitter and Instagram @jenpmichel, subscribe to her Monday letters at www.jenpollockmichel.com, and listen to episodes of the Englewood Review of Books podcast.”
__
On the Podcast:
- New book: In Good Time: 8 Habits for Reimagining Productivity, Resisting Hurry, and Practicing Peace
- S6 E9 | Spiritual Timekeeping in a New Year with James K. A. Smith
- The Divine Hours by Phyllis Tickle
- Becoming Friends of Time by John Swinton
- Three Mile an Hour God by Kosuke Koyama
- We Crashed series
- Luke 10:38-42
- Workshop
- Psalm 90
For show notes, transcript, and more, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/jen-pollock-michel/
__
Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.
Connect with me:
- Website
Thanks for listening!
Do you feel like there isn’t enough time or wish you could just get a better hold on time? This episode is a chance to enter into a way of greater freedom with time. Professor and author James K. A. Smith talks with me about history, contingency, limitations, Black Lives Matter, hope, and his latest book, How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now.
__
Guest Bio:“James K. A. Smith is professor of philosophy at Calvin University and serves as editor in chief of Image journal, a quarterly devoted to ‘art, mystery, and faith.’ Trained as a philosopher with a focus on contemporary French thought, Smith has expanded on that scholarly platform to become an engaged public intellectual and cultural critic. An award-winning author and widely traveled speaker, he has emerged as a thought leader with a unique gift of translation, building bridges between the academy, society, and the church.”
__
Connect Online:
- Website: jameskasmith.com
- Twitter: @james_ka_smith
__
On the Podcast:
- Latest book: How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now
- Christianity Today interview with Bono
- Bono’s book Surrender
- Midnight Libraryby Matt Haig
- Repetition by Kierkegaard
- Plough Essay | When Merit Drives Out Grace
- A Royal Waste of Time: The Splendor of Worshiping God and Being Church for the World by Marva Dawn
__
For full show notes, transcript, and more, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/james-k-a-smith
__
Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.
Connect with me:
- Website
Thanks for listening!
It’s Christmastime! But how do we celebrate Christmas when consumerism and church hurt bring complicated feelings to this season? Journalist Bekah McNeel and Amy Julia Becker talk about divisions within the American church and Bekah's book Bringing Up Kids When Church Lets You Down. If you are someone who is wrestling with questions of faith and doubt and how to raise kids with faith without force-feeding them answers, this conversation is for you.
__
Guest Bio:
"Bekah McNeel is a journalist, wife, and mother of two. She is the author of Bringing Up Kids When Church Lets You Down, and her work has appeared in Christianity Today, Sojourners, Relevant, The Texas Tribune, ESPN's The Undefeated, The Christian Science Monitor, Texas Public Radio, and elsewhere. In addition to pieces about parenting, she writes about education, immigration, and faith communities—as well as the occasional op-ed calling the American evangelical church to lay down its idols of White supremacy and patriarchy."
___
Connect Online:
- https://bekahmcneel.com/
- https://twitter.com/BekahMcneel
- https://www.facebook.com/bekah.mcneel/
- https://www.instagram.com/wanderbekah/
___
On the Podcast:
- Book: Bringing Up Kids When Church Lets You Down: A Guide for Parents Questioning Their Faith
- The Spiritual Child by Dr. Lisa Miller
- Amy Julia writing about faith, church, and kids
- Hebrews 4:12
- Matthew 1:21
___
Transcript, complete show notes, and more: https://amyjuliabecker.com/bekah-mcneel/
___
Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day at amyjuliabecker.com, as well as a video with closed captions on my YouTube Channel.
Connect with me:
- Website
Thanks for listening!
How does control lead to anxiety? How can we let go of the illusion of control and entrust our lives to God? Pastor and author Sharon Hodde Miller joins Amy Julia Becker for a down-to-earth, intellectually astute conversation about the wisdom surrounding control, agency, and influence.
__
Giveaway: We are giving away a copy of Sharon's latest book: The Cost of Control. To enter to win, share this podcast episode on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, and be sure to tag me! The contest will end on Sunday, December 4, at 11:59 pm ET.
__
Guest Bio:
"Sharon leads Bright City Church in Durham, NC with her husband, Ike. She writes, travels around the country speaking at churches and conferences each year, and holds a PhD on women and calling." Sharon is the author of three books, including her latest, The Cost of Control: Why We Crave It, the Anxiety It Gives Us, and the Real Power God Promises. __Connect Online:
- Website: SheWorships.com
- Instagram: @sharonhmiller
- Facebook: @sharonhoddemiller
- Twitter: @SHoddeMiller
__
On the Podcast:
- Books: The Cost of Control; Free of Me; and Nice
- Genesis 3
__
Transcript and more: amyjuliabecker.com/sharon-hodde-miller/
__
Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, as well as a video with closed captions on my YouTube Channel.
Connect with me:
- Website
Thanks for listening!
In between the extremes of selfishness and selflessness, how do we bring healing to our true selves? Dr. Alison Cook, psychologist and author, talks with Amy Julia Becker about finding our true selves and how that helps us bring health and wholeness into our relationships with God and with one another.
__
Guest Bio:“Dr. Alison Cook is a psychologist and the author of two books, including her new book, The Best of You (Thomas Nelson 2022) and Boundaries for Your Soul (Thomas Nelson 2018). For 20 years, Alison has helped women, ministry leaders, couples, and families learn how to heal painful emotions, develop confidence from the inside out, forge healthy relationships, and fully live out their God-given potential.”
__
Connect Online:
- Website: dralisoncook.com
- Instagram: @dralisoncook
- Facebook: @dralisoncook
__
On the Podcast:
- First book - Boundaries for Your Soul (talks about Internal Family Systems)
- New book: The Best of You
- Podcast episode explaining Fawn response
- Mark 12:30-31
__
Transcript and more: amyjuliabecker.com/alison-cook/__
Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my YouTube Channel.
Connect with me:
- Website
Thanks for listening!
Rest is a challenge for almost all of us in our frantic and distracted world. For anyone who is longing to stop and rest and delight but feels stuck in a pattern of never-enough-time, this conversation is for you. Ruth Haley Barton talks with Amy Julia Becker about rest as a healing practice given to us by God that leads to a spacious, generous life. Ruth is the author of many books, including her latest, Embracing Rhythms of Work and Rest.
___
Giveaway: We are giving away a copy of Embracing Rhythms of Work and Rest. To enter to win, share this podcast episode on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, and be sure to tag me! The contest will end on Sunday, November 6, at 11:59 pm ET.
___
Guest Bio:“Ruth has spent over 20 years as a student, a practitioner and a leader in the area of Christian spirituality and spiritual formation. She served on the staff of several churches before founding the Transforming Center, a ministry dedicated to creating space for God to strengthen the souls of leaders, equipping them to lead transforming communities. Ruth’s voice is courageous, authentic and unique. She is bold in tackling the issues of the day while always inviting us into deep spiritual practices that draw us nearer to God.”
___
Connect Online:
- Transforming Center on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/transformingctr/
- Transforming Center on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/transformingcenter
- Transforming Center on Twitter: https://twitter.com/transformingctr
- Ruth’s website: https://www.ruthhaleybarton.com
- Transforming Center website: https://transformingcenter.org
- Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership Podcast: https://transformingcenter.org/strengthening-the-soul-of-your-leadership-podcast/
On the Podcast:
- Ruth’s books
- Newest book: Embracing Rhythms of Work and Rest: From Sabbath to Sabbatical and Back Again
- Wayne Muller’s Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy Lives
- Mark 2:27-28
- Podcast: Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership
- Podcast episode: Season 17: Episode 5 | The Power of Unplugging
___
Transcript & More: https://amyjuliabecker.com/ruth-haley-barton/
____
Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my book To Be Made Well.
*A video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.
Connect with me:
- Website
Thanks for listening!
"The challenge is to trust again the beauty of life together.” Professor and author Willie James Jennings talks with Amy Julia Becker about the beauty, promise, and hope of Christianity, especially if and as we are able to untether Christianity from whiteness and reimagine institutions and relationships built upon mutual dependence.
__
Guest Bio:
“Willie James Jennings is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Africana Studies at Yale University. His book The Christian Imaginationwon the American Academy of Religion Award of Excellence in the Study of Religion and the Grawemeyer Award in Religion. He has also published the book After Whiteness. He is an ordained Baptist minister and served as interim pastor for several North Carolina churches. He received an undergraduate degree from Calvin University, his M.Div from Fuller Theological Seminary, and his Ph.D in religion and ethics from Duke.”
__
On the Podcast:
- Books by Willie James Jennings:
Acts: A Theological Commentary on the BibleThe Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of RaceAfter Whiteness: An Education in Belonging (Theological Education between the Times) - Amy Julia’s family trip to New Haven
- Hope Heals Camp
__
For full show notes, transcript, and more, go to: https://amyjuliabecker.com/willie-james-jennings/
__
Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, as well as a video with closed captions on my YouTube Channel.
Connect with me:
- Website
Thanks for listening!
“You belong here, as you are, who you are. Come be in this place with us.” Down syndrome advocate and author Heather Avis joins Amy Julia to talk about the importance of people with Down syndrome, celebrating Down Syndrome Awareness Month, and creating spaces of belovedness and belonging.
__
Guest Bio:“Founder of The Lucky Few and The Lucky Few Foundation, Heather Avis is a New York Times bestselling author, podcaster, and Down syndrome advocate, working to create a more inclusive world where everyone belongs.”
__
Connect Online:
- heatheravis.com
- Foundation: theluckyfewfoundation.org
- Podcast: theluckyfewpodcast.com
- Instagram: @theluckyfewfoundation; @theluckyfewofficial
- Facebook: @theluckyfewfoundation
__
On the Podcast:
- Heather's books: Everyone Belongs; Different--A Great Thing to Be!; The Lucky Few: Finding God's Best in the Most Unlikely Places; Scoot Over and Make Some Room: Creating a Space Where Everyone Belongs
- Podcast episode: 171. What does belonging actually mean? (Storytelling Tour Recap with Heather + Josh Avis!)
- Study: Disabilities in Newbery Books Newbery Award Winning Books 1975–2009: How Do They Portray Disabilities?
- Books: Wonder; Fish in a Tree; Counting by 7s; Out of My Mind; A Storm of Strawberries
- Camp: Hope Heals Camp
- Verse: Psalms 139:14
For full show notes, transcript, and more, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/heather-avis/
__
BOOK GIVEAWAY:I’m joining Heather and other moms of kids with Down syndrome over on Instagram to give away our favorite picture books and memoirs in celebration of Down Syndrome Awareness month.
You can find all the details on my October 5, 2022, Instagram post @amyjuliabecker.
__
Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
__
*A transcript of this episode will be available soon, as well as a video with closed captions on my YouTube Channel.
We may sometimes doubt the importance of our questions, but the practice of curiosity is actually a gift. Author Lore Ferguson Wilbert joins Amy Julia Becker to talk about all the questions we are invited to ask of God and of ourselves and how those questions can open up spacious places in our souls.
__
Guest Bio:“Lore Ferguson Wilbert is a writer, thinker, learner, and author ofA Curious FaithandHandle With Care. She writes for She Reads Truth, Christianity Today, and more, as well as her own site, Sayable.net. She lives in New York and has a husband named Nate, a puppy named Harper Nelle, and too many books to read in one lifetime.”
__
Connect Online:
- Website: sayable.net
- Instagram: @lorewilbert
- Twitter: @lorewilbert
__
On the Podcast:
- A Curious Faith: The Questions God Asks, We Ask, and We Wish Someone Would Ask Us
- Psalm 16:6; Genesis 3:9
- A. J. Swoboda
For complete show notes and transcript, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/lore-ferguson-wilbert/__
Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com**.
A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my YouTube Channel*.
Can goodness, beauty, and kindness make any difference at all in a wounded world? Rich Villodas talks with Amy Julia Becker about what it means to live lives formed by the love of God.
GUEST:
“Rich Villodas is the Brooklyn-born lead pastor of New Life Fellowship, a large multiracial church with more than seventy-five countries represented in Elmhurst, Queens. Rich holds a Master of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.” He is the author of two books: The Deeply Formed Life and Good and Beautiful and Kind.Connect Online:
- Website: richvillodas.com
- Instagram: @richvillodas
- Twitter: @richvillodas
On the Podcast:
- S4 E4 | Spiritual Practices That Heal with Rich Villodas
- Tired by Langston Hughes
- Barbara Brown Taylor
- Fleming Rutledge
- The Lord’s Prayer
For complete show notes, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/rich-villodas/
____
Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my YouTube Channel.
Welcome to Season 6 of Love Is Stronger Than Fear, a podcast about pursuing hope and healing in the midst of personal and social brokenness.
The lineup of guests for this podcast season is extraordinary! I can’t believe I get to talk to these people. A few of the upcoming guests include:
🎙Rich Villodas
🎙Sharon Hodde Miller
🎙Ruth Haley Barton
🎙Lore Ferguson Wilbert
🎙Haider Warraich
And more!
Our movement toward healing is like a spiral and goes back to some of the same places over and over again, and yet it’s constantly moving upward. Those movements of healing include honesty and humility and surrender and hope, and all of those movements circle around love because love is the center of healing.
The first episode—with Rich Villodas—drops Tuesday, September 6. So please join me for these conversations…you can subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. I’m excited to begin this journey with you!
How do we create communities where friendship is a possibility among people of differing abilities? Dr. John Swinton, theologian and author, talks with Amy Julia Becker about mutual relationships of care, the meaning of health and healing, and the speed of love.___
Guest Bio:
“John Swinton is chair of divinity and religious studies at the University of Aberdeen. He has published widely within the area of disability theology, spirituality and health, qualitative research, and mental health.”
___
For full show notes, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/john-swinton/___
Season 5 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my newest book, To Be Made Well...you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my* YouTube Channel**.
How do we raise children who will stand against racial injustice? Helen Lee, co-author of The Race-Wise Family, and Amy Julia Becker discuss why it’s important for all of us to talk about race, how we can do this well with and for our children, and the postures of celebration and lament. Guest Bio:
“Helen Lee has been a Christian publishing professional since 1993, when she began her career working at Christianity Today (CT) magazine. She is the director of product innovation at InterVarsity Press, where she formerly served as an associate editor, director of marketing, and associate director of strategic partnerships.”
For full show notes, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/helen-lee/___
Season 5 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my newest book, To Be Made Well...you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my* YouTube Channel**.
While Jesus welcomed the disabled, the poor, and the outcast, Christian communities are often spaces of exclusion. Dr. Amy Kenny is a disabled scholar, a Shakespeare Lecturer, and the author of My Body Is Not a Prayer Request. In this conversation, she talks with Amy Julia Becker about disability, the church, ableism, and creating communities of belonging.
___
GIVEAWAYRate and review this podcast on your favorite podcast platform. Then go here and fill out the form to enter the giveaway for the To Be Made Well audiobook! ___
Guest Bio:
"Amy Kenny is a disabled scholar and a Shakespeare Lecturer who hates Hamlet. She serves on the mayor’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Taskforce in her home city, coordinates support for people experiencing homelessness in her neighborhood, and is currently co-launching Jubilee Homes OC, a permanent supportive housing initiative in her local community. She is a Scribe for Freedom Road Institute and believes that every human is an image-bearer worthy of belonging. "
For full show notes, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/amy-kenny/___
Season 5 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my newest book, To Be Made Well...you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my* YouTube Channel**.
How do we rest in a restless world? Kate Rademacher, public health expert and author of Reclaiming Rest, talks with Amy Julia Becker about rest, burnout, healing, social justice, and the difference between religious and secular approaches to rest. GUEST BIO:“A graduate of Wesleyan University in Connecticut and the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Kate Rademacher's professional work is focused on international public health. Kate is the author of three books.” For full show notes, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/kate-rademacher/
To Be Made Well audiobook
___
Season 5 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my newest book, To Be Made Well...you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my* YouTube Channel**.
How do we reclaim personhood and relationships in a technological world? Andy Crouch, author of The Life We’re Looking For, talks with me about technology and what it means to be a person. We conclude our conversation with daily practices to help us reflect the truth that we are designed in and for love. Guest Bio:Andy Crouch is partner for theology and culture at Praxis, an organization that works as a creative engine for redemptive entrepreneurship. His writing explores faith, culture, and the image of God in the domains of technology, power, leadership, and the arts. He is the author of five books (plus another with his daughter, Amy Crouch).For full show notes, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/andy-crouch/
___
Season 5 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my newest book, To Be Made Well...you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my* YouTube Channel**.
When we need healing, is medicine the only solution? Dr. Matthew Loftus talks with Amy Julia Becker about both the limits and the role of medicine connected to healing, wholeness, and community.
Guest Bio:
Dr. Matthew Loftus teaches and practices Family Medicine in Baltimore and East Africa. His work has been featured in Mere Orthodoxy, Christianity Today, Plough, Comment, and other publications.For full show notes, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/matthew-loftus
___
Season 5 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my newest book, To Be Made Well...you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my* YouTube Channel**.
In a society that pursues happiness at all costs, how do we cultivate contentment? Niro Feliciano, psychotherapist and author of This Book Won’t Make You Happy, talks with Amy Julia Becker about the keys to finding true contentment.
Bio:
Niro Feliciano is a psychotherapist, podcast host, national media commentator, and expert on anxiety, brain science, and spirituality. She holds a master’s degree in social work from Columbia University and is a columnist for Psychology Today. A first-generation Sri Lankan American, she lives with her family in Fairfield County, Connecticut.
For full show notes, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/niro-feliciano
__
Season 5 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my newest book, To Be Made Well...you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my* YouTube Channel**.
What if I feel disappointed with God? Does grief play a role in healing? Is racial reconciliation a work of healing? Katherine Wolf and David Bailey join me for a conversation celebrating the book launch of To Be Made Well. We talk about the multidimensional nature of healing, and then we respond to questions from launch party guests at the end as we reflect on healing and hardship and hope in our personal lives and our society.
For show notes and guests' bios, go to:
amyjuliabecker.com/to-be-made-well-conversation
___
Season 5 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my newest book, To Be Made Well...you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my* YouTube Channel**.
For anyone struggling with pain or loss, for anyone concerned about the things that divide us, this episode—this book— is for you. It’s launch day for my latest book, To Be Made Well. I'm celebrating by sharing an excerpt with you! I hope you enjoy it, and if you think of other people who might find this relevant and helpful in their own lives, please pass it along to them as well.
You can find more info about To Be Made Well here.
“From hurting bodies and souls to hurting relationships and communities, it’s clear that things are not as they should be. The gospels brim with stories of Jesus healing people, but what does that mean for us today? In To Be Made Well, *author Amy Julia Becker weaves together her own story with reflections on biblical accounts of Jesus’ healing work, providing fresh insight into both the nature of healing and the pathway to healing, then and now. This book is a powerful invitation to personal, spiritual, and social healing as we reconnect to our bodies and souls, to God, and to our communities.
For anyone struggling with pain or loss, for anyone concerned about the things that divide us, this book goes beyond wellness and beyond miraculous physical transformations to explore how we can—personally and collectively—be made well.”
___
Recording is from To Be Made Well: An Invitation to Wholeness, Healing, and Hope* by Amy Julia Becker. Used by permission of Herald Press. All rights reserved.
A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day.
The effects of trauma often surface in our embodied existence. What about hope? Cole Arthur Riley, author of This Here Flesh and creator of Black Liturgies, talks with Amy Julia Becker about bearing witness to the pain of the world through our bodies, the healing found in belonging, and the importance of weaving together self-care and community-care for social healing.
SHOW NOTES AND GIVEAWAY
View full show notes and transcript from this episode, plus book giveaway info: amyjuliabecker.com/cole-arthur-riley
GUEST BIO
“Cole Arthur Riley is a writer, liturgist, and speaker seeking a deeply contemplative life marked by embodiment and emotion. She is the founder and writer of Black Liturgies, a project seeking to integrate concepts of dignity, lament, rage, justice, rest, and liberation with the practice of written prayer.”
___
*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my YouTube Channel.
In a world of pain, can one person—one action—make a difference? Becca Stevens, author of Practically Divine, talks with Amy Julia Becker about the healing available through the practice, practicality, and presence of love within community.
SHOW NOTES:Go to amyjuliabecker.com/becca-stevens/ for complete show notes, transcript, and BOOK GIVEAWAY info.
GUEST BIO:
“Becca Stevens is a speaker, social entrepreneur, author, priest, founder of ten non-profit justice initiatives, and President of Thistle Farms. She has been featured on PBS NewsHour, The Today Show, CNN, ABC World News, named a CNN Hero, and White House Champion of Change. Drawing from 25 years of leadership in mission-driven work, Becca leads important conversations across the country with an inspiring message that love is the strongest force for change in the world. Her newest book is Practically Divine, published by Harper Horizons.”
____
Season 5 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my newest book, To Be Made Well, releasing Spring 2022...you can pre-order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my* YouTube Channel**.
Learning the history of enslavement and racism illuminates the path to repentance and repair. Lisa Sharon Harper, leading faith and race activist and author of Fortune, joins Amy Julia Becker and looks at the power and beauty of her ancestors, the ways that America’s race and enslavement laws broke her family (and our nation), and why there is hope for healing.
SHOW NOTES:Go to amyjuliabecker.com/lisa-sharon-harper/ for complete show notes, transcript, and BOOK GIVEAWAY info.
GUEST BIO:
“Lisa Sharon Harper (LSMA, Columbia University; MFA, University of Southern California) is the founder of Freedom Road, a consulting group dedicated to shrinking the narrative gap. A sought-after speaker, trainer, and consultant, Harper has written several books, including Fortune: How Race Broke My Family and the World and How to Repair It All and the critically acclaimed The Very Good Gospel: How Everything Wrong Can Be Made Right. She has researched her family's origins for three decades and presented on her ancestors' achievements at the African American Civil War Museum. Harper lives in the same Philadelphia neighborhood where three generations of her ancestors lived.”
___
*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my YouTube Channel.
In a society reeling from the pandemic and the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, is it possible to create something new for our world? Anne Snyder, editor-in-chief of Comment magazine and co-editor of the new anthology, Breaking Ground, talks with Amy Julia Becker about the pandemic and our collaborative imagination. They examine how questions asked communally about our past, present, and future can reimagine our whole society.
SHOW NOTES:Go to amyjuliabecker.com/anne-snyder/ for complete show notes, transcript, and BOOK GIVEAWAY info.
GUEST BIO:
“Anne Snyder is the editor-in-chief of Comment magazine and oversees the partner project, Breaking Ground. She is the host of The Whole Person Revolution podcast and co-editor ofBreaking Ground: Charting Our Future in a Pandemic Year, published in January 2022.”
___
*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my YouTube Channel.
Can our children really make a difference in the fight against racism? Dr. Jemar Tisby, author of How to Fight Racism Young Reader’s Edition, talks with Amy Julia Becker about practical ways kids can stand up to injustice and how courageous actions will transform them (and us) into agents of healing in this world. “It’s not just about what we’ve done. It’s about who we’ve become.”
SHOW NOTES: go to amyjuliabecker.com/jemar-tisby/ for complete show notes, quotes, and BOOK GIVEAWAY info
Guest Bio:
“Dr. Jemar Tisby is the New York Times Bestselling author of The Color of Compromise and president of The Witness: A Black Christian Collective where he writes about race, religion, politics, and culture. He is also cohost of the Pass the Mic podcast.”
Connect Online:
- Website: jemartisby.com
- Facebook: @JemarTisby1
- Twitter: @JemarTisby
- Instagram: @jemartisby
Season 5 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my newest book, To Be Made Well, releasing Spring 2022...you can pre-order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my* YouTube Channel**.
As we near the end of 2021, I'm returning to one of the most listened to (and possibly most appreciated) episodes from this past year—my conversation with Osheta Moore about her book Dear White Peacemakers.
Can peacemaking dismantle racism? Osheta Moore, author of Dear White Peacemakers, offers a warm and welcoming invitation to White people as she talks with Amy Julia about antiracism, the difference between peacekeeping and peacemaking, and the equalizing nature of our belovedness.
“Osheta Moore is a writer, pastor, speaker, and podcaster in Saint Paul, Minnesota, as well as a mother of three and economic justice advocate for women in developing countries.”
SHOW NOTES:
For complete show notes, links, quotes, etc., go to: amyjuliabecker.com/osheta-moore
Season 5 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my newest book, To Be Made Well, releasing Spring 2022...you can pre-order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my* YouTube Channel**.
What does it mean to be healthy? Can people with disabilities be healthier than typical people? What does it mean to be healed by God? Dr. Brian Brock, author of Wondrously Wounded, talks with Amy Julia Becker about the body of Christ and disability, his experience as the dad of a son with Down syndrome, and what it means for all of us to move toward wholeness.
For full show notes, quotes, and more, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/brian-brock/
__
Season 5 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my newest book, To Be Made Well, releasing Spring 2022...you can pre-order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my* YouTube Channel**.
“In some ways, we judge the story by the storyteller.” Colonialism corrupted the beautiful message of the Gospel when it forced Christianity on Indigenous people. The First Nations Version of the New Testament (FNV) seeks to remove those colonial barriers and present the beauty of Jesus’ story. Terry Wildman, lead translator and project manager of FNV, talks with Amy Julia about how this translation is a gift from Native people to Native people, as well as to the dominant culture and the Church as a whole.
SHOW NOTES (go to amyjuliabecker.com/terry-wildman/ for complete show notes and for BOOK GIVEAWAY info)
Guest Bio:
“Terry M. Wildman (Ojibwe and Yaqui) is the lead translator, general editor, and project manager of the First Nations Version. He serves as the director of spiritual growth and leadership development for Native InterVarsity. He is also the founder of Rain Ministries.”
Connect Online:
- Website: firstnationsversion.com
- Instagram: @fnv.nt
- Facebook: @FirstNationsVersion
- Twitter: @TerryMWildman
On the Podcast:
- First Nations Version
- More books by Terry Wildman: Birth of the Chosen One, When the Great Spirit Walked Among Us
- The Song of Bitter Tears (Luke 1:46–55, Magnificat)
- Translation process
Interview Quotes
“…Christianity was brought to our Native people and forced on us, technically. In some sense, we didn’t make our own decision from reading the Bible or from hearing the gospel. We didn’t make our own decision. We were told this is what we have to do. And so to me faith comes out of a willing heart that hears...the story of the gospel.”
“Even the word ‘church’ can bring up barriers because of those [colonial] experiences. So we intentionally used other words so that those barriers don’t immediately go up. We’re not trying to deceive anyone or any of our Native people. We’re just trying to present the Scriptures in a way so that the barriers that the colonial experiment on our people produced aren’t in the way."
“This [translation] is not only a gift from Native people to other Native people, but it’s also a gift from a group of Native people to the dominant culture…it opens up new ways of seeing God.”
“When you take something as beautiful as the gospel—and I believe the gospel is a wonderful, beautiful story when it’s understood—and when you force that on somebody, in oppressive ways, you destroy the message of it because Native people, traditionally, we don’t just listen to the story. We evaluate the storyteller. And if the storyteller isn’t consistent with the story, then we don’t believe the story.”
___
Season 5 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my newest book, To Be Made Well, releasing Spring 2022...you can pre-order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my YouTube Channel.
Black literature powerfully expands our theological imaginations. Danté Stewart, writer, speaker, and author of Shoutin’ in the Fire, talks with Amy Julia Becker about literature, theology, Black Jesus, and finding beauty and faith free from traditions bound to white spaces.
Giveaway: We’re giving away a copy of Shoutin’ in the Fire. To enter, complete the following 2 steps:
- Follow Amy Julia Becker on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.
- Share this podcast episode on one of the above social media platforms and tag Amy Julia when you share OR find this episode's post on one of Amy Julia’s social media accounts and comment about why you would like to win this book.
Thanks to Penguin Random House for this giveaway. Shipping to continental US addresses only. This giveaway ends on Saturday, November 20, at 11:59 pm EST.
ADVENT DEVOTIONAL
Guest Bio:
“Danté Stewart is a writer and speaker whose voice has been featured on CNN, The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Sojourners, The Witness: A Black Christian Collective, Comment Magazine, and more. He received his B.A. in Sociology from Clemson University. He is currently studying at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga.”
Connect Online:
- Website: www.dantecstewart.com
- Twitter & Instagram: @stewartdantec
Show Notes, Links, and Quotes
Danté provides a wealth of resources connected to Black literature and theology. For complete SHOW NOTES, QUOTES, and LINKS to all of these resources: go to: amyjuliabecker.com/dante-stewart/
Season 5 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my newest book, To Be Made Well, releasing Spring 2022...you can pre-order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my* YouTube Channel**.
In a society filled with disconnect and division, how can the Enneagram guide us toward compassionate living within our communities? Suzanne Stabile, teacher and author of numerous books, including The Journey Toward Wholeness, talks with Amy Julia Becker about the Enneagram’s identification of the nine different ways of seeing the world and the healing available through naming who we are.
We're giving away a copy of The Journey Toward Wholeness! Go to today's post on my Instagram for more info!
Guest Bio:
“Suzanne Stabile is a highly sought after speaker and teacher...After 25 years of studying the enneagram, learning from people’s stories, cultivating relationships, and learning under Father Richard Rohr, she has become a bestselling author and world class teacher of the Enneagram and how individuals can best utilize this spiritual tool.”
Connect:
- suzannestabile.com
- Instagram: @suzannestabile
- Facebook: @EnneagramSuz
- Twitter: @SuzanneStabile
On the Podcast:
- Books: The Journey Toward Wholeness, The Road Back to You, The Path Between Us
- Workshop: Know Your Number
- Subscription Service: The Table
- The Enneagram Journey podcast: episode with Morgan Harper Nichols
- Consolations by David Whyte
- Speaking by the Numbers by Sean Palmer
Interview Quotes
“[The Enneagram] offers an awareness that there are nine different ways of seeing the world and your way isn’t everybody else’s, and that’s the primary cause, I think, of all the disconnects that keep us dividing and circling the wagons and thinking we’re right and everybody else is wrong.”
“I’ve learned to ask myself three questions...‘Why am I moving toward this person? What if anything do I hope to get in return? And does the other person want my help?’...And then my fourth question has become, ‘If I say yes to this, what does that mean I’m saying no to?’”
“We are an imbalanced society.”
“You can’t change what you can’t name...[The Enneagram] names the things you already know but you have not been able to articulate about yourself. And once you can articulate them, you can do something about it.”
“To assume that we’re all having the same experience in a room, in a family, in a small group, in a women’s group—we’re just not. And to make room for difference [is]...for sure a step toward us living more compassionate lives as we try to live together in one city, town, group, school, church. All gifts are necessary.”
“It doesn’t matter what you have to say if people can’t hear you.”
__
Season 5 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my newest book, To Be Made Well, releasing Spring 2022. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my YouTube Channel.
We’ve heard the rhetoric that demonizes Critical Race Theory. But should citizens of the Kingdom of God have a different response? David Bailey, executive director of Arrabon, talks with Amy Julia Becker about Critical Race Theory and peacemaking, the removal of Confederate monuments, and the use of history as a means to heal.
Show Notes:
Guest Bio:David Bailey is the executive director of Arrabon, which exists to “equip Christian leaders and their communities for the work of reconciliation. Our digital study series, worship resources, and Transformational Journey training modules are designed to help you build a reconciling community that brings healing and wholeness to our broken and divided world.”
Connect Online:
- arrabon.com
- Instagram: @wearearrabon
- Facebook: @wearearrabon
- Twitter: @wearearrabon
On the Podcast:
- Arrabon
- Bailey on previous podcast episodes: Waking Up to Privilege and Loving Our Enemies in a Nation Divided
- Race, Class, and the Kingdom of God study series
- Webinar—CRT: How to Respond as Citizens of the Kingdom of God (not yet available)
- Derrick Bell, Kimberlé Crenshaw
- 1619 Project
- New York Times article with Bailey
Interview Quotes
“I think what’s even more important than what CRT is is our understanding of: What does it mean to be a citizen of the Kingdom of God?”
“What is Critical Race Theory? How would people who engage in that discipline define it? What are some of the image-bearing gifts…And what are the ways that it falls short?…It is our assignment to be peacemakers. It’s our assignment to be people engaging in a ministry of reconciliation.”
“We can use history to hurt. We can use history to hide. We can use history as a means to heal.”
“You see the good, bad, and the ugly of humanity [in the Bible], but when we talk about American history, it’s almost considered you’re being un-American to say anything negative about our history.”
“We can give empathy to folks whether we agree with people or not. I think this is a very important practice to do, particularly as a person who follows Jesus.”
“What’s the right and honorable thing to do to speak the truth in love, to actually engage in the truth…to look at complex, sinful human beings and how we’ve engaged with one another and to actually be agents of peacemaking and reconciliation, not just only for today but for our children and the next generation.”
___
Season 5 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my newest book, To Be Made Well, releasing Spring 2022...you can pre-order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my
A life without limits is part of the American dream. But what if living within limits is the key to a spacious life? What if we say “no” to hustle and hurry? Ashley Hales, author of A Spacious Life, talks with Amy Julia Becker about the benefits of limits, the goodness of interdependence within community, and the space needed to be attentive to others.
Show Notes:
Guest Bio:
“Ashley Hales is a writer, speaker, podcast host, and holds a PhD in English from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. She is the author of Finding Holy in the Suburbs and A Spacious Life. Listen to The Finding Holy Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts and connect with Ashley at aahales.com or @aahales on Instagram and Twitter.”
On the Podcast:
- Ashley’s books: Finding Holy in the SuburbsandA Spacious Life
- Psalm 16:6; Psalm 18:19
- Quote misattributed to Walter Brueggemann is from Frederick Buechner
- Steven Garber
Interview Quotes
“Limits are actually embedded in creation.”
“We have spread ourselves out so thinly that we have transgressed; we’ve gone beyond those good guardrails—those good, natural, human limits that God intended for our flourishing. We’ve bypassed them for hustle and hurry.”
“God’s good limits are actually for our flourishing. They enable creativity. They enable rest. They enable purpose and joy and connection. And when we live without limits, we live exhausted, where the goalposts of success are continually moving.”
“[How might choices] begin to bring more freedom for others, moving us outward from this boxed-in, closed-off sense where really life is all about me and my personal happiness and my sense of unlimited autonomy, which is what the American way tells us is the good life?”
“To love someone well means that we are accepting constraints “
“Jesus invites us into the constraints, particularly of the church as our first and new family, so we can live for the life of the world...The point of community is to actually bless our world wherever we are.”
___
Season 5 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my newest book, To Be Made Well, releasing Spring 2022...you can pre-order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my YouTube Channel.
What is privilege? How can we leverage it to proclaim God’s love to the world and create communities that flourish? Dominique DuBois Gilliard, the author of Subversive Witness, talks with Amy Julia about the church and privilege, economic justice, and how to leverage privilege in order to demonstrate the Gospel in innovative and faithful ways. Show Notes:
Guest Bio: “Dominique DuBois Gilliard is the Director of Racial Righteousness and Reconciliation for the Evangelical Covenant Church. He is the author of Rethinking Incarceration: Advocating for Justice that Restores, which won a 2018 Book of the Year Award for InterVarsity Press and was named Outreach Magazine’s 2019 Social Issues Resource of the Year. Gilliard’s latest book, Subversive Witness: Scripture’s Call to Leverage Privilege was just published by Zondervan. Gilliard also serves as an adjunct professor at North Park Theological Seminary in its School of Restorative Arts and serves on the board of directors for the Christian Community Development Association. In 2015, the Huffington Post named him one of the “Black Christian Leaders Changing the World.”
Connect Online:
- YouTube
On the Podcast:
- Season 3 interview with Dominique (about his book Rethinking Incarceration)
- Books by Dominique: Rethinking Incarceration and Subversive Witness
- Subversive Witness video-based small group curriculum
- Amy Julia’s book about privilege: White Picket Fences
- Scripture: Esther, Lamentations, Isaiah 58:12, Jeremiah 29:6-8, Psalm 139:23-24, John 13:34-35
- Justice deposits
- FREE RESOURCE: Head, Heart, Hands Action Guide
Quotes:
“There’s privilege connected to embodiment, so how our bodies are constructed…race, gender, able-bodiedness, mental cognition…this form of privilege slowly but surely starts to negate the biblical truth that we are equitably made in the image of God. It starts to create this sliding scale of humanity where some lives are respected, protected, and valued over and against others.”
“We have been conditioned, and dare I say discipled, to think about good intentions as more important than the impact of our actions.”
Season 5 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my newest book, To Be Made Well, releasing Spring 2022. You can pre-order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day, as well as a video with closed captions on my YouTube Channel.
What is a meaningful life? Does thinking about disability change your answer? Heather Lanier, author of Raising a Rare Girl, talks with Amy Julia about her daughter’s diagnosis and subsequent reactions from medical professionals, parents’ expectations for their children, the gift of vulnerability, the power of language, and the truth that love is stronger than fear.
SHOW NOTES:
Heather Lanier “is a poet, essayist, teacher, and speaker. An assistant professor of creative writing at Rowan University, she is the author of the memoir, Raising a Rare Girl.”
Connect Online:
- Website: heatherlanierwriter.com
- Facebook: @heatherkirnlanier
- Instagram: @heatherklanier
- Twitter: @heatherklanier
On the Podcast:
- Heather’s book: Raising a Rare Girl
- Amy Julia’s book: A Good and Perfect Gift
- Jesus says, “Do not be afraid.”
____
Season 5 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my newest book, To Be Made Well, releasing Spring 2022...you can pre-order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day.
It’s been a rough year. Protests, political division, a global pandemic. And our bodies ache. Our friendships feel strained. We’ve had too much to drink. We haven’t exercised enough. On a self-care level and a social-care level, we are not doing well.
In the midst of all the personal and social turmoil, Season 5 of the Love is Stronger than Fear podcast begins next week. In this season, I’m looking for conversations about hope and healing. Not conversations that sugarcoat the hardship. Not conversations that substitute entertainment for real connection. But conversations that look at the hardship and hurt in order to name it and understand it so that we can move towards healing. Together.
For this season of the Love is Stronger than Fear podcast, you can look forward to hearing from filmmakers and authors and practitioners about faith and healing, disability and healing, self-care and healing, and how we can begin to repair our social fabric.
Our first episode will drop next Tuesday, September 7th. Do go ahead and subscribe wherever you get this podcast so you don’t miss an episode, and please spread the word about these conversations. And send me guest suggestions if you have them. My email is amyjuliabeckerwriter@gmail.com, or you can always fill out a contact form on my website amyjuliabecker.com.
I look forward to this journey together into healing, wholeness, and hope.
_____ Season 5 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my newest book, To Be Made Well, releasing Spring 2022...you can pre-order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
👁🗨Accessibility: You can read the transcript for this episode here via the transcript tab or view subtitles on my YouTube channel soon.
Can peacemaking dismantle racism? Osheta Moore, author of Dear White Peacemakers, offers a warm and welcoming invitation to White people as she talks with Amy Julia about antiracism, the difference between peacekeeping and peacemaking, and the equalizing nature of our belovedness.
Show Notes:
“Osheta Moore is a writer, pastor, speaker, and podcaster in Saint Paul, Minnesota, as well as a mother of three and economic justice advocate for women in developing countries.” Preorder her book Dear White Peacemakers: Dismantling Racism with Grit and Grace.
Connect Online:
- Website: osheta.com
- Instagram: @oshetamoore
On the Podcast:
- Osheta’s books: Dear White Peacemakersand Shalom Sistas
- Dear White Peacemakers podcast
- How to Be an Antiracist and White Fragility
- Galatians 3:28, Ephesians 2:16
- Osheta’s IG post after Ahmaud Arbery video was released
- Enneagram
- Penny’s Down syndrome diagnosis
- Austin Channing Brown, Myisha T Hill, Latasha Morrison, Rachel Cargle
“If Jesus actually calls us to be peacemakers, what does that look like, and how does that look in our everyday lives?”
“If I really care about your belovedness, I’m going to invite you into this work and listen to you and be patient with you and love you. But if you care about my belovedness, then you’re going to understand that there are systems that are continually oppressing me, like police brutality or school systems. You’re going to do what you can to change those systems so that I can move through this world as a beloved.”
“Part of my nonviolent peacemaking practices is to hold onto the humanity of people.”
“Do some intentional work of owning and acknowledging your belovedness…oftentimes we don’t see the humanity of others because we’ve neglected the humanity of ourselves.”
“Belovedness can be the great equalizer that we need in this world.”
__
BOOK GIVEAWAY
To enter to win a copy of Dear White Peacemakers:
- Share this podcast episode on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and tag Amy Julia Becker when you share.
OR
- Go to this episode post on Amy Julia's Instagram & tag a friend in the post's comments.
Shipping to continental US addresses only
...
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
Head, Heart, Hands, Season 4 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast, is based on my e-book Head, Heart, Hands, which accompanies White Picket Fences. Check out free RESOURCES that are designed to help you respond to the harm of privilege and join in the work of healing. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
👁🗨Accessibility: You can read the transcript for this episode here, or see this episode with subtitles on my YouTube channel.
Why should Christians in particular participate in the work of reparations? Duke Kwon and Greg Thompson, the co-authors of Reparations, talk with Amy Julia about white supremacy, the harms and thefts of centuries of racism, and the imaginative, beautiful, restoring work of reparations. (scroll down for book giveaway!)
Show Notes:
Duke L. Kwon is the lead pastor at Grace Meridian Hill in Washington, DC, and Gregory Thompson is a pastor and the executive director of Voices Underground. They are the co-authors of Reparations: A Christian Call for Repentance and Repair.
Connect online:
Twitter: @dukekwondc and @_wgthompson
Instagram: @dukekwondc, @gregory__thompson, @reparations_project
Voices Underground: vuproject.org
On the Podcast:
- Reparations: A Christian Call for Repentance and Repair
- W. E. B. Du Bois
- Love Is Stronger Than Fear episode with David Swanson
- The National Memorial for Peace and Justice and the Legacy Museum
-
justicedeposits
- Reparations in Tulsa, OK
- HBO: True Justice
“If we understand racism for what it really is, the harms go far beyond personal relationships. They go deeper, they go longer, they go wider, and for centuries.” - Duke
“We are calling people not simply as white people to engage in the work of reparations...We’re calling the Christian church—everyone who bears not whiteness per se but everyone who bears the name of Christ—because the Church itself as a community, as a corporate entity, was complicit in, and actually active perpetrators of, the evils of white supremacy.” Duke
"Could it be true that our theological tradition actually invites us to [the work of reparations]?” Greg
“…we invented education, markets, city planning—I’m not worried about our creativity once we start asking questions. What I’m worried about is our resistance to asking questions.” Greg
BOOK GIVEAWAY
To enter to win a copy of Reparations:
- Share this podcast episode on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, and be sure to tag Amy Julia Becker when you share.
OR
- Go to this episode post on Amy Julia's Instagram and tag a friend in the post's comments.
Shipping to continental US addresses only
__
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
Head, Heart, Hands, Season 4 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast, is based on my e-book Head, Heart, Hands, which accompanies White Picket Fences. Check out free RESOURCES that are designed to help you respond to the harm of privilege and join in the work of healing. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
👁🗨Accessibility: You can read the transcript for this episode here, or see this episode with subtitles on my YouTube channel.
“What does it mean for me to actually be a Potawatomi woman? To be a Christian? To be human?” Author Kaitlin Curtice, a member of the Potawatomi Nation, joins Amy Julia on the podcast to talk—and to ask questions— about racial and religious identity, holidays and traditions, and entering into an expansive understanding of the love of God.
Show Notes:
As both a member of the Potawatomi Nation and a Christian, Kaitlin Curtice offers a unique perspective on the never-ending journey of finding ourselves and finding God. Kaitlin’s book Native: Identity, Belonging, and Rediscovering God “shows how reconnecting with her Native American roots both informs and challenges her Christian faith.”
Connect online:
Website: kaitlincurtice.com
Instagram: @kaitlincurtice
Twitter: @KaitlinCurtice
On the Podcast:
- Kaitlin’s books: Native and Glory Happening
- The Doctrine of Discovery document
“[when] your faith becomes the catchall for your identity, we lose the nuance of what it means to be human in a lot of ways.”
“That’s what assimilation does…the church wants what is white in me but not what is native in me.”
“What I want to do is help people ask the questions in the first place about America, about Christianity, about who they are…and that’s about belonging, right, about identity.”
“Can we have thoughtful, reciprocal relationships with one another where the end goal isn’t, ‘Can I get you to heaven or not?’”
“You can’t reconcile something until you actually acknowledge it. American Christianity has not acknowledged its complicity in the genocide and colonization of Indigenous peoples.”
“When we learn to have this reciprocal relationship with the earth, we will become more humble as human beings.”
“We take care of ourselves because we also are trying to learn to care for one another better.”
“This journey [of decolonization work or anti-racism work] is lifelong, and it will involve us messing up and trying again and apologizing and fixing it and reading another book and then reading that book all over again…”
“Every time we take a step forward or we do the action, that doesn’t mean that we’ve now reached the end and done all the things. We should always be doing all of the things and not think that we have to reach some finish line. We’re always doing it. That’s what being human is. That’s how we love each other better.”
__
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
Head, Heart, Hands, Season 4 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast, is based on my e-book Head, Heart, Hands, which accompanies White Picket Fences. Check out free RESOURCES that are designed to help you respond to the harm of privilege and join in the work of healing. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
👁🗨Accessibility: You can read the transcript for this episode here, or see this episode with subtitles on my YouTube channel.
What does thriving, interdependent community look like? Rev. Dr. Matt Floding talks with Amy Julia about Friendship House, a sustainable housing model where graduate students and adults with intellectual disabilities live in interdependent communities. They focus on the beautiful work that is possible when communities refuse to believe in scarcity and fear and rather trust in the abundant love and provision of God.
SHOW NOTES
Rev. Dr. Matthew Floding is the director of ministerial formation at Duke Divinity School and a founder of Friendship House Partners USA.
Connect Online:
Website: friendshiphousepartners.com
On the Podcast:
- Friendship House
- Western Theological Seminary, Holland MI
- Erik Carter
- Penny’s diagnosis of Down syndrome
- Friendship House locations
- Western Graduate Certificate in Disability and Ministry
“Safe, affordable, community-oriented housing—seminarians needed that; people living with an intellectual or developmental disability needed that.”
“…the community-building model that we hoped would build life together: eating together, praying together, and celebrating—finding every opportunity to celebrate life in each other.”
“‘It’s not doing something to someone or doing for someone. It’s life together with someone. And receiving from.’ If we really truly believe that there is this treasure in each human being who bears the image of God, then it really is about mutuality and belonging.”
“Everyone has needs to be met.”
“The skills that come with interdependent living—social awareness, self-awareness, active listening skills, this attentiveness and attending to each other—these are foundational skills for people going into ministry, but they’re foundational skills for human beings who live in community.”
“I have come to believe that person-first language is the key to my relationships across racial lines, economic divisions...before I label…with any label whatsoever, the disability community has taught me that they are a person first.”
“The belovedness and the dignity that comes with being made in the image of God—the disability community gets that.”
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
Head, Heart, Hands, Season 4 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast, is based on my e-book Head, Heart, Hands, which accompanies White Picket Fences. Check out free RESOURCES that are designed to help you respond to the harm of privilege and join in the work of healing. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
👁🗨Accessibility: You can read the transcript for this episode here, or see this episode with subtitles on my YouTube channel.
Is diversity or discipleship the answer to segregation within the American church? David Swanson, pastor and author of Rediscipling the White Church, talks with Amy Julia about the segregated American church, the white church’s discipleship problem, and how rethinking discipleship can grow communities of welcome that break down barriers. (Scroll down for book giveaway details!)
Show Notes:
“David W. Swanson is the pastor of New Community Covenant Church, a multicultural congregation in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood. He helps lead New Community Outreach, a nonprofit that collaborates with the community to reduce sources of trauma, and speaks around the country on the topics of racial justice and reconciliation.”
Connect online:
Website: dwswanson.com
Twitter: @davidswanson
Facebook: @PastorDavidWSwanson
Instagram: @david.w.swanson
On the Podcast:
- Rediscipling the White Church: From Cheap Diversity to True Solidarity
- Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil
- Michael Emerson and Christian Smith
- David Bailey on Love Is Stronger Than Fear
- Arrabon
“There’s something that’s been discipling us outside of Jesus that has left us content with that segregated status quo...Why is it that my discipleship to Jesus hasn’t upended or broken through some of the segregated patterns that are so normal in this country?”
“What makes us so incredibly unique is that we make up this family with other welcomed outsiders…and the center is always Christ, the center is always Jesus’ body, which welcomes us as these former outsiders now sitting together at the same table.”
“One of the attributes of whiteness is forgetfulness.”
___
Book GIVEAWAY:To enter to win a copy of Rediscipling the White Church...
1. After 1 p.m. EST on April 6, go to Amy Julia's Instagram account: @amyjuliabecker
2. Follow @amyjuliabecker on Instagram ✔️
3. Like the post for this podcast episode 💙
4. And tag a friend in the comments of the post who might be interested in this podcast episode 😀
Winner will be randomly selected on Monday, April 12, 2021. Thank you to IV Press for making this giveaway possible.
[Shipping to the continental United States only. This giveaway is not affiliated with Instagram. Contest will end at 11:59 p.m. EST 04/11/21]
___
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
Head, Heart, Hands, Season 4 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast, is based on my e-book Head, Heart, Hands, which accompanies White Picket Fences. Check out free RESOURCES that are designed to help you respond to the harm of privilege and join in the work of healing. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
👁🗨Accessibility: You can read the transcript for this episode here (coming soon), or see this episode with subtitles on my YouTube channel.
What is the role of art in bringing hope and healing to the fractures of our world? Makoto Fujimura, a leading contemporary artist and the author of Art+Faith, talks with Amy Julia about creating beauty through brokenness, the art of waiting and making, and how the theology of God’s new creation transforms communities of Christ.
Show Notes:
Makoto Fujimura is the author of Art+Faith: A Theology of Making, and his “art has been featured widely in galleries and museums around the world, and is collected by notable collections including The Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, The Huntington Library as well as Tikotin Museum in Israel.” Connect online:
- Website: makotofujimura.com
- Facebook: @makotofujimuraart
- Instagram: @iamfujimura
- Twitter: @iamfujimura
- YouTube
On the Podcast:
- Makoto Fujimura’s Books: Art+Faith, Refractions, Culture Care, and Silence and Beauty
- Silence movie
- Silence by Shūsaku Endō
- Embers International
- Kintsugi art
- 1 Corinthians 3, John 11-12, Luke 19
- Liuan Huska interview
- Margaret Mead
"I consider what I do to be prayer and theological work as much as aesthetic work, so I’ve always felt the presence of God in my studio, in the practice of making."
"It becomes essential conversation for us to find our thriving. What does it mean to be a human being today, let alone a Christian? The arts fundamentally can bring us to a deeper conversation."
”We are not going back to pre-pandemic normal. It’s a new world. It’s a world in which we have all suffered—and we have all shared in the suffering—and, therefore, we have an opportunity to create communities that would both nurture and protect those broken places and really be able to share because of our brokenness...A Kintsugi master even amplifies or exposes the fractures but does it in a beautiful way. And can we do that as communities, especially communities of Christ?”
"Waiting is such an important part of art. You cannot have music without pauses. You cannot have choreography without the body stopping. And so being still, finding that still point of the turning world, as TS Elliot writes, is very much at the heart of every art form."
"If we are not making, we are consuming."
___
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
Head, Heart, Hands, Season 4 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast, is based on my e-book Head, Heart, Hands, which accompanies White Picket Fences. Check out free RESOURCES that are designed to help you respond to the harm of privilege and join in the work of healing. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
How should Christians care for immigrants and respond to the divisiveness surrounding immigration policies in the United States? Briana Stensrud, director of Women of Welcome, talks with Amy Julia about her journey from working in the pro-life movement to working with immigrants, biblical hospitality, and what extending welcome to immigrants could look like today.
SHOW NOTES:
Briana Stensrud is a human dignity advocate and the Director of Women of Welcome. Connect online:
- Women of Welcome: womenofwelcome.com
- Instagram: @womenofwelcome
- Instagram: @bri.stenz
- Facebook: @WomenofWelcome
On the Podcast:
- Women of Welcome
- Latasha Morrison and Be the Bridge
- Heather MacFayden
- Amy Julia’s trip to the border
- Letter on Immigration Reform
- Love Undocumented by Sarah Quezada
- Genesis 1:27, Matthew 25, Luke 10:25-37
- Association for a More Just Society
“The borders on my definition of what it meant to be pro-life really started to expand because of my anchoring in the belief of the dignity and sanctity of every human life. Being against abortion was not enough.”
“You have law enforcement handling a humanitarian crisis, so instead of treating vulnerable people as a specific vulnerable population, what you’re doing is trying to meet that humanitarian need with a military response, which is such a mismatch because you’re asking border patrol to handle toddlers, and their job is to thwart and find those who would seek to do harm to the country or enter illegally.”
“Women of Welcome…we are a community of Christian women who are looking to enter into this issue from a biblical perspective. What is Christlike welcome? What is biblical hospitality…immigration for us is a biblical issue; it’s not a political issue. What that does is it frees us up to engage and enter into this space and speak very transparently and honestly about the policies that are affecting vulnerable people no matter who’s in charge, no matter who the president is.”
“We want safe borders. We also want compassionate treatment of those who are made in the image of God.”
“When you move to this Kingdom mindset of what God cares about, you move off of this “country” or “empire” mindset that says, ‘Citizenship first. America first.’”
___
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
Head, Heart, Hands, Season 4 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast, is based on my e-book Head, Heart, Hands, which accompanies White Picket Fences. Check out free RESOURCES that are designed to help you respond to the harm of privilege and join in the work of healing. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
How do we respond with courageous love in order to bridge the divisions facing our country? Natasha Sistrunk Robinson, Raymond Chang, and Amy Julia Becker reflect on racial injustice, unity, discipleship, and ways to courageously love our neighbors.
Show Notes:
Natasha Sistrunk Robinson is an author, speaker, former US Marine Corps captain, Naval Academy Graduate, and founder of Leadership LINKS, Inc. Raymond Chang is the president of the Asian American Christian Collaborative (AACC), a pastor, and writer.
On the Podcast:
- Wheaton College
- Asian American Christian Collaborative
- A Sojourner’s Truth by Natasha Sistrunk Robinson
- White Picket Fences by Amy Julia Becker
- Leadership LINKS, INC
- AACC
- Ephesians, John 17, Psalm 133, Exodus 20, Acts 6:1-3
- Russell Moore
- Compassion (&) Conviction by The AND campaign
- Thou Shalt Not Be a Jerk by Eugene Cho
- Generous Justice by Tim Keller
- The Witness
“Unity has always been at the heart of God. So has diversity…it’s not unity in uniformity, which is what we see in a lot of evangelical spaces.” - Ray
“When we see these things [racial injustice and civic unrest] happening, it is a cause for mourning. It’s a cause for lament. It’s a cause for care and concern and hospitality.” - Natasha
“The church should have so much to offer that our culture doesn’t have in a time of turmoil because we believe in a God of love and in a God of love for every individual human being and for our world in an even broader sense.” - Amy Julia
“The Christian ethic is to move towards the stranger, not away from the stranger; move towards the other, not away from the other; move towards the person who’s different, not away from them.” - Ray
“We’re called to both preach and practice the Gospel. We’re called to embody the Kingdom of God.” - Ray
“We have to count the cost of discipleship, and when we talk about this issue of racial justice and injustice and unity, and all these things, if you really commit to it, it’s going to cost you something…I always talk about these issues as discipleship issues—they are discipleship issues.” - Natasha
“The biblical understanding of justice is about proactive care for the vulnerable.” - Amy Julia
___
Thank you to the Church of the Apostles in Raleigh, NC and the Center for Christianity and Scholarship for sponsoring this discussion. Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
Head, Heart, Hands, Season 4 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast, is based on my e-book Head, Heart, Hands, which accompanies White Picket Fences. Check out free RESOURCES that are designed to help you respond to the harm of privilege and join in the work of healing. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
Is healing possible for women coming out of abuse, addiction, sex trafficking, and prostitution? Thistle Farms ambassador, Dorris Walker-Taylor, tells her story of loss, drugs, life on the street, and the healing power of love that she found at Thistle Farms.
SHOW NOTES:
Dorris Walker-Taylor is an ambassador for Thistle Farms. Follow Thistle Farms online:
- Website: thistlefarms.org
- Instagram: @ThistleFarms
- Facebook: @ThistleFarms
- Twitter: @ThistleFarms
On the podcast:
- Thistle Farms products
- Thistle Farms videos
- Becca Stevens
“You can’t tell me that love is not stronger than fear—because it is. You can’t tell me that love is not the most powerful force for change in the world—because it is.”
“I always thought it was me against the world. This organization [Thistle Farms] loved me back to life.”
“This whole world is in an uproar. And the only way we are going to be able to live in peace and unity is for love to come into the picture.”
“I could have responded to my father’s death in a lot of different ways, but the way I responded to it was not the right way because I thought I could cover up the pain with a chemical, and it manifested itself into just a horrible life. But God has brought me out of that, and I have done more living in these past 11 years than I did in the first 50 or so…the first four, five decades of my life were in ruins, but God has forgiven me of all my sins, which are many, and now he has blessed me to be able to go back out there and to tell women that there is a way out, that we do get our lives back.”
“God chased me until I found him.”
“Come to Thistle Farms…and you’ll see, it’s as clear as night and day, the difference that love has made in our lives.”
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
Head, Heart, Hands, Season 4 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast, is based on my e-book Head, Heart, Hands, which accompanies White Picket Fences. Check out free RESOURCES that are designed to help you respond to the harm of privilege and join in the work of healing. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
Marxism is often mentioned when talking about progressive views of justice, but what are the secular concepts that shape conservative views of justice? Are they biblical? Corey Widmer, lead pastor of Third Church in Richmond, VA, tells his story of moving into, and out of, a neighborhood in the inner city of Richmond, and he talks with Amy Julia about race, white evangelicalism, faith, and biblical justice.
Connect Online:
- Third Church website: thirdrva.org
- Instagram: @thirdrva
- Facebook: @ThirdRVA
- Twitter: @coreywidmer and @ThirdRVA
On the Podcast:
- White Picket Fences and A Good and Perfect Giftby Amy Julia Becker
- Christian Community Development Association
- Don Coleman
- “A call for gentrification with justice” by Corey Widmer
- Bob Lupton
- Urban Hope
- Book of Revelation
- Corey’s sermon series on Revelation
- Sermon series on Revelation by Rankin Wilbourne
- Revelation: The Triumph of Christ by John Stott
- Divided by Faith by Christian Smith and Michael O Emerson
- The Bible project series on justice
- Reading While Black by Esau McCaulley
- Amy Julia’s podcast Interview with Esau McCaulley
“As Christians, we’re called not just to preach good news of forgiveness but also the good news of the renovating and restoring and renewing work that the gospel can do for neighborhoods, communities, families, and societies.”
"Marxism is not the only secular concept of justice. Actually, the typical view of justice that we have as Americans is also profoundly secular and was birthed out of the Enlightenment...When you understand that, it’s not just that progressive Christians are malformed by this Marxist view of justice. It’s that conservative Christians are really malformed by this libertarian and liberal view of justice that is not from the Bible. It’s from John Rawls."
“A true biblical worldview and a true biblical teaching of justice is unlike anything that any of us probably have seen. And, therefore, you shouldn’t fit into any political category or any secular concept of justice.”
“The hope of Jesus won’t be as beautiful and clear and wonderful if we don’t first recognize the ways that we have put so much of our hope into false idols that ultimately don’t deliver.”
...
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
Head, Heart, Hands, Season 4 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast, is based on my book Head, Heart, Hands, which accompanies White Picket Fences. Check out free RESOURCES that are designed to help you respond to the harm of privilege and join in the work of healing. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
Erin and David Leaverton sold their house, loaded their three, young children into an RV, and traveled the country for a year. Their family’s journey is part of the documentary The Reunited States. Erin Leaverton talks with Amy Julia about their search for what divides our nation, the false hierarchy of human value, and the durable power of God’s love to heal division.
SHOW NOTES:
Erin Leaverton is a wife, a mom to three children, an interior designer, and a blogger. Her family’s “life-altering adventure, traveling across America by RV for one year to learn about why the fabric of our nation is fraying” is part of The Reunited States documentary. Connect with Erin online:
- Website: erinleaverton.com
- Facebook: @erineleaverton
- Instagram: @erinleaverton
- Pinterest: @erineleaverton
- Website: undividednation.us
On the Podcast:
- The Reunited States of America: How We Can Bridge the Partisan Divideby Mark Gerzon
- Documentary: The Reunited States, presented by Van Jones and Meghan McCain
- Susan Bro, Steven Olikara, and Greg Orman
- Undivided Nation
“[Our divisions are] rooted in our belief in a false hierarchy of human value...you can’t measure human life. It’s infinite.”
“We bear the image of an eternal God. That’s incredible. Each one of us. It’s infinitely beautiful and infinitely valuable.”
“The things that I will look for to define my own value is the exact same set of principles I’ll apply on every other person.”
“We do have permission to mourn things that we discover. And we need to. I think that that’s healthy. But we can’t stay there. We have to move through it.”
“Dr. King said, ‘Love is the most durable power in the world.’ And when I heard that quote, what I literally saw was like an actual structure to hold the weight of disagreement. And I think agreement is what we’re building on right now. And it’s so cheap and so flimsy. It cannot hold any dissonance, whereas love can.”
“Respect is earned over time. Honor is something we can give freely, just like love. Everyone is deserving of honor because everyone bears God’s image. Even if they’re committing atrocities—and I know this is a hard thing to say, a hard thing to believe—but even in the act of committing horrible atrocities, no human being is outside the realm of redemption and honor.”
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
Head, Heart, Hands, Season 4 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast, is based on my e-book Head, Heart, Hands, which accompanies White Picket Fences. Check out free RESOURCES that are designed to help you respond to the harm of privilege and join in the work of healing. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
Can acknowledging the wounds of white evangelicalism actually bring healing? Kristin Du Mez, author of Jesus and John Wayne, talks with Amy Julia about the harm of militant masculinity and Christian nationalism found within white evangelicalism and the hope for healing by exposing and addressing those wounds.
SHOW NOTES:
Kristin Kobes Du Mez is professor of History and Gender Studies at Calvin University and the author of Jesus and John Wayne. She holds a PhD from the University of Notre Dame, and her research focuses on the intersection of gender, religion, and politics.
Connect with Kristin online:
- Website: kristindumez.com
- Facebook: @kkdumez
- Twitter: @kkdumez
On the Podcast:
- Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du Mez
- Luke 6:6-10
“The closer I looked, the more I saw John Wayne popping up in very unexpected places as the icon of American masculinity and Christian masculinity.”
“We have seen this before. We have seen this so many times before—evangelicals finding reasons to support abusers of power, to support men who they thought would protect the faith, protect Christianity—and at great costs to women, to children, and to their communities.”
“It doesn’t take a lot always to slip from metaphorical battles to actual battles.”
“How did we get to where we are now? There were many choices, active choices, that individuals made at different junctures, often for the purpose of enhancing their own power, and we can start to see how all of this came together...Then we are freer to ask, “Is this where we want to be? Is this how evangelicals—how Christians—ought to engage our neighbors?”
“What is the Good News? And what should that look like? And how much should it actually entail building walls and drawing stark divisions and excluding people from our communities?”
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
Head, Heart, Hands, Season 4 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast, is based on my e-book Head, Heart, Hands, which accompanies White Picket Fences. Check out free RESOURCES that are designed to help you respond to the harm of privilege and join in the work of healing. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
How do spiritual practices equip us to participate in God’s healing work in the world? Rich Villodas, pastor and author of The Deeply Formed Life, talks with Amy Julia about social divisions, the relationship between inner spiritual formation and outward actions, and God’s healing work within individuals and communities.
SHOW NOTES:
“Rich Villodas is the Brooklyn-born lead pastor of New Life Fellowship, a large, multiracial church with more than seventy-five countries represented in Elmhurst, Queens.”
Connect with Rich online:
- Website: richvillodas.com
- Facebook: @rvillodas
- Instagram: @richvillodas
- Twitter: @richvillodas
On the Podcast:
- The Deeply Formed Life by Rich Villodas
- The Message: Eugene Peterson’s Bible translation
- Luke 3-4
- Thomas Keating, Henri Nouwen, and Jean Vanier
- Family Systems Theory
- Sexual Character by Marva Dawn
- Living Gently in a Violent World by Stanley Hauerwas and Jean Vanier
“It’s quite liberating—it’s very difficult at first—but it’s quite liberating when you realize, ‘I’m not a human doing, I’m a human being. I can take an extra nap. Or I can delight in or cultivate things that bring me joy.’”
“Contemplative prayer for me has been the most important element for how I think about race, how I think about the interior life, how I think about justice...the goal is to be present with God so that I can be present with myself and then be present with my neighbor. For me, contemplative prayer serves as the foundation to be present with those who are difficult to love, to be present with those I disagree with.”
“The agony of prayer is that I don’t see fruit in the moment. And I need to be okay with that.”
“Who are you allowing to speak into your life? What are the stories you’re opening yourself to? Even in the books that we read, the music that we listen to, the stories that we come across, I think that moving close to someone isn’t necessarily a physical proximity. Sometimes it’s an emotional proximity. Sometimes it’s narrative proximity—trying to understand someone’s story.”
“How Christians can participate in the renewal of the world—we can see people as enemies to be conquered or see wounds that need to be healed. And that’s hard. That’s a cruciform way of living. It’s painful. It’s slow.”
___
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
Head, Heart, Hands, Season 4 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast, is based on my e-book Head, Heart, Hands, which accompanies White Picket Fences. Check out free RESOURCES that are designed to help you respond to the harm of privilege and join in the work of healing. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
Can God truly heal, redeem, and transform brokenness? Katherine Wolf, coauthor of Suffer Strong and cofounder of Hope Heals, talks with Amy Julia about the reality of disability and pain, redefining brokenness and healing, and the game-changing nature of community. (Keep scrolling for book giveaway!)
“Katherine Wolf miraculously survived a catastrophic stroke caused by a congenital brain defect she never knew she had. After a sixteen-hour brain surgery, forty days in the ICU, a year in neuro rehab, and eleven operations, she continues her recovery to this day.” Katherine and her husband, Jay, are the authors of Suffer Strong and Hope Heals and the founders of Hope Heals and Hope Heals Camp.
Connect with Katherine online:
- Website: hopeheals.com
- Instagram: @hopeheals
- Facebook: @hopeheals
- Twitter: @hopeheals
On the Podcast:
- Wolfs’ books: Suffer StrongandHope Heals
- Hope Heals Camp
- John Swinton
- Penny’s diagnosis
“The Lord has really used what was terrible, tragic brokenness and transformed that into something really beautiful. We love our story of redemption.”
“It’s not a rejection of the body that we’re in. It’s a deeper understanding of the body we’re in and how it can enable us to see truths about God differently than if it were ‘normal.’”
“Community is a game-changer for healing.”
“True community isn’t trying to be outcome changers. They’re not trying to pray away your pain. They’re just with you in it… True community isn’t trying to stamp a Jesus sticker on your pain because it’s so much bigger than something a sticker could do…I need the truth of Jesus but not yet. In this moment, I need you to cry with me and feel the loss with me and let it be shocking to you.”
“God has equipped me in these years of suffering.”
“The communal, almost instant, embracing of each other [at camp] has everything to do with the fact that living the ‘American dream’ is no longer available to these families, so they’re not concerned with it anymore. They’re on the other end of the spectrum where they actually are wanting to disrupt the lie that joy only comes in a pain-free life. They are banding together to proclaim that we’re not going to worship the idol of a pain-free life. It’s not available. That’s not our story. But there’s still joy in this story."
BOOK GIVEAWAY
To enter for your chance to win a copy of Suffer Strong, simply share this podcast episode on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, and be sure to tag me when you share it!
___
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
Head, Heart, Hands, Season 4 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast, is based on my e-book Head, Heart, Hands, which accompanies White Picket Fences. Check out free RESOURCES that are designed to help you respond to the harm of privilege and join in the work of healing. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
__
Liuan Huska, author of Hurting Yet Whole, talks with Amy Julia about chronic illness and pain, experiencing wholeness while living in suffering, and the relationship between community and healing for both the individual and society. (scroll to the end for book giveaway details!)
A freelance writer and speaker, Liuan focuses on topics of embodiment and spirituality. Her writing, on everything from chronic pain to evangelical fertility trends, appears in publications including Christianity Today and The Christian Century. She lives with her husband and their three little boys in the Chicago area.
Connect with Liuan online:
- Website: liuanhuska.com
- Facebook: @LiuanHuskaAuthor
- Twitter: @LiuanHuska
On the Podcast:
- Hurting Yet Whole by Liuan Huska
- NY Times article: Americans, Stop Being Ashamed of Weakness
- Adam: God’s Beloved by Henry Nouwen
“For people with disabilities, so much of the suffering that happens has to do with how they do or don’t fit into society’s definitions and ideas of what’s a good life and a productive life and a meaningful life. That also plays into chronic illness.”
“When I first started having pain and I couldn’t be in my body in ways that were joyful and life-giving...being in my body felt like a death sentence...To me being whole meant going out on bike rides and dancing and backpacking around the world, and suddenly I didn’t have those avenues for flourishing in the world. My body is part of me, so how do I reconnect with my body?”
“We don’t have to be perfect to be whole. How is my body still good? Can I find purpose in the imperfection? What does it mean to be present in my body? And what does it mean to experience God’s purpose and goodness as I am, being able to accept that this is the reality that I’ve been given…I can choose to live as I am, as the body that I am, without needing to wish myself back to a previous state of what I thought was normal.”
“We can promote the health of communities and groups of people as a whole by starting to pull back those layers of systemic issues.”
BOOK GIVEAWAY
To enter to win a copy of Hurting Yet Whole, complete Steps 1 & 2:
1. Go to your favorite podcast platform and rate or review the Love Is Stronger Than Fear with Amy Julia Becker podcast
2. Then let Amy Julia know you've completed Step 1 by contacting her via messages on her Instagram or Facebook or via her contact page on her website—amyjuliabecker.com/contact/
The book winner will be randomly selected on Monday, February 1, 2021.
___
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
Head, Heart, Hands, Season 4 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast, is based on my e-book Head, Heart, Hands, which accompanies White Picket Fences. Check out free RESOURCES that are designed to help you respond to the harm of privilege and join in the work of healing. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
How do we fight racism? Is there reason to hope when history reveals the continuity of racism’s tactics and its multifaceted exploitation? Historian and author Jemar Tisby talks with Amy Julia about racial identity, Black Lives Matter, laboring for racial justice, and reasons to hope for racial healing.
Jemar Tisby is the author of the New York Times bestseller, The Color of Compromise, and the newly released book How to Fight Racism. He is the president and co-founder of The Witness: A Black Christian Collective and co-host of the podcast Pass The Mic.
Connect with Jemar online:
- Website: jemartisby.com
- Facebook: @JemarTisby1
- Twitter: @JemarTisby
- Instagram: @jemartisby
On the Podcast:
- Jemar’s books: The Color of Compromise and How to Fight Racism
- Amy Julia’s article in Christianity Today: Should Christians Support Reparations for African Americans?
- Reparations: A Christian Call for Repentance and Repair by Duke Kwon and Gregory Thompson
“All racial justice is in some sense relational. And I especially mean when we have to cross different boundaries—race, ethnicity, culture—so that people don’t simply become the other or the enemy, but human beings, image-bearers of God and how that affects the way we treat other people, the way we love our neighbors, the way we maneuver in the world. But I recognize that oftentimes we leave it at relationships…”
“I want to highlight the continuity in tactics. And so the folks that are invested in the racist status quo, whether consciously or unconsciously, one of the main tactics they use is labeling people…and what labeling does, it means I can put you in a box, put you on a shelf, and ignore you, ignore what you’re saying…The labels change over time. You still have the 'Marxist,' 'Communist' labels being thrown around, but now it’s much more frequent that you’ll hear one of two things—either Critical Race Theorist or socialist.”
“I just don’t think you’re having a serious conversation about racial justice unless at some point you’re talking about money.”
“Through the Bible, it’s never the case that as you’re pursuing justice things get easier or you see results immediately. Sometimes you labor for a lifetime, and the fruit of your work is seen in the next generation, which on the one hand can be discouraging, but on the other, it means that none of our work is wasted.”
“It’s not just about the world changing outside of us. It’s about changing us too—that as we pursue justice, as we endure persecution for righteousness’ sake, it’s changing who we are. It refines our character to be more like Jesus.”
__
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
Head, Heart, Hands, Season 4 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast, is based on my e-book Head, Heart, Hands, which accompanies White Picket Fences. Check out free RESOURCES that are designed to help you respond to the harm of privilege and join in the work of healing. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
Love is stronger than fear. I first wrote those words on the heels of Donald Trump’s election back in 2016, and they became a truth I returned to again and again in the social tumult of the past four years.
They also became the title of my podcast, and I’m excited to announce that Season 4 of Love Is Stronger Than Fear starts today! It’s a short episode today, an introduction to the season ahead, including guests like Jemar Tisby, Liuan Huska, and Katherine Wolf who will help me consider how to live in love instead of fear in the midst of personal pain and social division.
This season, we’re looking at the themes of my e-book Head, Heart, Hands. We’ll be talking about the way we can learn, relate, and respond with action to the brokenness in our own lives and our culture when it comes to race, class, disability, and other dividing lines within our culture.
So if you are already a subscriber, you should see this new episode in your podcast feed today. If you aren’t, I invite you to go to wherever you get your podcasts and subscribe right now. For all of you, please let other people know about Love Is Stronger Than Fear. We are on a mission to help people believe that we can make a difference. We can heal. We can proclaim that hope and love and joy and justice win. This podcast is just one small part of a larger healing work that we are all invited into.
I hope you’ll join us in the conversation. And I hope you’ll put the conversation into action in this broken world because you too have come to believe that love is stronger than fear.
Head, Heart, Hands, Season 4 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast, is based on my e-book Head, Heart, Hands, which accompanies White Picket Fences. Check out free RESOURCES that are designed to help you respond to the harm of privilege and join in the work of healing. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
Do we want to get well? Within the reality of the harm of privilege and ongoing division, Amy Julia concludes this season of the podcast by examining how healing begins when love is our home. She provides solutions of hope and reconciliation that begin and end with, and flow from, the abundant love of God. (Plus a sneak peek into Season 4 of Love is Stronger Than Fear!)
SHOW NOTES:
“If we just tackle these problems [of division] with policies, if we just tackle them with to-do steps and practices, we’re going to scratch the surface. But if we get down to that spiritual level, if we call upon God—the God of love, the God of judgment, the God who names evil but also gives us a way to deal with evil, the God who gives us a way to love, to hope, to heal—we can find healing.”
“Any spiritual solution, any work of reconciliation and healing, any repentance, any confession, any loving of our enemies, it begins and it ends, and it is in the middle, motivated by love.”
“When we turn away from ourselves—away from the allure of tribalism, away from the temptation of self-justification—and turn toward Love, we begin to construct a vision of the future formed and shaped by hope, by the possibilities of unexpected connections, of mutual blessing, of a world made right. Do we want to get well?” -White Picket Fences
On the Podcast:
- Request your copy of my Advent e-book: Prepare Him Room: Reflections on What Happens When God Shows Up
- White Picket Fences
- George Floyd’s death
- Previous episodes of Season 3 of this podcast
- The Atlantic article by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Guest podcast with Niro Feliciano: “How Do We Heal a Church Divided”
- Reconciling All Things by Emmanuel Katongole and Chris Rise
- White Picket Fences companion resources
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
White Picket Fences, Season 3 of Love is Stronger Than Fear, is based on my book White Picket Fences, and today I am talking about chapter 14. Check out free RESOURCES—action guide, discussion guides—that are designed to help you respond. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
The presidential election does not change the church’s assignment. David Bailey, the executive director of Arrabon, talks with Amy Julia about the practices of reconciling communities, the divisions that result from misplaced hope in political power, and the foretaste of God’s kingdom that comes through loving our enemies.
SHOW NOTES:
David Bailey is the executive director of Arrabon, a ministry that helps churches become reconciling communities. Arrabon also includes Urban Doxology, ministry that writes the soundtrack of reconciliation in a racially diverse and gentrifying neighborhood. Connect online:
- Websites: arrabon.com; urbandoxology.com
- Instagram: @davidmbailey; @wearearrabon; @urbandoxology
- Facebook: @thedavidmbailey; @wearearrabon; @urbandoxology
- Twitter: @davidmbailey; @wearearrabon; @UrbanDoxology
On the Podcast:
“[In Acts] the church was birthed within a multiethnic, socioeconomically diverse space. The miracle of that day and time was the fact that they were experiencing unity and diversity instead of unity through assimilation.”
“We live in a day and time where we treat one another as enemies...We talk to each other violently. We listen to each other in ways to pounce on one another. And as Christians, we’re called to love God. We’re called to love our neighbor. We’re called to love our enemy. Not in a theoretical sense. Our invitation is to engage in sacrificial love for our enemy.”
“A reconciling community is a group of people linked by a common purpose and a rhythm of life together that acknowledges the depths of brokenness in the world in our world and actively receives the invitation from God to heal the brokenness of our world holistically from the inside out."
“The world gets the church, and we are to be a foretaste of the kingdom that is to come.”
- Sign up for Arrabon’s newsletter
- Podcast’s 1st episode with David Bailey
- Urban Doxology: Rest for the Weary
- Scripture: Acts 2; Genesis 1:26; Micah 6:8; Ephesians 1:13-14
- Books by Robert P. Jones: The End of White Christian America and White Too Long
- Books by Carl Ellis Jr: Free at Last?: The Gospel in the African-American Experience and Going Global
- Frederick Douglass
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
White Picket Fences, Season 3 of Love is Stronger Than Fear, is based on my book White Picket Fences, and today we are talking about chapter 13. Check out free RESOURCES—action guide, discussion guides—that are designed to help you respond. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
As Americans vote in national and local elections, is there hope for power, politics, and privilege to foster human flourishing? Andy Crouch, author of Strong and Weak, talks with Amy Julia about the paradox of authority and vulnerability, how political leaders can use power and risk for the good of humanity, the distinction between blessing and privilege, and pragmatic ways to contribute to human flourishing. Show Notes:Andy Crouch is partner for theology and culture at Praxis, an organization that works as a creative engine for redemptive entrepreneurship. His two most recent books—2017's The Tech-Wise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place and 2016's Strong and Weak: Embracing a Life of Love, Risk and True Flourishing—build on the vision of faith, culture, and the image of God.
Follow Andy online:
- Website: andy-crouch.com
- Twitter: @ahc
“Authority is the capacity for meaningful action. Vulnerability is the exposure to meaningful risk.”
“Most of the benefits we enjoy come from a tangled legacy of past exercises of power, some of which were highly creative and beneficial and beautiful, and others of which were forceful, coercive, and violent.”
“Things that are called blessing in the Bible often happen at a moment of tremendous vulnerability. Blessing happens in the midst of vulnerability and unto vulnerability.”
“The ultimate risk is love.”
ON THE PODCAST:
- Andy’s books: The Tech-Wise Family, Strong and Weak, Playing God, and Culture Making
- Praxis podcast
- Strong and Weak quadrant
- Bible passages: Luke 12:13-21; Genesis 49; Genesis 27; Genesis 32:22-32; Matthew 4:18-20; Matthew 5:1-12
- Podcast interview with Sara Hendren
- My Tech-Wise Life: Growing Up and Making Choices in a World of Devices by Amy Crouch and Andy Crouch
- Breaking Ground article (coming soon)
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
White Picket Fences, Season 3 of Love is Stronger Than Fear, is based on my book White Picket Fences, and today we are talking about chapter 12. Check out free RESOURCES—action guide, discussion guides—that are designed to help you respond. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
Do we, as a society, truly think that every child can succeed in school? Nicole Baker Fulgham, president and founder of The Expectations Project, talks with Amy Julia about the societal expectations for children in schools, the inequity within public education, and how to mobilize the church to work towards education reform.
SHOW NOTES:
Nicole Baker Fulgham (PhD, UCLA) is the president and founder of The Expectations Project and author of Educating All God’s Children and Schools in Crisis.
Follow Nicole:
- Twitter: @nicolebfulgham
Connect with The Expectations Project:
- Website: expectations.org
- Resources for advocacy and service
- Facebook: @TheExpectationsProject
- Instagram: @hopeforstudents
- Twitter: @expectproject
“My faith pushes me on the issues of justice and equity and serving those who have the least.”
“I believe as a Christian that God doesn’t differentiate academic potential between black and brown and white and Asian and rich and poor kids...Being in the classroom didn’t take away my firm belief in that. I just had to figure out: how do we collectively get there?”
“How do we fix the system so that we can support teachers differently, support schools and families differently, so that we can unleash that God-given potential in every kid?”
“Do we, as a society, truly think that every child can achieve? And when I say every I mean every. The child whose parents are incarcerated. The child who is homeless. The child who just immigrated here and is six years old and has to learn English first. The child whose family is struggling economically…I’m not sure that we deep down believe that about everybody….If we did, we would be investing in kids differently in our country.”
“We always want to support individuals, but we also have to look at not just the educational system that’s impacting them—institutional racism, all those things—but also those other systems outside of school.”
On the Podcast:
- The Expectations Project
- Teach for America
- Penny’s diagnosis of Down syndrome
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
White Picket Fences, Season 3 of Love is Stronger Than Fear, is based on my book White Picket Fences, and today we are talking about chapter 11. Check out free RESOURCES—action guide, discussion guides—that are designed to help you respond. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
What is normal? Normie, a coming-of-age film about a young woman with Down syndrome, examines this question. Today, Annemarie Carrigan, the lead cast member of Normie, and Kurt Neale, the director and producer of the film, talk with Amy Julia about the illusions and reality of “normal,” the truth that all humans are broken and beloved, and how the creation of Normie changed how they viewed themselves and others.
SHOW NOTES:Stream Normie from October 20-31, 2020: Go to amyjuliabecker.com and subscribe to receive monthly updates. You’ll receive an email with a link to watch Normie through Vimeo-on-Demand. (Be sure to check your spam folder if you don’t see the email in your inbox!)
Follow on social media:
- Twitter: @normiefilm, @amcarrigan560
- Normie Film: normiefilm.com
“Normie is about the illusion of normal and the beauty of love through the lens of Down syndrome.” - Annemarie
“[I hope that] People would flip the lens, so to speak, and look at themselves and not simply observe Annemarie being honest but people would be drawn into evaluation of themselves.” - Kurt
“Our world is such a mess. We’re screaming out that your identity is relative to your performance. That is a tragic lie...I find value in that I am created and loved by God, and I can also love others.” - Kurt
“I am loved. I am not normal. And I am just who I am. And I’m proud of that.” - Annemarie
“I am loved by God. That’s a fact. I don’t know how to explain how I feel loved by God because it’s unfathomable to think that God loves me and believes in me. It’s his word against mine.” - Annemarie
“Could it possibly be true that I’m far more loved than I ever dreamed possible? And that I can really love others through my own limitedness and brokenness?” - Kurt
On the Podcast:
- Stream Normie from October 20-31, 2020: Go to amyjuliabecker.com and subscribe to receive monthly updates. You’ll receive an email with a link to watch Normie through Vimeo-on-Demand. (Be sure to check your spam folder if you don’t see the email in your inbox!)
- Gilmore Girls
- God is love. (1 John 4:7-21)
- David Zahl
- Josh White
- Total solar eclipse
- Katie Anderson
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
White Picket Fences, Season 3 of Love is Stronger Than Fear, is based on my book White Picket Fences, and today we are talking about chapter 10. Check out free RESOURCES—action guide, discussion guides—that are designed to help you respond. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
How does “the built world”—the chairs, rooms, and streets that guide our bodies every day— implicitly ascribe worth to human beings? How does the built world welcome or exclude individuals in public space? Sara Hendren, author of “What Can A Body Do? How We Meet the Built World,” talks with Amy Julia about disability and the built world, how disability is fundamental to our common humanity, and reimagining the built world in a way that gives dignity and worth to all human beings.
SHOW NOTES:
Sara Hendren is an artist, design researcher, professor at Olin College of Engineering, and the author of “What Can a Body Do?” Connect with Sara:
- Twitter: @ablerism
- sarahendren.com/
“The world built of stairs, the world built of sidewalks with no curb cuts—all of those things bear out a very tacit presumption about who’s going to be in public space.”
“We enter our lives acutely dependent on other people. We often exit our lives also in a period of dependence. And in between we traffic in and out of experiences of needing one another. Within our own mythology about how we don’t need people very much or our sense of autonomy and independence, we know that what makes us flourish is connection.”
“I have a body that has needs. We share that.”
“How do I want to be treated if I’m even a little bit different than I am now? The way that I treat folks who are currently acutely vulnerable is the logic by which I will be treated. We owe it to each other to be a little more imaginative than we are, and it doesn’t take an overhaul of the world. An editing of a lot of what we have already makes all the difference.”
On the Podcast:
- “What Can A Body Do? How We Meet the Built World” by Sara Hendren
- Rosemary Garland-Thomson
- Gallaudet University
- Signing Starbucks
- Brenda Brueggemann
- Sharon Snyder
- Erik Carter
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
White Picket Fences, Season 3 of Love is Stronger Than Fear, is based on my book White Picket Fences, and today we are talking (a little out of order) about chapter 11. Check out free RESOURCES—action guide, discussion guides—that are designed to help you respond. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
Mortality is often connected to fear, so how does embracing mortality provide hope to individuals and communities? Professor Todd Billings, author of “The End of the Christian Life: How Embracing Our Mortality Frees Us to Truly Live,” talks with Amy Julia about lamenting and embracing mortality, the potential for mortality to exacerbate divisions or create connections, and how the presence of God brings freedom from our slavery to the fear of death.
SHOW NOTES:
Dr. J. Todd Billings is a professor at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, MI. An ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America, he received his M.Div. from Fuller Seminary and his Th.D. from Harvard. Connect further with Todd:
- Twitter: @jtoddbillings
- Facebook: @jtoddbillingsauthor
- https://jtoddbillings.com/
“Whether you are young or old…our mortality matters for all of us in how we relate and connect to one another.”
“A tremendous gift of the church is that it’s one of the few places in our cultural moment where young children and middle-aged people and dying older people can come together and be part of a community.”
“In Christian circles, I sometimes get the idea that we shouldn’t be afraid of death at all. I don’t think that’s either biblical teaching or likely to happen. It sets up this ideal that makes people shameful when they grieve deeply.”
“Of course we should have a certain fear of death. But when fear of death is on the throne, then self-protection becomes the central priority...we pull in rather than reaching out in compassion.”
“This same presence of God that we’ve been aching for from the pit and in our whole pilgrimage—this one centered in Jesus—that presence will be the wide and spacious land, so to speak, of our rejoicing and dwelling in rest.”
ON THE PODCAST:
- The End of the Christian Life
- Penelope Ayers (Amy Julia’s memoir about caring for her mother-in-law)
- Scripture: Psalm 27, Jonah, Matthew 27:46, Hebrews 2:15, 2 Corinthians 4
- “Rejoicing in Lament” by Billings
- Check back at https://breakingground.us/ for a new article by Amy Julia coming out in October
- Terror management theory
- “The Denial of Death” by Ernest Becker
- George Floyd’s death
- Zoom video call
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
White Picket Fences, Season 3 of Love is Stronger Than Fear, is based on my book White Picket Fences, and today we are talking about chapter 9. Check out free RESOURCES—action guide, discussion guides—that are designed to help you respond. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
What is privilege? What is it not? How does privilege cause harm? In this bonus episode, Amy Julia describes her working definition of privilege, the ways that privilege leads to unjust social divisions and disparities, and how we can participate in healing from the harm of privilege
SHOW NOTES:
“Privilege is a set of unearned social advantages that lead to unjust social divisions and disparities.”
“Privilege is not a guarantee of an easy life and it’s not an accusation of an easy life.”
“As unearned social advantages lead to unjust social divisions, we find ourselves participating in injustice.”
“Privilege harms everyone. The ways we are cut off from one another and from the full expression of human diversity is not only unjust but it is also harmful, and I, for one, want to be a part of healing.”
“Healing comes from the overflow of the love of God at work in and through God’s people—not just the love of God, but the love of God that is expressed in acts of mercy, of kindness, and of justice.”
ON THE PODCAST:
- Penny’s diagnosis
- Podcast guests to date: David Bailey, Micha Boyett, Patricia Raybon, Natasha Sistrunk Robinson, Jemar Tisby, Cara Meredith, Subira Gordon, Marlena Graves, Niro Feliciano, Esau McCaulley, Dominique Gilliard, Paul Miller
- Studies: names on job applications; wage gaps; bias in sports
- College admissions scandal
- Blog Post: The Spiritual Problem of Racism Calls for a Spiritual Solution
- Audiobook: “Head, Heart, Hands”
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
White Picket Fences, Season 3 of Love is Stronger Than Fear, is based on my book White Picket Fences, and today we are taking a break from our typical podcast episodes and guests to talk about the topic of privilege. Check out free RESOURCES—action guide, discussion guides—that are designed to help you respond. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
How does the pattern of Jesus’ life reshape privilege, wealth, and community? Paul Miller, author of “J-Curve: Dying and Rising with Jesus in Everyday Life,” talks with Amy Julia about the J-curve and how this daily dying and rising with Christ can create communities where the potential divisions of wealth and privilege are reshaped by love.
SHOW NOTES:
Paul Miller is Executive Director of seeJesus, a global discipleship mission, which he founded in 1999 to help Christians and non-Christians alike “see Jesus.” His books include “J-Curve” and the instant bestseller “A Praying Life.” Follow him on Twitter at @_paulemiller.
“The normal Christian life looks like the path of Jesus’ life—from life down into death and then from death up into resurrection and glorification. That pattern of Jesus’ life is the template for whole sections of my life, pieces of my day, my relationships, and it’s a very liberating grid. It has hope in it and gives meaning.”
“We don’t understand how critical our dying is to the creation of an inclusive community.”
“If I begin to live this J-curve, I become a community-creation machine. Everywhere I go I’m creating community.”
“The antidote to all of the problems of the power of money is love.”
“One of the aspects of evil is that it bends you to seeing that evil is the final word. And that leads to cynicism. You begin to see evil everywhere, and that in itself is evil because it leads to a cynical spirit where you begin to doubt even the good. That’s a disease of our age—an age of cynicism...Paul clearly looks at life through a resurrection lens and tells us to do so as well. What’s right and true and lovely? Be looking for those things. You’re hunting for the good.”
On the Podcast:
- Is God Anti-racist? article
- Scripture: Sharing in Christ’s suffering (Philippians 1:29, Philippians 3:10), 2 Corinthians 1, James 2:1-6, John 9, John 4:1-42, John 14, John 11:45-52, I Timothy 6, Colossians 3:1-17, Philippians 1, God of all comfort benediction, Fruit of the Spirit
- “The Sun Does Shine” by Anthony Ray Hinton
- Francis of Assisi
- Martin Luther
- “Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien
- Ignatian Consolation and Desolation
- Penny’s diagnosis
- Way Maker
- Person of Jesus study
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
White Picket Fences, Season 3 of Love is Stronger Than Fear, is based on my book White Picket Fences, and today we are talking about chapters 6 and 7. Check out free RESOURCES—action guide, discussion guides—that are designed to help you respond. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
What would it mean for the criminal justice system to be unjust? And if it is, what should Christians do about it? Dominique Gilliard, author of “Rethinking Incarceration,” talks with Amy Julia about the history of injustice in this system, reimagining justice, punishment, and reconciliation in light of the gospel, and practical ways the church can love people who have been incarcerated.
SHOW NOTES:
Dominique DuBois Gilliard is the Director of Racial Righteousness and Reconciliation for the Love Mercy Do Justice (LMDJ) initiative of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC). His book “Rethinking Incarceration: Advocating for Justice that Restores” won the 2018 Book of the Year Award for InterVarsity Press.
Follow LMDJ on social media
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
“Restorative justice says that for justice to be made manifest, there has to be a tangible pathway toward restoration for not only the person who has suffered from the offense but also the person who has caused the offense.”
“Do we really believe the things that we proclaim in our congregational spaces, and, if so, how does that inform how we vote, how we live, how we engage in the world at large?”
“Nobody is beyond redemption....the Spirit who has the ability to bring life out of death has the ability to bring restoration out of people who have caused offenses.”
“When we understand that privilege is something for us to steward, then that liberates us from feeling immobilized by it. It liberates us from actually denying it. We can affirm privilege is real and that we have a responsibility to steward it in a way that furthers the kingdom and loves our neighbor.”
On the Podcast:
- “The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander
- Shooting of Kathryn Johnston
- Equal Justice Initiative
- Prison Fellowship
- Season 3 of Serial
- Chicago’s Million Dollar Blocks
- Old Testament gleaning laws
- “Compassionate Justice” by Christopher Marshall
- Bryan Stevenson and Equal Justice Initiative
- 67% of white evangelicals support the death penalty
- Interview with Bryan Stevenson about “Just Mercy”
- Psalm 139:23-24
- Resources from Dominique: What We Can Do powerpoint and Follow-Up Resources pdf
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
White Picket Fences, Season 3 of Love is Stronger Than Fear, is based on my book White Picket Fences, and today we are talking about Privilege Walk. Check out free RESOURCES—action guide, discussion guides—that are designed to help you respond. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
The Black church has a gift for American Christianity. Are we all willing to receive it? New Testament scholar Esau McCaulley, author of “Reading While Black,” talks with Amy Julia about Black biblical interpretation, distorted views of the gospel, the importance of identity within a Christian’s story, and the Black church’s commitment to both the theological tenets of Christianity and advocating for justice.
SHOW NOTES:
Esau McCaulley (PhD, St. Andrews), author of “Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope,” a priest in the Anglican Church in North America, and a contributing writer for The New York Times. He is also the host of The Disrupters podcast. His publications include Sharing in the Son's Inheritance and numerous articles in outlets such as Christianity Today, The Witness, and The Washington Post. Connect with him online:
- esaumccaulley.com
- Twitter: @esaumccaulley
“There’s a whole story in the Bible of God liberating an entire people who are enslaved. This goes to the front of God’s resume. He says it over and over and over again, 'I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.'”
“The very practice of going to the Bible and asking God to meet us there is an exercise of hope."
"Look to the Black church in America. It has a long history of advocacy for justice along with remaining in the great tradition of things Christians will always believe."
“If our ethnicity is eschatological, if we go into the new creation as black and brown and white people, if we all come into the kingdom as our ethnic selves, then God is glorified in the salvation of each of us and each part of who we are. My blackness is not immaterial to the story of my life. I can’t tell the story of my life and what God has done in my life without talking about what it means to be Black and Christian.”
On the Podcast:
- Articles/Essays in The New York Times
- Scripture: Genesis 48, Exodus 12:37-38, I Timothy 6:1-2, Genesis 1:26-28, Luke 20:4, Sermon on the Mount, Revelation, John 9
- “Deacon King Kong” by James McBride
- “The Cross and the Lynching Tree” by James Cone
- The New York Times: The Bloody Fourth Day of Christmas
- Penny’s diagnosis of Down syndrome
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
White Picket Fences, Season 3 of Love is Stronger Than Fear, is based on my book White Picket Fences, and today we are talking about chapter 7. Check out free RESOURCES—action guide, discussion guides—that are designed to help you respond. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
In an achievement-oriented culture, how do we risk vulnerability in order to move toward personal and racial healing? Cognitive therapist Niro Feliciano talks with Amy Julia about the complexities of privilege, race and identity, affluence and anxiety, and the hurt and the hope found within communities of faith.
SHOW NOTES:
Niro Feliciano is a certified cognitive therapist and co-founder of a multi-specialty mental health group in Connecticut where she treats anxiety in adults and adolescents. Connect with Niro: nirofeliciano.com, her All Things Life podcast, @niro_feliciano on Instagram, and Niro Feliciano, The Incidental Therapist on Facebook.
“Race is a part of my identity and it is so much a part of my relationships.”
“Affluence contributes to...anxiety and depression.”
“Identity and value is so linked to accomplishment.”
“Starting in the home, we have to validate our families and our kids for who they are and not what they do. We can’t constantly be focused on the achievement.”
“I am sure about Jesus. When we say Christianity and the Church has not always been inclusive, my feeling is—Jesus always has been.”
“Be compassionate towards yourself. Forgive yourself.”
On the Podcast:
- Podcast episodes with Niro: Super Bowl episode and White Picket Fences episode
- Niro’s podcast: All Things Life
- “The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man” by James Weldon Johnson
- “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race” by Beverly Tatum
- “Caste: The Origins of Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson
- Niro’s blog post on ridgefieldmom.com
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
White Picket Fences, Season 3 of Love is Stronger Than Fear, is based on my book “White Picket Fences,” and today we are talking about chapter 7. Check out free RESOURCES—action guide, discussion guides—that are designed to help you respond. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
Fear often inhabits both wealth and poverty. How does viewing money and self-sacrifice through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus bring freedom and joy? Writer and speaker Marlena Graves, author of The Way Up Is Down: Becoming Yourself by Forgetting Yourself, talks with Amy Julia about wealth, poverty, faith, and the freedom that comes from being filled up with God’s love.
SHOW NOTES
Marlena Graves received her M.Div. from Northeastern Seminary in Rochester, New York and is pursuing her Ph.D. in American Culture Studies as she researches the influence American culture has on Evangelicals’ view of immigration, race, and poverty. Connect with Marlena: marlenagraves.com; @marlena.graves on Instagram, @marlena.propergraves on Facebook, and @MarlenaGraves on Twitter.
“Money can’t buy happiness or joy or peace. We can use money that God has given us for God’s ways, but to think that [money by itself] is going to satisfy—it really doesn’t.”
“The way of Jesus is to use whatever God has given us and whatever station of life we are in for God’s Kingdom.”
“The only way I can love people, love my neighbor, is if I am in tune and paying attention to God.”
“Prayer is putting your gaze upon God.”
On the Podcast:
- Scripture: Amos 5:24; James 5:1-6; Matthew 13; Matthew 19:24; Luke 5:27–32; Luke 19:1-10; Luke 9:51-56; Mark 9:35; Matthew 25
- Rich Mullins
- Pope Francis
- Penny’s diagnosis of Down syndrome
Thank you to Breaking Ground, the co-host for this podcast.
White Picket Fences, Season 3 of Love is Stronger Than Fear, is based on my book White Picket Fences, and today we are talking about chapters 6 and 7. Check out free RESOURCES—action guide, discussion guides—that are designed to help you respond. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
What is the difference between equality and equity and how does that affect education? Subira Gordan, executive director of ConnCAN, talks with Amy Julia about the lack of equity in education, the effects this has on opportunities for children, the role of antiracism in education, and the questions we can ask to move our communities toward affirming antiracist policies.
SHOW NOTES:
Subira Gordan is the executive director of ConnCAN, an organization that is “leading a movement to improve education outcomes for Connecticut’s kids...to ensure that all kids in The Constitution State have access to a high-quality education, regardless of their address.” Connect with ConnCAN at @ConnCAN on Facebook and @conncan on Twitter.
“Your ZIP code should not determine your future.”
“Education is a great equalizer.”
“Everyone wants to keep what they have, and they don’t recognize that what they have was made possible by government policies.”
“We should be talking about how as a community we can affirm antiracist policies.”
On the Podcast:
- Episode with Patricia Raybon
- Research about Connecticut schools provided by ConnCAN
White Picket Fences, Season 3 of Love is Stronger Than Fear, is based on my book White Picket Fences. Check out free RESOURCES—action guide, discussion guides—that are designed to help you respond. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
How does “color blindness” actually enable blindness to racism and the system of whiteness? Cara Meredith, author of The Color of Life: A Journey Toward Love and Racial Justice, joins Amy Julia to talk about racism in the north, the harm of “color blindness,” the tenants of whiteness, and creating space to process whiteness in a way that’s “not all about me.”
Show Notes:
Cara Meredith is a writer, speaker, and coach. Connect with her online: carameredith.com, @carameredithwrites on Facebook and Instagram, and @caramac54 on Twitter.
*“Love helped me see color”
“Blindness [to racism] continues to exist.”
"The celebration of who we are as humans - it’s not just our personalities but it is also what we look like on the outside and where we’ve come from.”
“Whiteness is the construct. Whiteness is all of those things that keep some people in and some people out...Whiteness is the system that we benefit from.”
Continuing the Conversation:*
- Read: The Color of Life(100% of proceeds from book sales through Cara’s website will go to The Swan Dreams Project)
On the Podcast:
- James Meredith
- Oregon’s racist history
- The Warmth of Other Suns
- Jemar Tisby and The Color of Compromise
- the Samaritan woman in John 4
- So You Want to Talk About Race
- Be the Bridge and Latasha Morrison
- Austin Channing Brown and I’m Still Here
- Robin DiAngelo and her episode on Krista Tippett’s podcast
White Picket Fences, Season 3 of Love is Stronger Than Fear, is based on my book White Picket Fences. Check out free RESOURCES—action guide, discussion guides—that are designed to help you respond. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
Amy Julia is on vacation. Tune back in next week for a new episode and interview.
Be sure to check out these interviews from Season 3: White Picket Fences:
- S3 E1 | Waking Up to Privilege with David Bailey
- S3 E2 | Living into the Really Real with Micha Boyett
- S3 E3 | Our Different Stories Divide Us with Patricia Raybon
- S3 Bonus | Talking with Our Kids about Race, Justice, Love, and Privilege
- S3 E4 | Challenging Comfort, Acknowledging Power, and Using Privilege with Natasha Robinson
- S3 E5 | Why I Wrote White Picket Fences
- S3 E6 | Now Is the Time for Justice with Jemar Tisby
How do we find hope, particularly in white American churches, when our history and identity is intertwined with racism? How does knowing who we were—and who we are—help us move toward justice and who we want to become? I talk with historian Jemar Tisby, New York Times bestselling author of The Color of Compromise, about racism’s past and present reality, his sense of a growing darkness, and also where he sees hope.
Show Notes:
Jemar Tisby is a Christian, historian, speaker, a New York Times best-selling author, and co-host of the Pass the Mic podcast. Connect with him online: jemartisby.com, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
“We can’t heal what we don’t reveal.”
“Not knowing our history or misremembering our history—telling part of the story—is actually an assault on our identity. We don’t get the full picture of who we are, whether as a corporate body as a church or as individuals.”
“Our own racial history as a church is about our identity. It’s about how we were, who we are, who we want to become.”
“If you want to talk about threats to Christianity, particularly in the United States, we need to talk about Christian nationalism.”Continuing the conversation:
- Join this book study: The Color of Compromise book study group on Facebook
- Pre-Order Jemar’s new book: How to Fight Racism: Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice
- Learn more: The Witness—a black Christian collective that engages issues of religion, race, justice, and culture from a biblical perspective
- Give: The Witness Foundation—identifying, training, and funding the next generation of Black Christian leaders
IN THE PODCAST:
Scripture references: 10 Commandments, King David, Ephesians 3, Paul on Mars Hill
Individuals, books, and concepts:
- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail
- John Lewis
- Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman
- Ta-Nehisi Coates
- John Meacham’s The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels
- Bree Newsome
- Critical Race Theory
White Picket Fences, Season 3 of Love is Stronger Than Fear, is based on my book White Picket Fences. Check out free RESOURCES—action guide, discussion guides—that are designed to help you respond. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
When it comes to the enduring legacy of racism, what place is there for forgiveness, humility, and healing? On today’s episode, Amy Julia’s friend Niro Feliciano interviews her about how she came to write White Picket Fences and what she has learned in talking about social divisions over the past few years. {This episode originally aired on Niro's podcast—All Things Life.}
Show Notes:
Niro Feliciano is a certified cognitive therapist and is the co-founder of a multi-specialty mental health group—Integrative Counseling and Wellness Group in Wilton, CT. Follow Niro at nirofeliciano.com, on Facebook at Niro Feliciano, The Incidental Therapist, and on Instagram at @niro_feliciano.
In our conversation, we talk about Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “beloved community,” which you can read more about here, and we talk about how Black authors topped the New York Times bestseller list.
We also discuss talking to children about racism, privilege, and current events, which you can learn more about from my interview with Patricia Raybon and my interview with our children.
We mention the shooting of Philando Castile, as well as Head, Heart, Hands, which is an action guide to accompany White Picket Fences, and our family’s Civil Rights tour.
I mention Osheta Moore's Dear White Peacemaker podcast.
Finally, we mention two Bible passages: Micah 6:8 and Isaiah 20.
This podcast season is called White Picket Fences, and it is based on my book White Picket Fences: Turning Towards Love in a World Divided by Privilege. Learn more about White Picket Fences! Also check out free RESOURCES to accompany White Picket Fences—action guide, discussion guides—that are designed to help you respond. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
Natasha Sistrunk Robinson grew up as a Black woman in a patriotic family in Orangeburg, South Carolina. She went on to serve as a United States Marine and later worked in the Department of Homeland Security. She is now an author, speaker, and leader. Today we talk about her most recent book, A Sojourner’s Truth: Choosing Freedom and Courage in a Divided World. We also cover the topic of patriotism, whether or not churches should seek to become multicultural spaces, and how white people can name both the injustices and the goodness within their lives and use it to serve God’s good purposes.
Show Notes:
Patricia Raybon wrote the forward for both Natasha’s book, A Sojourner's Truth, and for my book, White Picket Fences. We talk about the times we have been co-speakers at events—here’s an example.
Natasha mentions the Orangeburg Massacre, which occurred in her hometown. We talk about monuments in the South, which you can read more about here. We talk about several books and people: Divided by Faith, James Baldwin, and Frederick Douglass’ What to the Slave is the Fourth of July. Natasha also references an article she wrote for Christianity Today, and we mention Acts 17 and the book of Exodus from the Bible, as well as research from Pew Research Center and this article on Ed Stetzer’s Christianity Today blog: Social Justice, Critical Race Theory, Marxism, and Biblical Ethics.
Natasha and I talk about supporting organizations led by people of color. Read more about this here.
This podcast season is called White Picket Fences, and it is based on my book White Picket Fences: Turning Towards Love in a World Divided by Privilege. Learn more aboutWhite Picket Fences! Also check out free RESOURCES to accompany White Picket Fences—action guide, discussion guides—that are designed to help you respond. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
Follow Natasha online: www.natashasrobinson.com; Facebook; Instagram; TwitterT3 Leadership Solutions, IncLeadership LINKS, Inc
In this follow up to last week’s interview with Patricia Raybon, Amy Julia interviews her three children. Penny, William, and Marilee all talk about what they’ve learned from books, museums, and the recent protests after the death of George Floyd.
Show Notes:
We begin our conversation by talking about our family’s Civil Rights tour in 2019. Here’s a description of our four-day tour, as well as a recommended itinerary, which includes the Whitney Plantation that Marilee mentions, as well as the Legacy Museum, which is where we saw the jars of dirt that Penny talks about.
We talk about the death of George Floyd.
Penny mentions the song Way Maker.
All three children talk about books/resources they recommend for learning more about race and privilege. Go here for links to the resources they mention (as well as many more resources!). In relation to this conversation and reading books from different perspectives, Marilee mentions the Little House series.
This podcast season is called White Picket Fences, and it is based on my book White Picket Fences: Turning Towards Love in a World Divided by Privilege. Learn more aboutWhite Picket Fences! Also check out free RESOURCES to accompany White Picket Fences—action guide, discussion guides—that are designed to help you respond. Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.
How do white parents talk with their children about race and racism? Why do white evangelical and Black Christians seem so socially and politically divided? How can we move towards one another in love even when we disagree? Author Patricia Raybon and Amy Julia discuss these questions and more in this conversation about race, books and reading, parenting, and faith. (Also, check back next week for a bonus episode where Amy Julia talks with her kids about what they’ve learned from talking about racism and injustice at home.)
Show Notes:
Patricia begins by talking a bit about her background. Go here to learn more about her career in journalism and as a professor of journalism.We mention my Patricia begins with talking a bit about her history. Go here to learn more about her writings and career in journalism and as a professor of journalism.
We talk about my essay series about racial healing on my Christianity Today blog and the connection to the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson. Patricia wrote an article entitled “A White Cop and a Black Lady” that was published on my CT blog following this essay series.
We mention Brené Brown, Kelli Trujillo, and Howard Thurman.
We talk about mortgage discrimination, economic disparities, and white privilege.
Patricia recommends reading Alex Haley’s book Roots: The Saga of an American Family, as well as Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables.
Patrician mentions an article she wrote entitled “Will We Judge Young Looters or Love Them?”
Find Patrica Rabyon online: patriciaraybon.com. She also writes for Our Daily Bread Ministries, DaySpring’s (in)courage, Charles Stanley’s InTouch Ministries, and Christianity Today.
If you would like to read more from Patricia, she recommends starting with My First White Friend, and then reading I Told the Mountain to Move, which is a prequel to Undivided: A Muslim Daughter,Her Christian Mother, Their Path to Peace. Two additional books that Patricia recommended to me but not mentioned in the podcast are: Born a Crime and Cry, the Beloved Country.
This podcast season is called White Picket Fences, and it is based on my book White Picket Fences: Turning Towards Love in a World Divided by Privilege. Learn more about White Picket Fences! Also check out free RESOURCES to accompany White Picket Fences—action guide, discussion guides—that are designed to help you respond.
How can we talk about race and disability without conflating the two? How can white, able-bodied, neurotypical people enter into this conversation? What is the difference between “white fragility” and being vulnerable? What is the connection between contemplation and activism? Amy Julia talks with author, podcaster, and advocate Micha Boyett today about all these questions and more.
Show Notes
Follow Micha Boyett online:
- Website: michaboyett.com
- Instagram (features Micha’s writing): @michaboyett
- Instagram (features life with Micha’s son Ace, who has Down syndrome): @acefaceismyfriend
- Facebook: @MichaBoyett
- Twitter: @michaboyett
Micha also co-hosts a podcast called The Lucky Few, with Heather Avis and Mercedes Lara. I mention that Micha is a poet and studied with Mary Karr. I reference last week’s podcast episode: S3 E1 | Waking Up to Privilege with David Bailey. We talk about Jean Vanier’s book Becoming Human and our sorrow over the sexual abuse perpetrated by Vanier. We mention Fr. Richard Rohr and his phrase “the really real,” and his prayer for “one good humiliation a day.” Why the phrase “all lives matter” is problematic and some of the warning signs of gaslighting. We talk about White Fragility by Robin J. DiAngelo. We mention The Rule of St. Benedict and mention Micah 6:8 from the Bible. Finally, here is my favorite podcast episode on The Lucky Few: Friendship Pt. 2 with Guest, Melynn Henry.
This podcast season is called White Picket Fences, and it is based on my book White Picket Fences: Turning Towards Love in a World Divided by Privilege. Learn more about White Picket Fences! Also check out free RESOURCES to accompany White Picket Fences—action guide, discussion guides—that are designed to help you respond.
Race, class, and the kingdom of God all come up in this conversation between Amy Julia and David Bailey, Director of Arrabon, a ministry to help churches become reconciling communities. In this introductory episode for Season 3, David and Amy Julia talk about why white people can feel afraid to enter into conversations about race, the controversies over Confederate monuments in David’s hometown of Richmond, Virginia, whether this moment of protest and activism will translate into lasting social change, and more.
Show Notes:
David references a lot of rich material in this show, so hopefully I’ll get it all recorded in one place. First, there are some references to the Bible. David talks about the foundational Judeo-Christian narratives found in Genesis 1 and Genesis 3, and he also makes reference to the “Jericho Road” and the “Good Samaritan” which can be found in Luke 10:25-37.
Next, we discuss current events, including monuments along Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia, Rush Limbaugh’s visit to The Breakfast Club, and Ezra Klein and Ta-Nehisi Coates’ conversation about non-violence and policing. We also talk about The Porter’s Gate project, a collaborative worship album David helped put together (and invited me to attend) with a disparate group of Christian worship artists. This is an album about justice and mercy, all taken from Scripture.
Here’s the essay about Christian anger that David mentions he wrote recently for Christianity Today.
Finally, to learn more about David’s work, go to arrabon.com. There are great resources for churches and individuals who want to become reconciling communities. David also directs Urban Doxology, whose most recent release is “God Not Guns.”
Also, I mention that I define privilege as “unearned social advantages.” To hear more about this idea, read What Privilege Is, and What Privilege is Not.
David M. Bailey is a public theologian and culture maker who believes the church should lead by example in effective cross-cultural engagement and practices in reconciliation. He’s the founder and executive director of Arrabon; an organization that builds reconciling communities in the midst of a digital, diverse, and divided world. David is an active speaker, consultant and strategist for many national organizations about cultural intelligence and culture-making. He is the co-author of the Race, Class, and the Kingdom of God Study Series. David is the executive producer of documentary 11am: Hope for America’s Most Segregated Hour and the Urban Doxology Project. He's rooted at East End Fellowship and serves on the preaching team. David's greatest honor in life is to be married to his wonderful and beautiful wife, Joy. [bio courtesy of Arrobon]
Race, class, identity, privilege. These are topics and concepts that divide us, but what if we could start talking about them? Through conversation and stories that follow the themes of my book, White Picket Fences: Turning toward Love in a World Divided by Privilege, we are going to explore these hard topics in order to move together towards healing.
Show Notes:
White Picket Fences book
Resources: White Picket Fences discussion guides
David Bailey / Arrabon
Finding contentment and strength in all circumstances has never been easy. That was true for Paul 2,000 years ago writing from a prison cell, and it is true now for those of us in the midst of very ordinary hard days and those of us in extraordinarily hard days. This week, Amy Julia talks about small but hopeful steps people are taking in response to the recent protests in cities and towns across the country, and she explores the final verses of Paul’s letter to the Philippians and how they can find strength and contentment. She talks about how we can find protection in who God is and how that allows us to enter into conversations and relationships with an open heart. And finally, she shares a sneak peek at the next season of The Love is Stronger Than Fear podcast, coming very soon!
Philippians 4:10-23
Some Stories of Hope in a Week of Hardship
Ta Nehisi Coates and Ezra Klein’s interview
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
In the midst of a week of social unrest across the nation, how can we work towards peace? This episode looks at Paul’s words, “do not worry” and talks about how we can cultivate personal and social peace. Amy Julia examines the problems of reading the Bible individualistically and considers how we can also read it in the context of a broader community of faith and humanity. This episode is especially relevant for white Christians who are looking for ways to learn, listen, lament, and love.
Show Notes:
Today’s Bible passage comes from Philippians 4:1-9. I used N.T. Wright’s Paul for Everyone: The Prison Letters and George Hunsinger’s Philippians commentary in preparation for this show. In the show, I reference the Destructive Power of Despair by Charles Blow, Episode 103 of this podcast, which is about love as the foundation, and a recent blog post I wrote offering 5 Small Steps toward Racial Healing. Also, I mention Niro Feliciano's podcast All Things Life episode titled From Hurting to Hopeful: Race, Privilege and Meaningful Action and this article about childhood anxiety from the May issue of The Atlantic.
In a time of uncertainty and lethargy, Amy Julia offers thoughts on the nature of hope, the vehicle for hope, and the source of our hope. This bonus episode comes from a talk she gave years ago that details how she moved from fear to hope after her daughter Penny’s diagnosis of Down syndrome. She encourages all of us to cultivate hope—not optimism—in the face of fear.
Have you felt a little hopeless lately? Have you had a hard time feeling like your days have any meaning or purpose? Have you compared your life to the movie Groundhog Day? In this episode, Amy Julia talks about the way our imagination is linked to our ability to hope, and how right now it is hard to have hope in politics or the economy or our social or professional lives. She discusses the idea of cultivating the “spiritual imagination” in order to connect the pain of the present moment to the promises of the future, and how to bring the goodness, beauty, and joy of the future into the present moment. If you are struggling to feel hopeful, this episode offers thoughts on how to experience hope without denying the hardship of this time.
SHOW NOTES
- Philippians 3:12-4:1
- Yale Insights, The Language We Speak Predicts Saving and Health Behavior
- N.T. Wright's Paul for Everyone
The power of love works differently than the power of status. In this episode, Amy Julia shares stories of powerlessness in the midst of this pandemic, and she talks about how we will only feel increasingly powerless if our identity comes from achievement or social status. But if we understand our identity as given to us by God then we can enter into seemingly hopeless situations with the power of love.
Show Notes:
Philippians 3:1-11
A Good and Perfect Gift: Faith, Expectations, and a Little Girl Named Penny
How does God communicate love? In this episode, Amy Julia talks about how God uses people to carry “love letters”—messages of care and kindness and hope. She shares stories of how this happens right now when we pay attention to the whispers and nudges that prompt us to reach out and care for other people in need, and she refers back to stories in the Bible that show how God has always used people to carry his messages of love and blessing.
SHOW NOTES:
In this episode, Amy Julia speaks from Philippians 2 in order to talk about how God uses people to carry “love letters” from Him. She talks about the way God works through people, with reference to Mary and Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-45) and how God is humble, with reference to 1 Corinthians 13.
At the end of the episode, she mentions a recent conversation on “the And” between her friend Ginny and her 15-year old daughter Rachel, who has Down syndrome, as well as a video produced by choirs and worship leaders in the United Kingdom to sing a blessing of peace:
- Conversation on the "the And" between Ginny and Rachel
- UK Choirs and Worship Leaders Perform The Blessing
Amy Julia also mentions her new podcast, Reading Small Talk, which will be available starting Thursday, May 7, in weekly installments, or is available as an audiobook here.
Many people have read White Picket Fences and then asked me about practical steps they can take to respond to the harm they see in their own lives and communities. How do we move from considering the harm of privilege into participation in the healing process? Head Heart Hands is a free action guide that accompanies White Picket Fences and offers ways to respond to the harm of social divisions and privilege in a thoughtful, loving, and courageous manner. It's designed to equip anyone who wants to respond to the harm of privilege; it walks through the problems of “fixes” and then offers ways to engage your head, heart, and hands.
Show Notes:
- PDF for Head Heart Hands
- White Picket Fences
In a time of social distancing, it’s hard to help other people. It’s hard because of the physical distance, but it’s also hard to feel motivated to engage in the needs of the world. Most of us feel needy ourselves right now, even if we are sheltering-in-place with relative ease. In this week’s episode, we talk about how to understand ourselves as beloved children of God, and how out of that belovedness we can find our way into the work of social healing using our heads, hearts, and hands.
Show Notes:
- PDF version of Head, Hearts, Hands
- A Good and Perfect Gift
- Small Talk
- Philippians 2:12-18
Science, medicine, and politics can answer lots of our questions about where the coronavirus came from and what it is doing in and among humans. But another set of questions arises in times like this. Can we find any meaning or purpose in this suffering? Can we find any meaning or purpose in our lives right now? Is God present, and loving, and real? Where is God in the midst of suffering? In this episode, Amy Julia looks at what Paul writes about who Jesus Christ is as a way to understand who God is in the midst of suffering and how voluntary self-sacrifice motivated by love equips and empowers us to find meaning and experience God’s loving presence in our current moment.
Show Notes:
- Casey Cep in the New Yorker on the gift of church: https://www.newyorker.com/news/on-religion/the-gospel-in-a-time-of-social-distancing
- N.T. Wright in TIME: https://time.com/5808495/coronavirus-christianity/
- NYT on politician turned Jesuit: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/11/opinion/sunday/cyrus-habib-jesuit.html
- C.S. Lewis quote: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/221026-a-man-s-physical-hunger-does-not-prove-that-man-will
- Bloomberg Article: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-31/divorces-spike-in-china-after-coronavirus-quarantines
- Philippians 2:1-10
- Romans 5:8
- John 3:16
- From White Picket Fences:
"The privilege of whiteness and wealth can become a wall against the privilege of being human, loved not for status or performance but simply loved, and able to give love in return not because of obligation but in grateful response to an invitation. I have been given much that I do not deserve, and my very real social privilege has cut me off from others as much as it has also made my life comfortable. But social privilege is not the end of my story. The real privilege of my life has come in learning what it means to love others, that love involves suffering and sacrifice and sleepless nights and tears and heartache and great gifts.
It makes sense to talk about privilege in terms of access to private clubs and schools and bank loans and preferential treatment by authorities. It makes sense to expose the injustices of privilege and call for them to be rectified. But there is also the privilege of cleaning the wounds of people you love, of participating in healing and new life, of becoming vulnerable and needy and receiving love and care. There is another type of privilege, privilege that connects instead of divides, that shimmers through the air like a link of light, available if only we stop counting the coins and look up."
What does COVID-19 tell us about our humanity? In today’s episode, Amy Julia talks about the way this pandemic exposes three truths of human nature. She also explores three impediments to living in love: distraction, fear, and injustice. With a look at Philippians 2:1-4 as an ideal way to live, she offers thoughts on the way social divisions impede living in love.
Show Notes:
For the Life of the World podcast (Miroslav Volf)
Article in Washington Post by Sarah Pulliam Bailey re Samaritan’s Purse and Cathedral of St. John the Divine
Update: While the organization Amy Julia mentions in this podcast, Samaritan's Purse, has set up in Central Park and is serving people there, the plans to work in the cathedral of St. John the Divine were canceled. According to the New York Times, it is unclear whether that changed due to need or to disagreement between Samaritan's Purse and St. John the Divine over same-sex marriage. (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/nyregion/st-john-the-divine-franklin-graham.html)
Philippians 2:1-4
“Why does God allow the coronavirus to exist?” is the question my kids (and many of us) are asking this week. More generally, why does God allow suffering to happen? Why doesn’t God stop the suffering? I can’t offer any easy answers, but we will tackle this age-old question in today’s episode of the Love is Stronger Than Fear podcast. As we enter the Christian celebration of Holy Week, we’ll look at how Jesus faced his own suffering and death with love. We will also explore how Paul faced the prospect of his own death without fear and with love, and how we too can enter into a place of greater peace, hope, and love without denying our real fears and sorrows.
Show Notes
Philippians 1:19-30
Psalm 88
Psalm 63
Blog post I wrote about how Psalm 63 moves us towards hope
What do we do when the foundation is shaking? Thousands of Americans have already died from the coronavirus. Hundreds of thousands of people are sick from this virus around the globe. Millions of Americans lost their jobs, just last week. So what do we do when the foundation is shaking and busyness, self-medication, and entertainment are not enough? Today’s episode explores six ways to receive God's love in the time of coronavirus.
Additional Resources:
- Philippians 1:13-18, 1 Corinthians 13, Ephesians 3:14-21, 1 John 4
- Blog Post: How to Receive God's Love
- Harvard Business Review: That Discomfort You're Feeling is Grief
- Expanded Show Notes
For all of you who are stressed, and fearful, and worried—for yourself, for your family, for those you love, for our whole world—I want to share a practice that has helped me. I invite you to give yourself three minutes today.
How do we connect socially in a time of social distance? Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians in the midst of his own extended time of social isolation. This letter he wrote offers us words of honesty and hope in the midst of our current moment.
SHOW NOTES:
Philippians 1:1-11
It was after the election of President Trump in 2016 that I first wrote the words, “Love is stronger than fear.” Fears haven’t abated in the past few years, and they only increased in the past few weeks as we face an unprecedented medical and economic crisis across the globe.
SHOW NOTES:
Book of Philippians
And now for something completely different: the Superbowl halftime show! After noticing really different reactions to the show from white Christian women and Christian women of color, my good friend Niro Feliciano and I decided to record a conversation. Listen as we talk about Shakira and J Lo, about how culture shapes our view of the world, and how to grow in love even when we disagree.
I'm excited to introduce to you Head Heart Hands, my new resource that accompanies White Picket Fences. This free action guideoffers ways to respond to the harm of social divisions and privilege in a thoughtful, loving, and courageous manner.
I’m sneaking in one more bonus episode of the podcast because I couldn’t resist and because it’s about family, and, well, as we approach the end of the holiday season, sometimes we need to be reminded of the title of this episode—Jesus Came from a Dysfunctional Family.
Our children will open presents today, and their joy at receiving gifts that they cannot buy for themselves will remind me of the extravagant and free love of a God who comes when we don’t expect him and shines light and hope in the darkest corners of our lives and our world.
Our tradition on Christmas Eve is to throw a birthday party for Jesus. As we approach the mayhem of Christmas morning, we remind ourselves that the gifts Jesus asks for are those of a humble heart, a contrite spirit, and a willingness to give ourselves in love to those in need.
Living with Jesus, living in the light, means we start to see the things that God hates in this world. Injustice to people who are vulnerable and needy might be at the top of the list of things God hates. But light doesn't just expose. It also guides us and shows us how to reflect the light that brings healing and change in the world.
In today’s episode I talk about our options when we see the darkness inside our own lives, like a ketchup stain on a shirt. We can turn off the lights and go back to ignorance. Or we can ask Jesus to help us clean it up. But what do we do when some stains don’t disappear?
The darkness of the human heart. We don’t like to talk about that darkness, not at Christmastime, and really not ever. But if Jesus has come to be a light in the darkness, then the reason to talk about darkness is so that we can turn toward the light.
When I sing Christmas hymns to my children at night, I am naming something that runs deeper than peppermint ice cream and mistletoe, and yet it is through baking and decorating and gifts that I communicate the spiritual reality contained in those Christmas church songs.
The light shines in the darkness. Today’s episode looks at how the glitz, parties, and gifts of the commercialized Christmas can serve as very physical reminders of what, of whom, we celebrate this season.
I'm more or less ready for Christmas. But am I ready for Jesus? Not really. I'm not ready for Jesus to show up, and perhaps that's exactly as it should be. Today on the podcast we’re talking about how Jesus is ready to enter my life—just as it is.
Today’s reflection comes from a time when our kids were little, our cat was alive, and I was in a hard spot personally. A time when I needed to learn about expecting God to show up not only when our life is in crisis but also in the every day.
Today I look at a passage in the Bible that relates to George Bailey, and to Zechariah, and to me, and to all of us who think we need impressive resumes and accomplishments in order to prove our worth to the world.
In today’s episode I give you a glimpse of when I was grumpy for a few years. Maybe not every day. But most days. And at the core of my being, deep inside my heart, lay a stone, a slowly growing bitter stone of resentment and self-pity.
In today’s episode, I look at Mary’s song and an uncomfortable truth about who God is. Yes, God is love. But what God’s love looks like as it enters a world filled with injustice and abuse and oppression isn’t always what we expect.
What does it take for Mary to have hope? It takes God’s word, sure. But it also takes Elizabeth. It takes another person to affirm God’s work in Mary’s life. Today I look at how we access hope as we speak the truth of God’s promises into one another’s lives.
In today’s episode I focus on Mary’s humanness. We know Mary was frightened. We know Mary was confused. If Mary could come to God with fear, with confusion, with her real self, well, so can we.
“I am the Lord’s servant.” Mary said "yes" to both shame and glory, writes poet Luci Shaw. In today’s episode I talk about how in saying yes to God’s invitation to bear love in this world, we are willing to endure misunderstanding at best and abuse at worst.
Mary had good reasons to be “greatly troubled.” She was young, unwed, and about to learn that she would be a teenage mother. I have never had such reason to worry, but worry has plagued me still. Anxiety comes up throughout the Bible, and over and over again God offers peace.
A baby born of a virgin, a God who became a human being, a promise that the entire world will one day taste the resurrection–I have my own set of questions for each one of those claims. In today’s episode I talk about my questions and the God who keeps showing up.
Today we look at Luke’s story of Jesus. We’re invited to enter this story with our questions, but also with our love. This is a book filled with holy tension between faith and doubt, between love and investigation.
Advent involves the sorrowful expectation that God will indeed bring good news by showing up in our messy, broken lives. In today’s podcast I talk about a new tradition our family has integrated into our Advent practice that I hope has deepened our understanding of the spirit of this season.
There is nothing trite about this time of year. In today’s podcast we see that Advent is a time of sorrowful expectation, of daring to hope that Immanuel, God-with-us, is still working to make things right in this world.
At times I want to protest the commercialization of Christmas. In today’s episode we talk about tinsel and tacky decorations and the fact that our son, when he was two years old, thought more highly of Santa than God. Part of me wants to do away with Christmas extravagance altogether. Yet from the beginning of Jesus’ life, people responded with extravagant generosity.
A simple statement from our son makes me realize I haven’t talked much about other religions with our children. This episode gives you a chance to eavesdrop on our conversation. Can we honor each religious tradition without pretending they’re all the same?
Today we’re reading Matthew 1:22-25, which describes Joseph and Mary’s preparations to welcome Jesus as their son. Preparing room means clearing out space. Cleaning up. Moving the detritus into the basement. How do I prepare room for Jesus on a spiritual level?
Today we’re reading Matthew 1:18-21, where the angel implies that Joseph is afraid to take Mary home as his wife. I’m grateful we aren’t asked to eliminate fears in order to claim hope. Rather we are invited to bring hope and fear in a mixed up jumble to Jesus.
Today’s podcast comes from Matthew 1:1-17, which might seem boring because it’s a genealogy, but Jesus’ story starts here, and this list of names is important. It reminds us that Jesus—the one who in just a few verses will be named God with us—came to us in a body.
I’ve written often about Advent and Christmas. A few years ago I gathered many of those thoughts into an ebook so they could accompany the Biblical stories of Jesus’ coming and birth. This year, I am reading that ebook out loud. To you. One day at a time.
Today’s episode gives a sense of our journey together this Advent season. We’re preparing for love to show up on Christmas morning in the form of a baby, but we’re also longing for love to show up in the midst of the everyday stress and joy of the holiday season.
Listen now to get a sense of season one of the Love is Stronger than Fear podcast. Amy Julia Becker introduces a series of reflections about God showing up in the midst of the everyday life of eating, drinking, and doing too much, and experiencing love and grace through it all.