GracePointe Church | Nashville, TN: Recent Episodes
GracePointe Church
The GracePointe community is leading the theological development and practice of Progressive Christianity. This is at the core of what makes us distinct, and is far from a simple label change for a modern repackaging of traditional beliefs.
⛪️ To learn more about who we are and what we do, visit https://gracepointe.net/about-us🗣 For weekly event and ways to get plugged in, visit https://gracepointe.net/calendar🙌 To become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community, visit https://gracepointe.net/giveLike us on Facebook at https://facebook.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Instagram at https://instagram.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/gracepointetn
⛪️ To learn more about who we are and what we do, visit https://gracepointe.net/about-us🗣 For weekly event and ways to get plugged in, visit https://gracepointe.net/calendar🙌 To become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community, visit https://gracepointe.net/giveLike us on Facebook at https://facebook.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Instagram at https://instagram.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/gracepointetn
⛪️ To learn more about who we are and what we do, visit https://gracepointe.net/about-us🗣 For weekly event and ways to get plugged in, visit https://gracepointe.net/calendar🙌 To become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community, visit https://gracepointe.net/giveLike us on Facebook at https://facebook.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Instagram at https://instagram.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/gracepointetn
⛪️ To learn more about who we are and what we do, visit https://gracepointe.net/about-us🗣 For weekly event and ways to get plugged in, visit https://gracepointe.net/calendar🙌 To become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community, visit https://gracepointe.net/giveLike us on Facebook at https://facebook.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Instagram at https://instagram.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/gracepointetn
⛪️ To learn more about who we are and what we do, visit https://gracepointe.net/about-us🗣 For weekly event and ways to get plugged in, visit https://gracepointe.net/calendar🙌 To become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community, visit https://gracepointe.net/giveLike us on Facebook at https://facebook.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Instagram at https://instagram.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/gracepointetn
⛪️ To learn more about who we are and what we do, visit https://gracepointe.net/about-us🗣 For weekly event and ways to get plugged in, visit https://gracepointe.net/calendar🙌 To become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community, visit https://gracepointe.net/giveLike us on Facebook at https://facebook.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Instagram at https://instagram.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/gracepointetn
⛪️ To learn more about who we are and what we do, visit https://gracepointe.net/about-us🗣 For weekly event and ways to get plugged in, visit https://gracepointe.net/calendar🙌 To become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community, visit https://gracepointe.net/giveLike us on Facebook at https://facebook.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Instagram at https://instagram.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/gracepointetn
⛪️ To learn more about who we are and what we do, visit https://gracepointe.net/about-us🗣 For weekly event and ways to get plugged in, visit https://gracepointe.net/calendar🙌 To become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community, visit https://gracepointe.net/giveLike us on Facebook at https://facebook.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Instagram at https://instagram.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/gracepointetn
⛪️ To learn more about who we are and what we do, visit https://gracepointe.net/about-us🗣 For weekly event and ways to get plugged in, visit https://gracepointe.net/calendar🙌 To become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community, visit https://gracepointe.net/giveLike us on Facebook at https://facebook.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Instagram at https://instagram.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/gracepointetn
⛪️ To learn more about who we are and what we do, visit https://gracepointe.net/about-us🗣 For weekly event and ways to get plugged in, visit https://gracepointe.net/calendar🙌 To become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community, visit https://gracepointe.net/giveLike us on Facebook at https://facebook.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Instagram at https://instagram.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/gracepointetn
⛪️ To learn more about who we are and what we do, visit https://gracepointe.net/about-us🗣 For weekly event and ways to get plugged in, visit https://gracepointe.net/calendar🙌 To become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community, visit https://gracepointe.net/giveLike us on Facebook at https://facebook.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Instagram at https://instagram.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/gracepointetn
⛪️ To learn more about who we are and what we do, visit https://gracepointe.net/about-us🗣 For weekly event and ways to get plugged in, visit https://gracepointe.net/calendar🙌 To become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community, visit https://gracepointe.net/giveLike us on Facebook at https://facebook.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Instagram at https://instagram.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/gracepointetn
⛪️ To learn more about who we are and what we do, visit https://gracepointe.net/about-us🗣 For weekly event and ways to get plugged in, visit https://gracepointe.net/calendar🙌 To become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community, visit https://gracepointe.net/giveLike us on Facebook at https://facebook.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Instagram at https://instagram.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/gracepointetn
⛪️ To learn more about who we are and what we do, visit https://gracepointe.net/about-us🗣 For weekly event and ways to get plugged in, visit https://gracepointe.net/calendar🙌 To become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community, visit https://gracepointe.net/giveLike us on Facebook at https://facebook.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Instagram at https://instagram.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/gracepointetn
⛪️ To learn more about who we are and what we do, visit https://gracepointe.net/about-us🗣 For weekly event and ways to get plugged in, visit https://gracepointe.net/calendar🙌 To become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community, visit https://gracepointe.net/giveLike us on Facebook at https://facebook.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Instagram at https://instagram.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/gracepointetn
This weekend we are ONLINE ONLY and we are starting a new series! So many of us have been on a journey of unlearning, of letting go and leaving behind interpretations and understandings that no longer work for us. The process is not just one of letting go and leaving behind, however. We are also embracing new values and understandings. In this new summer series, “UnLearning,” we will explore many of the doctrines and beliefs we have jettisoned, and ask “what next?” This Sunday Josh will begin with an introduction that will set the direction for the series, so you don’t want to miss it! Join us at 10:30am CT, on YouTube ONLY, this Sunday (6/2) for UnLearning, part one!⛪️ To learn more about who we are and what we do, visit https://gracepointe.net/about-us🗣 For weekly event and ways to get plugged in, visit https://gracepointe.net/calendar🙌 To become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community, visit https://gracepointe.net/giveLike us on Facebook at https://facebook.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Instagram at https://instagram.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/gracepointetn
This Sunday Josh will begin a two-week mini-series around the season of Pentecost. To start things off we’ll look at a story found in John 20, in which Jesus breathes the Spirit into his disciples. Well, except for one, Thomas. He missed the moment. What might the story of the disciple we’ve called “Doubting Thomas” for two thousand years teach us about our own experience? It might surprise you! Join us Sunday at 9 and 11am CT as we explore it together.⛪️ To learn more about who we are and what we do, visit https://gracepointe.net/about-us🗣 For weekly event and ways to get plugged in, visit https://gracepointe.net/calendar🙌 To become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community, visit https://gracepointe.net/giveLike us on Facebook at https://facebook.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Instagram at https://instagram.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/gracepointetn
This Sunday Josh will begin a two-week mini-series around the season of Pentecost. To start things off we’ll look at a story found in John 20, in which Jesus breathes the Spirit into his disciples. Well, except for one, Thomas. He missed the moment. What might the story of the disciple we’ve called “Doubting Thomas” for two thousand years teach us about our own experience? It might surprise you! Join us Sunday at 9 and 11am CT as we explore it together.⛪️ To learn more about who we are and what we do, visit https://gracepointe.net/about-us🗣 For weekly event and ways to get plugged in, visit https://gracepointe.net/calendar🙌 To become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community, visit https://gracepointe.net/giveLike us on Facebook at https://facebook.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Instagram at https://instagram.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/gracepointetn
⛪️ To learn more about who we are and what we do, visit https://gracepointe.net/about-us🗣 For weekly event and ways to get plugged in, visit https://gracepointe.net/calendar🙌 To become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community, visit https://gracepointe.net/giveLike us on Facebook at https://facebook.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Instagram at https://instagram.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/gracepointetn
⛪️ To learn more about who we are and what we do, visit https://gracepointe.net/about-us🗣 For weekly event and ways to get plugged in, visit https://gracepointe.net/calendar🙌 To become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community, visit https://gracepointe.net/giveLike us on Facebook at https://facebook.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Instagram at https://instagram.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/gracepointetn
⛪️ To learn more about who we are and what we do, visit https://gracepointe.net/about-us🗣 For weekly event and ways to get plugged in, visit https://gracepointe.net/calendar🙌 To become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community, visit https://gracepointe.net/giveLike us on Facebook at https://facebook.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Instagram at https://instagram.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/gracepointetn
⛪️ To learn more about who we are and what we do, visit https://gracepointe.net/about-us🗣 For weekly event and ways to get plugged in, visit https://gracepointe.net/calendar🙌 To become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community, visit https://gracepointe.net/giveLike us on Facebook at https://facebook.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Instagram at https://instagram.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/gracepointetn
The version of Easter we find at the end of Mark’s Gospel is very different from the other Gospels. It’s short, includes no appearance of the risen Jesus, and end abruptly. Yet, this is also the first Easter narrative, the one that Matthew, Luke, and John use as a springboard to tell their stories. What does Mark think Easter means? How does this strange story offer hope or speak to us today?
⛪️ To learn more about who we are and what we do, visit https://gracepointe.net/about-us🗣 For weekly event and ways to get plugged in, visit https://gracepointe.net/calendar🙌 To become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community, visit https://gracepointe.net/giveLike us on Facebook at https://facebook.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Instagram at https://instagram.com/gracepointetnFollow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/gracepointetn
This week we find ourselves in Mark chapter 10, where we meet a rich person who asks Jesus a big question. “What must I do to inherit eternal life,” he asked. Jesus’s answer might surprise us!
This week we are back into our series through the Gospel of Mark. In chapter 9 Jesus takes his closest disciples up a mountain and they have an experience that is both strange and transformative. What did the story of Jesus’s transfiguration mean for Mark? What does it mean for us, today?
What do we do when the portrayal of Jesus in Scripture shows us something we don’t like or agree with? Today, lead pastor Josh Scott shares one of his favorite stories in Mark, a time when Jesus refused to help someone and then changed his mind. Josh explains what this story has taught him about the importance of staying open to new perspectives, and he encourages us to follow Jesus’ lead in not holding so tightly to our theology that it ends up harming others.
Episode Recap:
- Mark’s gospel reminds us there’s still good news at the end of the world (1:06)
- Jesus reminds people that justice is what matters most (3:03)
- The Roman Empire was not just a problem for Jewish people (8:13)
- What do we do with Jesus’ response to the woman asking for help? (16:57)
- In this moment, we see Jesus’ perspective change (24:05)
- When our theology bumps up against our experience of people, something has to give (30:54)
- Jesus didn’t come to lead a conquest, he came to liberate (32:49)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
Jesus’ vision of the kingdom was less about converting people and more about coming together to make sure everyone has what they need. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott examines three stories in Mark 6 that demonstrate the power of collaboration and cooperation. He reminds us that hospitality is a core tenet of the kingdom of God and shares some actions we can take this week to help create the world we want to live in.
Episode Recap:
- When it feels like the world is falling apart, we need good news (0:10)
- Jesus gave people an alternative vision of what the world could be (4:40)
- Mark 6 invites us into collaboration and cooperation (7:03)
- Jesus’ own hometown wasn’t open to the work he was doing (9:14)
- The kingdom requires hospitality (17:19)
- Jesus’ movement has always been about caring for and feeding each other (26:14)
- The world won’t change unless we make change happen (30:58)
- 2 opportunities for learning and action (33:22)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
Following Jesus is and always was a political act. So what did Jesus have to say about empire, and how can those teachings shape how we live? Today, lead pastor Josh Scott discusses two stories from Mark 5 that show us something important about who Jesus chose to embrace and how we can resist empire. Josh also opens up the floor for a conversation with our online and in-person community so we can all learn from each other.
Episode Recap:
- Jesus came to remind people a different kind of world was possible (3:40)
- What jumps out to you when you read Mark 5? (6:41)
- When someone was unclean, people were taught to keep their distance (13:00)
- Mark is making an overt political statement with this story (26:09)
- The way to resist empire is by caring for each other (33:44)
- Jesus embraced the woman who was unclean (37:30)
- Taking Jesus seriously requires us to change how we live (42:48)
- It’s easy to judge how people responded to Jesus, but are we any better? (49:08)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community
Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
Why did Jesus choose to compare the kingdom of God to one of the smallest seeds? Today, lead pastor Josh Scott discusses the parable of the mustard seed and what it means for the way we view God’s kingdom. He reminds us that Jesus never wanted to create another empire, but to establish a new way of being in the world. He also talks about the concept of parables and takes time to hear from our community about what this story means to them.
Episode Recap:
- If you want to see the kingdom of God, you need to allow for transformation (0:10)
- In Mark 4, we see Jesus teach through parables (3:29)
- Parables are metaphorical, subversive, and political stories (9:45)
- Jesus chose to compare the kingdom to one of the smallest seeds (14:28)
- Jesus doesn’t ask us to have certainty, but to have trust (24:05)
- The kingdom of God movement is about creating a different kind of world (25:18)
- We cannot divorce Jesus from his Jewish identity (30:23)
- The kingdom of God is not another empire, it’s something new (36:03)
- Planting mustard seeds is about building something that promotes flourishing (41:47)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
None of the people who were closest to Jesus really understood who he was or what he was trying to do. And yet, we have the opportunity to join in on the work of bringing about the kingdom of God in our world. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott examines the times in Mark when people failed to understand what Jesus was doing. He also reminds us that part of following Jesus is about allowing ourselves to constantly be renewed and transformed, staying open to the possibility that we might be wrong and accepting the fact that we’re never done learning.
Episode Recap:
- Jesus’ tells us in Mark that the kingdom of God is here and now (0:10)
- We’re never done learning or deconstructing (4:46)
- Jesus’ own family didn’t understand who he was (8:58)
- The disciples tried to follow Jesus, but they often missed the point (15:09)
- The empire understood just how big of a threat Jesus was (17:02)
- To blaspheme the Holy Spirit is to miss what Jesus was all about (22:30)
- Jesus knows the pain we feel when we’re misunderstood (26:42)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community
Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
What might it look like for us to embrace Sabbath as a time for being, instead of doing? Today, Josh RadarLee, co-pastor at FOREFRONT Church, joins us to talk about Jesus’ perspective on Sabbath. He reminds us that Sabbath was put in place to help us flourish, not to hurt us. He also acknowledges some of the reasons why Sabbath can be difficult, and he shares some possible ways we can reimagine this concept today.
Episode Recap:
- Today we get to hear from Josh RadarLee of FOREFRONT Church (0:10)
- Not everyone was happy about Jesus’ message of radical love (4:57)
- The concept of Sabbath is to help us flourish, not to hurt us (8:58)
- What might it look like if we took time for being, instead of just doing? (12:35)
- Spend your Sabbath doing the thing that brings you joy (20:10)
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Sabbath is an experiment and a challenge, but it’s also a gift (23:23) Resources:
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Learn more about GracePointe
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- FOREFRONT Church
The good news Jesus proclaimed is that the kingdom of God is here and now! Today, lead pastor Josh Scott examines Jesus’ first sermon in the book of Mark. He talks about what the kingdom of God is (and what it isn’t) and reminds us that Jesus’ vision was all about embracing human flourishing. He also reflects on the way that Martin Luther King Jr. believed in Jesus’ vision of the kingdom and worked to bring it about in his own life.
Episode Recap:
- Mark found good news even at the end of the world (0:10)
- Jesus’ baptism marked the beginning of his mission (2:44)
- In his first sermon, Jesus told us the good news of the kingdom of God (6:56)
- The kingdom represents God’s dream for the world (12:27)
- The kingdom is now (15:37)
- The kingdom is not a place, it’s a way of being (23:24)
- Repentance is just about changing the way we see and think (29:10)
- The kingdom reminds us that there’s enough of God to go around (32:10)
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a vision of the kingdom rooted in justice and nonviolence (37:03)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
How do we hold on to hope when it seems like the world is ending? Today, lead pastor Josh Scott kicks off a new series on the gospel of Mark by looking at the historical and political context Mark was writing in. He explains how Mark’s world must have felt like it was ending and draws encouragement from the fact that Mark still began his story with good news. He also examines the concept of a gospel and what it can teach us about how people in Mark’s time thought about Jesus.
Episode Recap:
- Today we’re beginning a new series on the gospel of Mark (0:10)
- Mark was written in a time when life as people knew it was changing (1:53)
- Who was Mark, and what was his gospel? (5:36)
- Gospels are not biographies, they’re proclamations about who Jesus was (9:22)
- Mark was living in a time of political and religious disaster (15:22)
- In the midst of the world ending, Mark begins his story with good news (26:56)
- We may think the world is ending, but there’s still work to do (30:44)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
The good news of Christmas is not that we are bad and in need of saving, but rather that each one of us has divinity within us. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott talks about the things Jesus’ coming revealed to us about who God is and about who we are. He reminds us that being human is a good thing, and that there’s a reason why God chose us to carry out God’s plans in the world.
Episode Recap:
- We all need people who remind us that more is possible (0:33)
- Jesus’ coming revealed something big about who God is and who we are (6:35)
- Jesus reminds us that there is divinity within all of humanity (10:05)
- To be human is a good thing (14:18)
- God placed all of God’s bets on us (18:40)
- The fifth Sunday of Advent reminds us that God is with us (23:37)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
The Christmas story serves as a powerful reminder that fear and joy can often coexist. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott examines Matthew’s story of the Magi who visited Jesus. He talks about the different ways that both fear and joy show up in the story and encourages us to find joy in the hope of what could be, even when we’re acknowledging the pain and injustice around us.
Episode Recap:
- The purpose of Advent is to bring the past into the present (2:49)
- Who were the Magi, actually? (6:11)
- In his story of the Magi, Matthew is drawing from a rich scripture tradition (11:00)
- Herod saw Jesus as a direct threat to his power (15:31)
- It’s hard to make clear decisions when you’re operating out of fear (19:58)
- Christmas reminds us how fear and joy can coexist (27:58)
- Joy celebrates what could be while still acknowledging what is (32:25)
- The Magi remind us that Jesus has good news for all, not just Christians (38:55)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
The idea that Jesus had a miraculous conception entered the early Christian Tradition with Matthew’s Gospel. Why did he tell the story that way? Today, lead pastor Josh Scott continues our Advent series by examining the historical and cultural context around Matthew’s version of Jesus’ birth story. He also reminds us that the Christmas story is ultimately a story of peace and encourages us to spend this season acting courageously to bring about the kind of world we long for.
Episode Recap:
- Advent is a season of longing and anticipation (0:10)
- Matthew was the first to give us a birth story for Jesus (2:38)
- Matthew uses midrash to interpret Jesus’ story (8:48)
- Matthew invites us to reimagine the way we engage with stories (15:41)
- Why was it important that Jesus was born of a virgin? (21:58)
- Many of us want a conquering king, but Jesus came for peace (25:46)
- Peacemaking is an act of courage and strength (28:47)
- Sometimes peacemaking is about reminding each other that we are beloved (33:16)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
We often talk about Advent as a season where we’re waiting on God to act. But what if God is also waiting on us to take an active role in the work of human flourishing? Today, lead pastor Josh Scott begins our Advent series with a look at the story of John the Baptist, the voice in the wilderness calling people to remember that God was still at work. He also reminds us that even in the darkest days, something new is just around the corner.
Episode Recap:
- Advent reminds us that growth and newness are right around the corner (0:10)
- The entire Bible is not about Jesus (7:05)
- Is it naive to have hope in this world? (11:01)
- John the Baptist reminded people that God was not finished with God’s people (17:06)
- What if Advent isn’t about us waiting on God, but God waiting on us? (29:27)
- Our job is to play an active role in creating justice and peace (31:49)
- Christmas is committing here and now to bringing about human flourishing (33:22)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
Suffering is a part of being human, but maybe we can find ways to suffer less and hold onto hope in the process. Today, Colby Martin reflects on the three practices that have helped him learn to suffer better and suffer less: The hourglass, the bar, and the seed. He offers words of encouragement for anyone who’s struggling to find hope and reminds us that nothing lasts, not even the worst suffering.
Episode Recap:
- Nothing lasts, and suffering is a part of life (0:30)
- We can’t avoid suffering, so what do we do instead? (6:32)
- When we learn to suffer better, we suffer less (10:08)
- The Hourglass: If nothing lasts, then suffering doesn’t last either (12:57)
- The Bar: We need less than we think to make us happy (15:35)
- Hope is the antithesis to suffering, but you can’t have one without the other (21:07)
- The Seed: Death is a part of becoming (27:56)
- When we learn to suffer better, we’ll suffer less (31:57)
- You are OK, and you’ve always been OK (38:11)
Resources:
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- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community
Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
What does it mean to practice progressive Christianity, and how can we thoughtfully engage with the people around us who don’t share our views? Today, lead pastor Josh Scott wraps up our series on progressive Christianity by leading a question and response time with the GracePointe community. Topics covered include deconstruction, what it means to be a Christian, the purpose of prayer, and much more.
Episode Recap:
- What does it mean to have a personal relationship with the divine? (4:29)
- Does praying for others actually change things? (8:39)
- Does calling yourself a Christian make you a Christian? (12:09)
- How do we care for ourselves while recovering from spiritual trauma? (15:41)
- What do we mean when we talk about God? (17:26)
- Where can we start with our deconstruction journeys? (24:41)
- When should we move toward people we disagree with, and when should we back away? (27:44)
- How do you believe in God when you haven’t seen God answer prayers? (34:41)
- How can we distinguish ourselves from harmful Christian beliefs? (37:11)
- Why was Jesus’ sexuality never addressed, and does it matter? (41:50)
- Where does the afterlife fit into progressive Christianity? (46:43)
- How can we respond to accusations of “picking and choosing” our beliefs? (49:37)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
Many of us are tempted to either view our faith as the only right answer or to water down our beliefs in deference to others. But it’s possible to have a strong, hospitable faith that acknowledges the beauty of other beliefs without denying our own. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott examines this idea and encourages us to hold fast to our own identities while also being willing to appreciate and learn from other traditions. He also reminds us that we don’t have to choose between celebrating the good parts of Christianity and acknowledging the harm that has been done in Jesus’ name.
Episode Recap:
- Honoring our great cloud of witnesses (1:59)
- We have always been and always will be connected to the divine (4:28)
- How do we hold onto our identity in a multi-faith world? (6:43)
- Our language is not the only language, and that’s beautiful (9:15)
- We can celebrate other faiths without watering down our own (12:09)
- Our goal should be teach and share and learn from one another (19:40)
- The closer we get to each other, the more our differences melt away (23:22)
- There are ways to be a Christian without causing harm (26:24)
- How can we remain hospitable when conflict arises? (28:42)
- There’s still work for some of us to do within Christianity (34:08)
- It takes time to move beyond the beliefs we were taught (38:06)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
Every single person who reads the Bible brings their own perspective and interpretation to it. And yet so many people have weaponized this text based on their one specific lens. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott reflects on what it might look like for progressive Christians to take the Bible seriously. He breaks down the three key areas of disagreement between progressive and conservative Christians about the Bible — its origin, its authority, and its interpretation — and encourages us to view the Bible through the lens of human flourishing.
Episode Recap:
- Progressive Christianity can take many different forms and flavors (3:35)
- So many people have weaponized the Bible in harmful ways (5:57)
- Origin: The Bible was written by different authors in different times with different perspectives (11:04)
- The books of the Bible are in dialogue with each other (20:00)
- Authority: The Bible’s authority comes from the meaning we give it (21:50)
- Interpretation: Everyone interprets the Bible (32:32)
- How we read the Bible says more about us than about God (34:10)
- Answering questions from our community (38:39)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
- “Reading the Bible Again for the First Time” by Marcus Borg
What would it look like for us to practice justice that’s restorative, instead of punishing? Today, lead pastor Josh Scott explains why justice and generosity are two of the central focuses of progressive Christianity. He reminds us that God cares more about justice and human flourishing than about what rituals we do or what doctrines we believe. He then opens up the floor for a conversation with our GracePointe community about how we can pursue justice in today’s world.
Episode Recap:
- Let’s take a moment to center ourselves (0:10)
- There is no one biblical worldview (3:26)
- Progressive Christianity seeks to be just and generous (5:35)
- God’s justice is about restoration, not retribution (8:42)
- Our faith can’t completely be separated from politics (13:11)
- God cares more about justice than the rituals we practice (19:02)
- To follow Jesus is to work to foster human flourishing (21:44)
- The point is not to figure out what we believe (27:05)
- Justice and mercy aren’t as far apart as we might think (31:10)
- The work of justice is a team sport (35:15)
- There’s always a cost to pursuing justice (39:59)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
If we want to practice radical inclusivity, we need to start by facing and accepting ourselves. Today, Mike Maeshiro shares his experience of serving in the church as a gay Christian. He explains how his experience of God forced him to re-evaluate the theology he believed in, and he encourages us to move beyond performative inclusion into radical, authentic inclusivity of all people.
Episode Recap:
- Today we’re talking about radical inclusivity (0:10)
- In 2023, so many Christians still are not affirming (1:33)
- Mike’s own experience as a queer person in the church (4:40)
- When our experience of God doesn’t match our theology, then what? (19:56)
- The kingdom of God is a mirror (25:51)
- We shouldn’t need to be convinced to love and accept people (30:56)
- If we want to be radically inclusive, we have to start by facing ourselves (34:24)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community
Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
What does it mean to be Jesus centered when you separate him from all the harmful things people have said and done in his name? Today, lead pastor Josh Scott talks about some of the key things he does and does not believe about Jesus, reminding us that believing in a specific doctrine matters far less than believing what Jesus said. He then takes time to answer questions from our community about how our views of Jesus and faith may change throughout our deconstruction journeys. Whoever you are and whatever you believe about Jesus, there’s space for you here!
Episode Recap:
- If we’re born united with God, what is the point of Jesus? (0:10)
- Jesus is not a means to an end (4:10)
- We don’t see Jesus as the only path to the divine (7:05)
- You can be Jesus-centered without believing any one specific thing (12:14)
- Believing in Jesus matters less than believing Jesus (13:44)
- Jesus died because of human wrath, not divine wrath (18:06)
- When you strip away the doctrine and dogma, there’s something else there (19:05)
- Many of us are doing the best we can with the information we’ve been given (27:59)
- Jesus was divine, but so are you (33:10)
- It’s OK to take your time with healing (38:27)
- Every Christian is picking and choosing what they believe (41:52)
- “The same God that held us up in this life will hold us up through this life” (45:44)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
Progressive Christianity starts from the belief that humans are not born disconnected from God, and that nothing can separate us from God. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott begins a new series where we’ll unpack some of the key factors that set progressive Christianity apart from more conservative theologies. He explains where the doctrine of original sin came from and why it falls short, and then spends time talking with our community about what it looks like to approach sin and the Bible from a progressive lens.
Episode Recap:
- Many of us know what we don’t believe, but what are the things we do embrace? (0:10)
- Progressive Christianity begins with the idea that we’re born united with God (2:48)
- The original sin doctrine didn’t exist until 400 years into the Jesus movement (8:38)
- Adam and Eve weren’t separated from God, but shame made them think they were (11:52)
- Christianity should be an antidote to shame, not the cause of it (20:57)
- Sin does not have the power to separate us from God (27:09)
- The story of Adam and Eve was a means of making sense of the world (32:50)
- The Bible is more concerned with collective sin than individual sin (38:44)
- It’s possible to hold onto the good while rejecting the bad (40:58)
- What does it look like to approach the Bible from a progressive lens? (45:17)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
Between the crucifixion and the resurrection, there was a silent Saturday of uncertainty and fear. And many of us experience that same kind of season when we begin to deconstruct our theologies. Today, GracePointe’s founding pastor Stan Mitchell reminds us that it’s OK to miss what we’ve left behind and to still feel the effects of the wounds we’ve received in the past. He also encourages us to not become so callused that we leave acceptance and hope behind, and he reminds us to think about the things we stand for, not just what we’re against.
Episode Recap:
- Communities like GracePointe are a powerful space for deconstruction (0:10)
- Have we replaced one form of narrowness for another? (4:05)
- Between crucifixion and resurrection, there’s a silent Saturday (10:26)
- Even after walking on water, Peter had a crisis of faith (19:57)
- Jesus met Peter where he was and accepted him there (23:14)
- It’s OK to miss part of what you left behind (27:15)
- Our wounds will stay with us, but we don’t have to become callused (32:16)
- There’s something deeper and richer beneath the things we once believed (40:37)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
The GracePointe of 20 years ago may look radically different than GracePointe today, but this community has always existed to create space for growth and deconstruction. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott and founding pastor Stan Mitchell celebrate GracePointe’s 20th anniversary by reflecting about the past, present, and future of GracePointe. Stan also explains how GracePointe fits into a larger history of progressivism that’s built into the fabric of Christianity.
Episode Recap:
- Today we’re celebrating 20 years of GracePointe with founding pastor Stan Mitchell (0:10)
- The tradition of Christianity is inherently progressive (6:02)
- GracePointe is a space designed for deconstruction (12:22)
- GracePointe exists as a fully affirming space for the LGBTQ+ community (16:49)
- People need to know that communities like GracePointe are possible (26:21)
- If Christianity does not mature, it needs to die (32:02)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
We tend to idealize the early church, but were things actually as good as we might think? Today, lead pastor Josh Scott leads us through Paul’s letters to examine some of the conflicts and complexities that defined the early Jesus movement. He reminds us that mess is a part of being human, but that we can create a space where that mess doesn’t turn into harm.
Episode Recap:
- The early church was simply a community of people coming together (1:03)
- What was the early church actually like? (5:37)
- We tend to idealize the early church, but that may not be the full story (9:10)
- The early church was a diverse community (12:41)
- The early church was complex and full of disagreements (17:47)
- Paul’s letters show us that even the early church was full of challenges (30:11)
- The church has always been messy, and that’s how it should be (33:30)
- There’s a big difference between mess and harm (38:36)
- GracePointe is here to create an alternative to the conservative Christian narrative (39:34)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
Most of our lives are lived in the ordinary, but how often do we take the time to notice the beautiful moments all around us? Today, lead pastor Josh Scott wraps up our series on spiritual practices for progressive Christians with a conversation about awareness. He explains how the story of Jacob reminds us to pay attention to God’s presence all around us, and he encourages us to practice “here-ness.”
Episode Recap:
- Spiritual practices open and enlarge the heart (0:10)
- Life happens in the ordinary (3:14)
- God meets us in ordinary places (5:00)
- God is always present; we just aren’t always aware of it (11:54)
- How can we practice here-ness? (13:46)
- Take time to mark the moments that matter (19:32)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
Curiosity can be a powerful spiritual practice, but only when it’s rooted in empathy. Today, GracePointe’s founding pastor Stan Mitchell explains how empathic curiosity can help us deepen our connection with other humans and have more grace for ourselves and others. He describes Jesus’ radical empathy for Judas and for the people who crucified him, and he reminds us that loving others is ultimately about seeking to understand them.
Episode Recap:
- Curiosity is a powerful spiritual practice (2:51)
- Curiosity reminds us that there’s always more to learn and discover (9:27)
- Empathic curiosity is a desire to understand the feelings of others (13:21)
- Love seeks to understand before seeking to be understood (20:08)
- Even during his crucifixion, Jesus had empathy (27:42)
- Empathic curiosity understands that each of us contains potential for good or evil (34:20)
- Empathic curiosity makes us better people (46:35)
Resources:
- “Curious: A Desire to Know and Why Your Future Depends On It”
- “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
Is church a place we go to please God, or can it be something more? Today, lead pastor Josh Scott reflects on the complicated role church has played in many of our lives. He then shares a few roles church may still be able to play in our lives today: connecting us with community, inspiring us to imagine a different future, and allowing us to connect more fully with the divine. Whatever your relationship with church might be, there’s space for you here!
Episode Recap:
- When you hear the word “church,” what comes to mind? (1:29)
- Too many people relate to church from a position of fear (6:44)
- What can church offer us in 2023? (13:35)
- Maybe church is less for God and more for us (18:30)
- Church is about interdependence and community (25:05)
- Church is a place of resistance and imagination (30:55)
- Church can be a place of sacrament and memory (38:45)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
Prayer can still have a place in your spiritual practice, no matter what you believe about God and God’s role in the world. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott examines some of the harmful ways people tend to talk about prayer. He then reflects on some of the positive ways prayer or meditation can help us slow down, process our feelings, and show up in the world empowered to bring about change.
Episode Recap:
- Spiritual practices are an invitation to transformation (0:10)
- Are we actually supposed to pray without ceasing? (1:04)
- The way we talk about prayer can be harmful (6:10)
- Are we trying to get closer to God, or are we trying to manipulate God? (12:05)
- Prayer isn’t just one thing (15:38)
- Before it’s words or requests, prayer is first a posture (16:19)
- Prayer helps us recognize and name our feelings (20:28)
- Prayer is an act of showing up for other people (22:34)
- Prayer is a way of being heard and hearing (24:15)
- Prayer is about aligning ourselves with change (29:05)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
Ritual has too often been used to control and exclude others, but does it still have value for progressive Christians? Today, lead pastor Josh Scott continues our series on spiritual practices by examining the ways ritual can connect us to ourselves, to our neighbors, and to the divine. He encourages us to reject any rituals or systems that have told us we don’t belong and instead seek out practices that empower us and make us better.
Episode Recap:
- Can ritual still be a meaningful practice for progressive Christians? (0:10)
- Humans are a ritualistic species (1:49)
- Belonging is not in question, you already belong (4:24)
- Ritual is not focused on magic, but on meaning (9:02)
- Ritual is about remembering and recommitting (14:48)
- Ritual is about the ordinary, not the extraordinary (15:40)
- Rituals should empower us to become better human beings (24:45)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
Whether you’re parenting a young person or trying to figure out your own faith journey, sometimes it’s helpful to get back to the basics. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott and Children and Youth Director Tiffany Dowdy talk about some spiritual practices for beginners. They also discuss the challenge of parenting when you’re on your own deconstruction journey, and they remind us that every spiritual practice should bring us back to the truth that we are loved.
Episode Recap:
- Today we’re going to talk through some spiritual practices for beginners (1:52)
- There’s no checklist for what you need to know and when (6:15)
- Parenting is hard, and there’s grace for you (10:08)
- It’s OK if you’re grieving in your deconstruction (12:32)
- Many of the faiths we grow up in were based on fear and shame (14:30)
- The most important thing our kids can know is that they belong (19:01)
- God is not asking us to perform our faith (22:06)
- Curiosity can be a spiritual practice (28:03)
- Christianity is a pool; God is the ocean (31:48)
- Breath prayers can be a powerful practice for any of us (35:02)
- Whether you believe in God or not, you can find practices that work for you (38:19)
- We are loved (41:49)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community
Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
Many of us have been harmed by the ways people use the Bible, but it’s possible that the Bible still has something to offer you. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott talks with Zack Hunt about some ways we can approach the Bible as progressive Christians. They talk about what it really means for scripture to be “God breathed” and remind us that it’s OK if revisiting the Bible is too painful for us.
Episode Recap:
- The Bible may still have something to offer you (0:57)
- It’s ok to admit when the Bible is wrong (3:02)
- How we understand the Bible is the biggest issue dividing Christians (12:27)
- The Bible isn’t saying any one thing, it’s an anthology of stories (18:57)
- We don’t have to be afraid of contradictions (25:15)
- The Bible shows how our understanding of God changes over time (34:03)
- Love is the foundation for making meaning of the Bible (37:24)
- If the Bible doesn’t help you seek human flourishing, it’s OK to walk away from it (42:30)
Resources:
- “Unraptured” and “God Breathed” by Zack Hunt
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Become a sustaining member of the GracePointe community
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
Just as our physical bodies need rest, our souls need rest in order to connect with humanity, with the divine, and with the world around us. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott examines the role rest plays in the creation story and talks through some of the ways rest can restore us so we can better show up in the world for ourselves and the people around us.
Episode Recap:
- Our souls need rest just like our bodies do (1:11)
- The Bible begins with rhythm, then rest (5:41)
- Scripture repeatedly tells us that everyone deserves rest (9:17)
- Rest is a reminder of our humanity (13:03)
- Rest is about self-care, and self-care is vital (16:47)
- Rest is about learning to recognize the holiness in everything (21:00)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
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Our experiences are not something to invalidate or ignore, they’re a gift that shapes how we view the world. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott begins a new series on spiritual practices for progressive Christians. He reminds us that the Bible is full of people who changed their minds based on experiences, even if that experience contradicted the things they’d previously been told. He also explains how spiritual practices can help us keep our hearts open and soft by inviting us to pay attention to the divine.
Episode Recap:
- All of life has rhythm to it (0:56)
- Spiritual practice is about opening and softening the heart (5:34)
- We tend to ask too much of the Bible (8:17)
- You can trust your experience (13:14)
- The Bible is full of people who changed their minds based on experience (22:05)
- If your faith is making you worse, maybe you should let go of it (28:14)
- Experience is an invitation to pay attention (35:04)
- Most of our lives are spent in ordinary time, and the divine can still show up there (41:10)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
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Something miraculous can happen when we hear a familiar story told from a new perspective. Today, Hunter Wade explains why it’s so important for us to listen to new voices and perspectives that differ from our own. She examines a passage in the Bible where Jesus was faced with a new point of view and chose to respond, and she reminds us that there’s power in both telling our own stories and in listening to the stories of others.
Episode Recap:
- Whatever you’re feeling today, you have a place here (0:10)
- Stories are a powerful source of connection and understanding (3:21)
- To gain true understanding, we need to listen to different perspectives (6:41)
- Even Jesus changed his mind when faced with a new perspective (11:14)
- Jesus chooses to cross barriers in favor of common human (19:59)
- Miracles can happen when we listen to new voices (24:56)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
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Despite what many of us have been told, there’s a version of faith that allows us to be fully human and fully ourselves. Today, Mike Maeshiro talks with us about his experience of growing up as a gay Christian, finding freedom through the process of coming out, and deconstructing many of the things he once believed about God. Mike also challenges us to trust that the love that has transformed us can transform other people, too.
Episode Recap:
- To be who we are is to honor the divine within us (0:10)
- Mike’s experience of growing up in the church (4:45)
- It can be jarring when our experience of God doesn’t match what we’ve been told (8:01)
- Finding freedom through coming out (13:21)
- There’s a version of Christianity where you can be fully human (15:29)
- The Jesus many of us were taught about is not the Jesus of the Bible (21:33)
- Love exists and love transforms (24:55)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
- Follow Mike Maeshiro on Instagram
For Jesus and the tradition he was raised in, you cannot serve God without pursuing justice. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott examines the role justice plays in Exodus, in the messages of the prophets, and in Jesus’ own worldview. He also discusses the way Christianity has changed into something completely different from its roots, and he challenges us to prioritize justice over theology and community over self-interest.
Episode Recap:
- In honor of Juneteenth, we’re going to talk about justice in the Christian faith (2:31)
- Exodus is the defining narrative of the tradition Jesus was raised in (3:57)
- Exodus challenged the idea that God was found among the powerful (5:27)
- Judaism isn’t about legalism, it’s about community and justice (10:13)
- Jubilee made sure the gap between people didn’t continue to grow (17:47)
- The prophets understood that you can’t have worship without justice (21:49)
- Jesus followed in the tradition of the prophets (27:35)
- How did Christianity become what it is today? (34:35)
- Following Jesus means existing for the betterment of the world (39:04)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
If you’re on a journey of deconstructing or seeing your worldview evolve, know that you’re not alone! Today, lead pastor Josh Scott interviews Heather Hamilton about the spiritual awakening that inspired her to deconstruct her fundamentalist evangelical views and begin to see the divine in all people and all of creation. Heather is the author of “Returning to Eden,” and she talks with Josh about how we can engage with Scripture when we don’t believe it’s infallible, the value of seeing Christianity as just one language communicating universal truths, and more.
Episode Recap:
- On July 9 we’ll begin a new series and celebrate baptisms (0:10)
- You’re not alone in your doubts or deconstruction (4:30)
- Heather’s story of realizing her worldview needed to change (8:43)
- Christ is in all of us and in all of creation (17:26)
- Like the prodigal son, we often have to take the full journey to transform (22:23)
- God doesn’t change throughout the Bible; the human understanding of God does (27:45)
- How can we engage with the Bible when we don’t take it literally? (36:07)
- Christianity is one language, but it’s not the only language (39:04)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
- “Returning to Eden” by Heather Hamilton
If you want to understand what it’s like to experience the world with imagination and wonder, look at how kids interact with the world. Today, Children and Youth Director Tiffany Dowdy discusses the holy imagination that can inspire us to envision a better world and move us into action. They remind us that we’re each on our own spiritual journey with the freedom to roam and explore, and encourage us to focus less on the pressure of saving people and more on the calling of loving those around us.
Episode Recap:
- The first Sunday of June is Affirming Sunday (0:28)
- You are loved and you belong (3:06)
- Wonder and imagination (5:00)
- Spirituality is not a path we have to follow, it’s a world to explore (7:20)
- Kids can teach us so much about imagination and wonder (10:46)
- It’s not our job to save people’s souls, it’s our job to love (17:05)
- Holy imagination will eventually move us to action (20:20)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
The Holy Spirit is not something we can control or fit inside neat boundaries. Instead, the spirit calls us to move beyond fear and exclusion and commit to continually reimagining our faith. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott examines the “Gentile Pentecost” story in Acts 10. He draws parallels between this story and other moments in scripture where we see people’s views of God challenged, and he reminds us that our job is not to get in the way of other people’s belonging.
Episode Recap:
- Pentecost shows us that the spirit can’t be contained or controlled (0:10)
- In Acts 10 we see how the Holy Spirit came to the Gentiles (1:47)
- Peter’s story mirrors the story of Jonah (6:57)
- The presence of the spirit in Cornelius challenged Peter’s view of God (9:49)
- Acts shows us we’re not meant to stand in the way of anyone’s belonging (13:36)
- The spirit calls us beyond fear and into curiosity (21:40)
- The spirit calls us beyond exclusionary boundaries and into radically inclusive hospitality (22:22)
- The spirit calls us to continually reimagine and repent (24:24)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
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In the story of Pentecost, we see how the spirit of wisdom stands in direct opposition to the empires that try to control us. Today, Kat Armas shares how Acts 2 changed her view of the Holy Spirit. She invites us to reexamine the way we think about wisdom, and to oppose the efforts of empire to force assimilation by stamping out wisdom.
Episode Recap:
- Empire does not always get the last say (0:10)
- Prophecies were wake up calls, reminding people of God’s justice (5:27)
- The Bible primarily portrays wisdom and the Holy Spirit as a woman (6:54)
- Wisdom is a threat to empire (14:29)
- It’s time to decolonize our view of wisdom (21:27)
- The Spirit of the Divine does not ask us to assimilate (23:55)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
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The story of Pentecost reminds us that we’re all invited to participate in the movement Jesus started. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott begins a new series about Pentecost by reflecting on the type of movement Jesus wanted to create. He talks about the way peace and nonviolence play an integral role in Jesus’ story, and he reminds us that transformation takes time, both in the world and in our own lives.
Episode Recap:
- Pentecost was a feast celebrating liberation (1:05)
- Even though they betrayed him, Jesus’ first message to the disciples was peace (5:35)
- Jesus wanted to mobilize a movement, not start a monopoly (14:09)
- From the start, Jesus made clear that he was focused on peace (20:20)
- Transformation takes time, and we’re invited to participate (24:33)
- You are not separated from God (28:45)
- Take a deep breath (34:13)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
- “Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time” by Marcus Borg
Today, we’re celebrating our first service in GracePointe’s new space, reflecting on how we got here, and looking ahead to what comes next! Lead pastor Josh Scott shares why he’s so excited for this new chapter in GracePointe’s story, and he reminds each of us that we belong.
Episode Recap:
- It’s time for change, and change is possible (0:10)
- How we got here (2:12)
- Thank you to everyone who’s made this move possible (17:56)
- Thank you for making GracePointe a safe space (25:36)
- The point is not the destination, it’s the journey (26:38)
- We’re a community, not a corporation (32:14)
- You are what makes GracePointe a home (38:06)
Resources:
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What can the life and death of Jesus tell us about who God is and who we are? Today, lead pastor Josh Scott wraps up our “Meeting Jesus Again” series with a question and response time. He responds to questions about Jesus' death, the contradictions we see in scripture, Jesus’ identity, doctrines around the trinity and atonement, and more.
Episode Recap:
- Today we’re taking time to respond to your questions about Jesus (0:10)
- What did Jesus say about the Bible? (1:03)
- What happened when Jesus died? (3:52)
- What does the doctrine of the trinity tell us about Jesus? (9:50)
- What do we do with the Revelation Jesus (11:45)
- Why did Jesus tell his disciples to get swords in Luke? (16:41)
- How important is Jesus’ identity as a dark-skinned, Middle Eastern, Jewish man? (20:05)
- What can we learn from Jesus’ relationship with God? (23:48)
- Where did atonement theory come from? (26:20)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
- “Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time” by Marcus Borg
- “Render Unto Caesar” by John Dominic Crossan
Are we being transformed by the message of Jesus, or are we transforming Jesus to fit our agendas? Today, lead pastor Josh Scott examines some of the images of Jesus we see in the 21st century and compares them to the Jesus we see represented in scripture. He also reminds us that faith is meant to grow, change, and evolve, so our creeds and doctrines matter less than the people we’re becoming.
Episode Recap:
- Would the historical Jesus recognize the person we talk about today? (1:09)
- We’ve transformed Jesus into something completely different (3:08)
- The creeds show how we’ve transformed Jesus to fit our theology (11:14)
- Faith is an organic thing that grows and changes (15:41)
- Something changes when we understand Jesus by looking backwards (20:39)
- Who do we say Jesus is? (27:28)
- You don’t have to believe one specific thing about Jesus to be a Christian (34:54)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
- “Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time” by Marcus Borg
- Email your questions to Josh
- “A New Kind of Christianity” by Brian McLaren
Even if we don’t take the story literally, the Ascension can teach us something important about who Jesus was and what kind of movement he wanted to create. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott reflects on the story of Jesus’ ascension and the dramatic, political statement it would have made in ancient Rome. He also reminds us that we’re invited to join Jesus in his work of pursuing human flourishing.
Episode Recap:
- The Ascension is only recorded in two places, but each account is different (2:45)
- What can the story of the Ascension tell us about who Jesus was? (9:05)
- In Jesus’ time, the idea of a human becoming divine was a political statement (17:39)
- Luke was likely referencing the story of Elijah (23:31)
- Jesus was inviting people to join a movement (28:38)
- Jesus believed we could do even greater things than he did (39:58)
Resources:
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- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
- “Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time” by Marcus Borg
What does Easter tell us about who God is and why Jesus matters? Today, lead pastor Josh Scott unpacks some of the key lessons we can learn from the Easter story. He reminds us that God has always taken the side of the oppressed, and he encourages us to continue Jesus’ work in our world today.
Episode Recap:
- Each gospel tells the Easter story differently (0:10)
- Easter is a subjective experience (6:35)
- Easter is a political event (10:49)
- God has always taken the side of the victims and the oppressed (14:57)
- Jesus isn’t just a figure from our past, he’s a part of the present (19:18)
- What began with Jesus continues with us (20:57)
- “The worst thing is never the last thing” (27:02)
Resources:
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- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
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- “Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time” by Marcus Borg
Why did Jesus die, and what does it mean for us today? Today, lead pastor Josh Scott examines how Christians have interpreted the question of the cross throughout history. He explains how Jesus’ death was a response to a movement that threatened the Roman empire, and he encourages us to ask the question, “Where do we find God?”
Episode Recap:
- As we head into Holy Week, today we’ll talk about the meaning of the crucifixion (0:10)
- Basically all Christians agree that Jesus died, but why? (2:13)
- How we understand the cross shapes how we view everything else (7:50)
- Crucifixion was the way Rome dealt with resistance (9:38)
- The gospels are not historical biographies of Jesus (13:08)
- The Jesus movement was changing human hearts, and that was threatening (18:35)
- Atonement theory is people’s answer to what Jesus’ death meant (22:01)
- The cross is not about Jesus dying in our place or for our sins (28:54)
- The cross is about exposing and defeating powers and demonstrating God’s love (30:32)
- Where do we find God? (33:59)
Resources:
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- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
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- “Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time” by Marcus Borg
What do we make of the stories of healings and exorcisms in the Bible? Today, lead pastor Josh Scott looks at some of the different stories of Jesus healing, raising the dead, and performing exorcisms. He explains how looking at these stories within a first century context can help us understand the larger messages about empire. He also encourages us to remember that we have an important role to play in changing the oppressive systems around us.
Episode Recap:
- People listened to Jesus largely because they knew him as a healer (0:10)
- The more important question is not if these stories happened, but what they mean (1:59)
- Jesus’ healings may represent the healing of social wounds (6:24)
- Exorcisms in the Bible challenge our 21st century view of the demonic (10:34)
- Exorcisms stories paint empire as the problem (20:21)
- The Jesus movement was a well-organized alternative to empire (24:42)
- Changing oppressive systems starts with us (32:36)
Resources:
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- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
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- “Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time” by Marcus Borg
Sometimes Christians focus so much on Jesus’ birth and death that they overlook the powerful message of his life. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott examines the different ways Jesus taught about the kingdom, from parables to aphorisms to memorable demonstrations. He also explores the question of how we can best respond to the teachings of Jesus.
Episode Recap:
- Jesus showed what the kingdom of God was like through meals (1:17)
- Many Christians focus on the birth and death of Jesus, but not Jesus’ life (2:40)
- Jesus taught in parables, and others used parables to describe him (6:25)
- When Jesus spoke in parables, he was encouraging people to really listen (12:56)
- God is not represented in the powerful characters, but in the powerless (16:05)
- Jesus used aphorisms to challenge the way people saw the world (17:16)
- Jesus taught through demonstrations (22:36)
- Jesus’ teachings were were creative, cryptic, subversive, and counterintuitive (25:30)
- How do we respond to the challenging teachings of Jesus? (28:54)
Resources:
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- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
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- “Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time” by Marcus Borg
- “Bible Stories for Grown-Ups” by Josh Scott
We don’t have to choose between our faith and fully affirming the LGBTQ+ community. Today, Liz Dyer shares her journey to embracing an affirming theology, from studying scripture to talking with other Christians. Liz is the founder of Mama Bears, an organization dedicated to supporting, educating and empowering parents of LGBTQ kids.
Episode Recap:
- “The only thing that matters is living out your faith through love” (0:15)
- Small acts of kindness can change lives in the LGBTQ+ community (2:09)
- The journey to embracing an affirming theology (6:25)
- Jesus said we would know people by their fruits (15:06)
- God is only love (19:57)
- Non-affirming theology brings separation from God (27:03)
Resources:
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- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
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- Mama Bears Website
Everything Jesus did in his ministry came back to the way he viewed the kingdom of God. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott talks about what Jesus believed about this kingdom, and how Jesus worked to bring it to fruition throughout his life. He also reminds us that we have a role to play in bringing about a different kind of world.
Episode Recap:
- Every part of Jesus’ ministry centered around the kingdom of God (0:10)
- The good news (gospel) is entirely different from empire (2:36)
- Jesus’ vision of the kingdom wasn’t about evacuating this world (9:33)
- For Jesus, the kingdom was here and now (13:45)
- What was Jesus’ kingdom like? (14:11)
- To understand Jesus’s ministry, look at how he approached meals (20:39)
- The kingdom of God is a process (28:53)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
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- “Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time” by Marcus Borg
The way we see God directly impacts the way we show up in the world. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott talks through some of the things we can glean from Scripture about how Jesus viewed God. He also reflects on the idea that God wants to collaborate with us to bring about justice and human flourishing.
Episode Recap:
- How we see God shapes how we show up in the world (1:47)
- If our image of God is hostile and vindictive, we’ll likely treat others the same way (6:03)
- If our image of God is love, we’ll be love (8:53)
- Jesus understood God as an experienced reality (11:18)
- Jesus believed that God cares a lot about justice (13:32)
- Too often we’ve transformed what Jesus said because we didn’t want to listen (20:21)
- Jesus understood God as compassionate (22:30)
- Jesus saw God as collaborative (25:20)
Resources:
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- “Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time” by Marcus Borg
If we want to understand who Jesus was and what he stood for, we need to understand the historical context he lived in. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott shares some of the political and religious contexts that can help us better understand the historical person of Jesus. He also explains how people throughout history have re-examined and re-interpreted their faith within the context of the time they lived in.
Episode Recap:
- Who was the historical person of Jesus? (1:10)
- We all see Jesus differently (2:49)
- The historical context Jesus lived in matters (7:12)
- Judaism in Jesus’ lifetime was monotheistic, messianic, and eschatological (12:47)
- Jesus lived under the oppression of the Roman Empire (17:45)
- Jesus’ movement wasn’t just religious, it was political (23:29)
- After Jesus died, his followers had to reexamine their beliefs in a new context (27:48)
- Jesus showed us what the divine meant all along (31:40)
Resources:
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- “Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time” by Marcus Borg
When we start to deconstruct our faith, it’s natural to wonder where Jesus fits within all of it. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott begins a new series where we’ll examine who Jesus is and how we can meet him again. Josh talks through some of the different sources that tell us about Jesus, and he reminds us that examining our own experience of Jesus is an important part of the process.
Episode Recap:
- When our faith changes, what do we do with Jesus? (1:53)
- How do we “know” about Jesus? (7:37)
- Scholars of Jesus agree Jesus existed and was executed by Pilate (10:29)
- Non-Christian sources that mention Jesus (12:56)
- The Bible is not a biography of Jesus (22:43)
- Our own experience of who Jesus is matters (31:43)
- The story of Jesus shows us that the divine is within us (37:00)
- A lament from “Jesus for the Non-Religious” (40:31)
Resources:
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- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
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- “Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time” by Marcus Borg
- “The Quest for the Historical Jesus”
- “Jesus for the Non-Religious” by John Shelby Spong
Judgment is part of how humans have survived for centuries, but it’s also a source of tribalism and disconnection. Today, Colby Martin shares an epiphany that changed the way he views God, and he uses the creation story in Genesis to demonstrate how judging others hurts us and the people around us. Colby is a pastor and author of two books, “UnClobber” and “The Shift.”
Episode Recap:
- Humans are by nature mistrustful of people who are different, and we’ve crafted stories to explain it (6:35)
- Tribalism is based on judgment (10:39)
- In the creation story, God wanted to protect us from knowledge of good and evil (12:58)
- It’s not that Adam and Eve became evil, but they started seeing each other as different (17:52)
- Judging leads to shame (22:40)
- Love does not judge, so maybe God doesn’t judge either (24:43)
- Judging is coded into our DNA, but so is the image of God (29:46)
- God’s judgment of our identity is that we are beloved (34:18)
Resources:
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- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
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- Check out Colby’s books
Each of us is called to the hero’s journey, we just have to find the courage to answer the call. Today, Dr. Paula Stone Williams breaks down some of the epiphanies Jesus’ disciples experienced when they were in boats. She explains how these epiphanies mirror her own journey and the hero’s journey we’re all currently on. Paula is an internationally known speaker, a pastor, and author of the book “As A Woman: What I Learned About Power, Sex and the Patriarchy After I Transitioned.”
Episode Recap:
- Many of the disciples epiphanies happened in boats (1:12)
- Jesus was good but not safe (2:22)
- The truth will set you free, but it’ll probably make you miserable first (6:58)
- We’re all called to the hero’s journey, we just have to find the courage to answer (14:21)
- Our calling will always align with our gifts (21:08)
Resources:
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- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
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- As A Woman: What I Learned About Power, Sex and the Patriarchy After I Transitioned
Deconstruction is a journey, and for many of us it’s made up of multiple epiphanies that change the way we see God, ourselves, and others. Today, Meghan Crozier of The Pursuing Life talks about three key epiphanies that helped her learn to more fully love God and love others. She also reminds us of the importance of community, and encourages us to focus on decolonizing our beliefs instead of only deconstructing them.
Episode Recap:
- A deconstruction journey is often made up of many moments (0:40)
- The thing the evangelical church asks of LGBTQ+ people is not love at all (5:07)
- Disabled people are already made in the image of God (7:22)
- Patriarchy impacts the way many of us view ourselves (11:35)
- Deconstruction happens through community and connection (20:04)
- It’s not just about deconstructing, we need to decolonize our beliefs also (22:18)
Resources:
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When you experience a significant moment that changes the way you see the world, it’s important to stop and acknowledge it. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott reflects on four epiphanies that have shaped his faith journey at different points throughout his life. He also reminds us that we are all in process, and it’s OK that learning to see differently takes time.
Episode Recap:
- “Freedom is a Birthright” (0:10)
- As we honor the life of Martin Luther King Jr., look beyond the greatest hits (3:59)
- When significant moments happen, take time to acknowledge them (8:50)
- Epiphany 1: Faith is way more complicated than we’re told (14:30)
- Epiphany 2: The Bible is way more interesting than we might think (23:14)
- Epiphany 3: God’s love for us is way more beautiful than we’re told (29:45)
- Epiphany 4: Deconstruction is way better than we might dream (38:33)
- Your journey will take time, and that’s OK (44:58)
Resources:
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Epiphanies are a fundamental shift in the way we see the world, moments when we learn to see differently. The Bible is full of these moments. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott shares five stories of epiphany that changed the way people saw God, themselves, and God’s role in the world. He explains how these epiphanies impacted the characters in the story and connects the dots to show how they can impact our lives, too.
Episode Recap:
- Epiphany happens when we learn to see something different (2:40)
- Jacob’s epiphany: God is bigger than I thought, and God goes with me (7:01)
- Moses’ epiphany: The ground was always holy, and God is on the side of the powerless (12:16)
- Jesus’ epiphany: I know what is mine to do (17:33)
- Paul’s epiphany: He was wrong and needed to change (19:57)
- Simon Peter’s epiphany: God is for everyone (23:40)
Resources:
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Do you tend to approach a new year with fear or with excitement? However you’re feeling at the start of 2023, lead pastor Josh Scott has some words of encouragement for you. He reflects on what newness is (and what it isn’t) and reminds us that it’s important to be patient with ourselves as we undergo the process of becoming new.
Episode Recap:
- New years can bring excitement but also fear about what the next year may hold (0:10)
- Many of us tend to idealize the new (1:32)
- New isn’t about avoiding what came before (5:38)
- New is a process that requires expansion (11:49)
- New is a practice (14:59)
- New is just the beginning (19:40)
- Becoming requires us to be patient with ourselves (21:19)
Resources:
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Jesus’ goal was never to be the center of attention, but to invite us to join him in bringing love and justice to the world around us. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott reflects on the power of the Christmas story, and encourages us to focus less on believing the right things about Jesus and more on living like he did.
Episode Recap:
- Throughout history, we keep coming back to the idea of Jesus (4:31)
- Jesus’ first followers began to reinterpret the Bible through the lens of Jesus (7:18)
- God was always with us; Jesus was a touchpoint to understanding this (9:23)
- Jesus didn’t want to be the center of attention (16:30)
- Christmas is an invitation to continue Jesus’ work in the world (18:28)
Resources:
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The story of Christmas is a story of God making a home among the marginalized and overlooked. But so often, we’re sold an image of Christmas and of Jesus that doesn’t match this reality. Today, Kat Armas reflects on some of the things we tend to miss when thinking about the Christmas story: Mary’s identity as a marginalized woman, the realities of pregnancy and childbirth, and the truths that Mary boldly proclaimed about God and God’s plans for those living under empire.
Episode Recap:
- The end of Advent is the transition from preparation to celebration (1:20)
- Advent is a time to struggle with what it means to feel hope, joy, peace, and love (2:41)
- Mary has been held up as an unattainable standard (9:12)
- The story we’re told of Christ’s birth completely ignores the reality of pregnancy (13:59)
- Mary was not quiet and submissive, she boldly declared the truth (21:25)
- Through the incarnation, God made a home among the people empire casts aside (26:28)
Resources:
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Sometimes we feel like we’re expected to perform joy this time of year. But the kind of joy that really matters is not naive; it’s an act of resistance. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott continues our Advent series by discussing this kind of joy, one that stands in opposition to fear and is ultimately grounded in hope.
Episode Recap:
- Joy can feel inappropriate when we think about all the problems in the world (0:10)
- Jesus was born into the context of Roman oppression (3:39)
- Joy and fear cannot coexist (8:41)
- Jesus calls us beyond our fear and into the fullness of humanity (11:46)
- Joy is grounded in hope (14:53)
- Joy is an act of resistance (19:02)
Resources:
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When we talk about peace on earth, what kind of peace are we actually asking for? Today, lead pastor Josh Scott continues our Advent series by unpacking the idea of peace. He explains how Jesus brings a different kind of peace than many people were expecting, and he challenges us to think about the ways we can bring true peace — the kind that requires justice — to the world around us.
Episode Recap:
- Many of us don’t know how to tell the story of Jesus without Anti-Semitism (0:10)
- Advent is about a new world waiting to be born (5:14)
- David was a complicated figure, but Isaiah had hope for a different future (7:25)
- People thought Jesus was the new David, but Jesus wasn’t what they expected (16:30)
- Jesus is both lion and lamb (20:23)
- What kind of peace does the world need? (23:06)
- True peace requires justice (24:55)
- Sometimes being a peacemaker requires us to create discomfort (27:40)
Resources:
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What does it look like to have hope in a world that’s so full of suffering and injustice? Today, lead pastor Josh Scott kicks off our Advent season series with a conversation about hope. He offers some helpful context about what hope looked like for Isaiah and in the time of Jesus, and he asks if maybe Advent is less about us waiting for God to act, and more about God waiting on us.
Episode Recap:
- Advent represents the beginning of a new year on the Christian calendar (0:10)
- Advent focuses on our unfulfilled longings: hope, joy, peace, and love (1:50)
- Jesus was born into the context of oppression (3:55)
- Isaiah longed to see a world of justice and flourishing, just like many of us (9:53)
- Sometimes the only question in the midst of suffering is “How long?” (13:45)
- Hope is the thing that leads us to participate in the change this world needs (18:25)
- We are Jesus’ presence in the world (23:12)
- It’s OK to borrow hope from others if you don’t have it yourself (28:20)
Resources:
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The practice of silence or contemplation doesn’t require us to be passive, but to play an active role in noticing the things others might overlook. Today, author and podcaster Kat Armas wraps up our “Naked Spirituality” series by talking about the concept of silence. Kat explains how silence can be an invitation to reconnect with ourselves, with the earth, and with our community, and she reminds us that we can come to God as we are, without shame.
Episode Recap:
- Moment of silence for the Club Q victims (1:09)
- Nakedness is about coming to God as we are, without shame (2:01)
- Shame crops up when our love and belonging feel threatened (6:34)
- What does silence actually look like? (12:33)
- Jesus invites us to look closer and notice the overlooked (18:19)
- Silence doesn’t have to be passive (21:22)
- Contemplation connects us to a community of belonging (29:14)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
- “Naked Spirituality” by Brian McLaren
- “Abuelita Faith” by Kat Armas
- Listen to Kat’s podcast, “The Protagonistas”
Many of the greatest stories in the Bible start with one person who said, “yes.” Today, lead pastor Josh Scott continues our “Naked Spirituality Series” by discussing the word “yes.” He looks back at examples throughout scripture of people who said yes to new possibilities, and he reminds us that saying yes also requires us to say no to things that get in the way of whatever new thing we’re stepping into.
Episode Recap:
- Harmony is not simplicity 2.0, it’s a new orientation (0:10)
- Many of the great stories in the Bible start with someone saying “yes” (5:29)
- Yes is ultimately about openness and possibility (10:25)
- Yes is about knowing what is ours to do (14:46)
- Yes is actually about no (19:45)
- What are you being invited to say yes to, and what “no’s” do you need to stand by? (26:40)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
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- “Naked Spirituality” by Brian McLaren
As we move out of a season of perplexity, we can start to experience harmony, which comes when we let go of our search for certainty. Today, Children and Student Director Tiffany Dowdy continues our “Naked Spirituality” series by reflecting on the word “behold.” Tiffany explains how we can experience harmony by simply existing in the current moment, and they remind us that the goal is not to arrive somewhere, but rather just to remember that we are loved.
Episode Recap:
- After the season of perplexity comes harmony (1:20)
- Harmony isn’t apathy, it’s mindfulness (5:44)
- We’ve been taught to think dualistically, but harmony asks us to simply exist (10:53)
- To experience harmony is to practice being in the moment (18:30)
- Wherever you are, you are OK (21:11)
- The goal isn’t to arrive somewhere or figure out all the answers (28:20)
- The gospel is this: You are loved and have always been loved (30:26)
Resources:
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- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
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- “Naked Spirituality” by Brian McLaren
When you’re in a season of deconstruction or disorientation, it’s natural and important to say “no” and ask “why.” Today, lead pastor Josh Scott continues our “Naked Spirituality” series by unpacking the role that these two words play during the season of perplexity. He also shares how he sees “no” and “why” reflected in the Psalms, as the writers experienced orientation and disorientation, before then finding a new orientation.
Episode Recap:
- Perplexity is a season of deconstruction (0:10)
- “No” is about rejecting something that doesn’t work, (4:04)
- “Why” is often less about receiving an answer and more about lamenting (5:22)
- The Psalms reflect orientation, disorientation, and new orientation (8:23)
- “No” helps us set boundaries (13:58)
- Embracing “why” is accepting that questions are an important part of faith (18:53)
- Disorientation and deconstruction are completely natural (24:35)
- There’s no going back, but you can find a new orientation (28:00)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
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- “Naked Spirituality” by Brian McLaren
- “The Message of the Psalms” by Walter Brueggamann
Just as summer fades into autumn, our spiritual journeys will naturally include a transition from the season of complexity to one of perplexity. And in that season, it’s normal and even healthy to ask the question “When will this be over?” Today, Hunter Wade continues our “Naked Spirituality” series by discussing the idea of “when.” Hunter reflects on her own journey of asking “when” and explains how we can show up for people in our lives who are asking this question.
Episode Recap:
- It’s OK if the idea of living life with God makes you uncomfortable (1:16)
- In the autumn of spirituality, complexity gives way to perplexity (4:26)
- Perplexity happens when our spiritual practices feel like they’ve stopped working (7:08)
- The season of perplexity often leads us to ask “when” this will end (14:04)
- The psalms of lament remind us it’s OK to be brutally honest with God (18:53)
- There’s only one answer to “when,” and it’s “too long” (29:37)
- Bearing witness to the “when” is a spiritual practice (35:57)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
- HER: A Feminist Approach to Scripture
- “Naked Spirituality” by Brian McLaren
What if prayer is less about asking God to intervene on someone’s behalf and more about becoming aware of the ways we can show up to meet people’s needs? Today, lead pastor Josh Scott continues our “Naked Spirituality” series by unpacking some of the ways that the word “please” can shift our awareness, move us to compassion, and inspire us to take action. He explains how “please” reminds us that the world is bigger than just our needs and desires and encourages us to show up for the people around us.
Episode Recap:
- In the season of complexity, we realize that life is lived in the gray area (0:10)
- Please is about realizing that we’re not the center of the universe (2:09)
- If you treat prayer like a wishlist you’ll be discouraged when it doesn’t work (6:46)
- When we pray for others, it opens our awareness to the world’s needs (10:33)
- Prayer moves us to compassion, and compassion creates complexity (14:54)
- The goal of compassion is ultimately action (21:15)
- What if “please” wasn’t asking God to intervene, but showing up ourselves? (27:13)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
- “Naked Spirituality” by Brian McLaren
At some point in our lives, many of us start to believe that asking for help is a sign of weakness or inadequacy. In reality, “help” is an invitation to build relationships and establish a stronger and deeper form of community. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott continues our “Naked Spirituality” series by exploring why “help” is so hard to say but so important to embrace as part of your spiritual journey. He also reminds listeners that no matter who you are, you already belong.
Episode Recap:
- If sorry is the hardest word to say, help might be the second hardest (0:10)
- At some point many of us start to believe that it’s wrong to ask for help (1:38)
- We resist asking for help because we don’t want to show vulnerability (4:29)
- We resist asking for help because it makes us feel insufficient (7:33)
- We resist asking for help because we want to feel self made (9:05)
- When we realize we are both enough and need help, it creates healthy interdependence (11:56)
- A community of help is an invitation to participation and collaboration (21:44)
- Help creates a sense of belonging (29:11)
- You already belong (34:20)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
- “Naked Spirituality” by Brian McLaren
To say we’re sorry can feel incredibly vulnerable, especially when we believe that we’re supposed to be perfect. But “sorry” is ultimately grounded in self-examination, and it has an important role to play as our faith evolves. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott moves us into the second part of our “Naked Spirituality” series, which is focused on complexity. He shares how making peace with the idea of “sorry” can help us come to terms with our own humanity and embrace the fact that we are always in process.
Episode Recap:
- Today we’ll transition into talking about the 2nd season of spirituality: complexity (0:10)
- “Sorry” is a difficult word for many of us because it makes us feel vulnerable (4:23)
- We’re all beautifully, wonderfully human, a mix of soil and divine breath (11:42)
- Sorry is grounded in self-examination (13:55)
- To be human is to be in process (20:51)
- When we accept that we’re in process, it’s easier to admit mistakes (24:00)
- Sorry is about processing our failures (31:03)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
- “Naked Spirituality” by Brian McLaren
Many of us grew up with the idea that worship was about getting God’s attention or convincing God to feel or act a certain way. So where does worship fit into our faith as it evolves into a more progressive Christianity? Today, lead pastor Josh Scott continues our “Naked Spirituality” series by exploring some key ideas about what worship is not and sharing his emerging understanding of what worship might actually mean.
Episode Recap:
- What does worship mean in a progressive Christian space? (0:10)
- Humans have been inclined to worship since the beginning of time (3:50)
- Many of us believed worship was about appeasing a temperamental God (7:12)
- Worship is not about propping up God’s ego or getting his attention (11:36)
- Worship is about our own awareness and response (15:00)
- When we worship, we can be transformed by wonder (21:00)
- Celebration and lamentation are both important parts of worship (24:53)
- The world needs what we have to create (33:19)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
- “Naked Spirituality” by Brian McLaren
We say “thanks” so many times every day, but how often do we pause to think about what it really means? Today, lead pastor Josh Scott continues our “Naked Spirituality” with a conversation about the word “thanks.” He responds to some common misconceptions about what thanks is not, and he invites us to make giving thanks a daily practice, grounded in an understanding of who we are and where our identity lies.
Episode Recap:
- Spirituality is about what you do with your pain (0:10)
- We’re continuing our Naked Spirituality series by talking about the word “thanks” (2:40)
- We say thanks so often that we don’t always realize its power (3:57)
- Paul told the church to “rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in every situation” (7:24)
- Thanks is not guilt and shame, toxic positivity, or comparison-based (9:09)
- Thanks requires us to be aware and in the present (19:07)
- Thanks is grounded in contentment (20:39)
- Thanks is also about generosity (26:14)
- When we understand who God says we are, we can give thanks in all situations (31:02)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
- “Naked Spirituality” by Brian McLaren
God is always around us, and when we recognize that presence, we can experience what it truly means to be “here.” Today, lead pastor Josh Scott continues our “Naked Spirituality” series by talking about the importance of “hereness.” He explains how practicing hereness plays an important role in the simplicity stage of spirituality, and he shares some examples of how nostalgia and escapism can keep us from experiencing the present in its fullest form.
Episode Recap:
- When we see spirituality in stages, it helps us embrace past versions of ourselves (0:10)
- The season of simplicity is like Spring, full of awakening, excitement, and growth (2:43)
- Simplicity is a necessary stage, but the goal is not to stay there (6:25)
- “Here” is about awakening to God’s presence, which is always around us (7:44)
- It’s not about God showing up, it’s about us realizing what’s already there (11:38)
- Nostalgia and escapism keep us from being here in this moment (17:56)
- Pausing, grounding, and invocation can help us practice “hereness” (22:56)
- We don’t need to get God’s attention, we can instead just be here (29:49)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
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Can prayer actually change things, and if not, why do we do it? In this episode, Lead Pastor Josh Scott and Director of Content Derek Webb address this question by comparing their current understanding of God to the often problematic ways people tend to talk about prayer. They also explain how prayer can transform us and inspire us to partner with God to change the world around us. This episode continues our “What About...? Outtakes” series, where we’re responding to some of your important questions about faith.
Episode Recap:
- In this series, we’re answering some of your “What about...?” questions (0:29)
- What is the purpose of prayer, and does it change things? (1:40)
- The way we’ve often talked about prayer is really problematic (2:37)
- We can be grateful without assigning everything to God (6:11)
- Prayer may not get God to intervene, but it can still transform us (7:29)
- God doesn’t control, because love doesn’t control (9:38)
- The societal problems we pray about are things we should be working to change (14:09)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Watch our previous “What About...?” sermons
Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and send us your questions for future episodes
Just as human development moves in stages, our spiritual life also evolves and changes. Today, Brian McLaren kicks off our new series by explaining the four stages he identified in his book, “Naked Spirituality:” simplicity, complexity, perplexity, and harmony. Brian also reminds us that the ultimate goal of spirituality, no matter what stage we’re in, is to better love God, ourselves, our neighbors, and the world around us.
Episode Recap:
- We all want to be transformed people (0:10)
- Human spirituality unfolds in stages similar to the stages of human development (1:47)
- Stage 1 centers around simplicity and dualism (7:07)
- Stage 2 is where we start to experience complexity (10:57)
- Stage 3, perplexity, involves self-critique and disillusionment (14:35)
- Stage 4 is harmony, which allows us to integrate the lessons of the other stages (20:05)
- Each stage has something new to teach us about love (24:21)
- As love matures, we learn to sit quietly and enjoy someone’s presence (25:58)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Contact us to learn more if you’re interested in getting baptized
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What does it mean for us if the miracles in Scripture really happened? What does it mean if they didn’t? In this conversation, Lead Pastor Josh Scott and Director of Content Derek Webb reflect on these questions, discussing the idea that whether or not miracles literally happened matters less than the truth they reveal about who Jesus was and what he cared most about. This episode continues our “What About...? Outtakes” series, where we’re responding to some of your important questions about faith.
Episode Recap:
- We’re answering some of the “What about...?” questions we haven’t covered yet (0:40)
- Do you believe in miracles? (1:47)
- The things we call miracles were really about Jesus disrupting the social order (4:46)
- The Jesus movement was socially radical, but that decreased over time (6:43)
- Signs aren’t supposed to be worshiped, they’re supposed to point us to truth (9:00)
- It doesn’t really matter whether miracles happened, it matters what they mean (12:39)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Watch our previous “What About...?” sermons
Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and send us your questions for future episodes
Wherever you are in your faith journey, it’s natural to have questions. With this “What About...?” series, we’ve been examining what it looks like to think about some of the biggest questions through a progressive lens. Today, to wrap up the series, lead pastor Josh Scott responds to some of your questions about Christian traditions, our role in the world, the Bible, and more.
Episode Recap:
- To close out our “What About...?” series, we’re responding to your questions (0:10)
- What about the Christian calendar? (3:04)
- What about the idea of calling? (7:29)
- What is the goal of progressive Christianity? (10:32)
- What about hell? (15:31)
- What about Biblical translations (How do we know what’s true)? (20:10)
- What about devotions (How do we read the Bible?) (24:35)
- What about other religions and faith traditions? (26:17)
- What about diversity? (31:52)
Resources:
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- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
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Tithing can feel difficult to talk about because so many people have used it as a tool for creating guilt and shame. But in reality, giving to the church is just about coming together to care for the people in our communities who need our support. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott talks through some of the history of tithing in the Bible, and he reminds us that no matter how much or how little you give, you always have a place at the table.
Episode Recap:
- Many of us feel uncomfortable with tithing because we’ve seen people abuse it (1:44)
- The tithing practices in the Hebrew Bible were far more complicated than just 10% (4:34)
- Tithing isn’t taught in the New Testament, but caring for the poor is (11:04)
- Giving is a way to partner with an organization that has benefited you (17:44)
- You should never feel shame about not being able to give (23:42)
- Intentional generosity is an important practice, even outside the church (25:39)
- There are more people who need what GracePointe is doing (28:01)
Resources:
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- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
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When you experience a shift in your faith, it’s natural to question whether or not the Bible can still make sense for you. So how can we think about the Bible in a more progressive way without discounting it entirely? Lead Pastor Josh Scott answers this question in the first episode of the “What About...? Outtakes” series, where we’re responding to some of the important questions we haven’t covered in our sermon series.
Episode Recap:
- We’re answering some of the “What about...?” questions we haven’t covered yet (0:28)
- How can we think about faith in a progressive way without “breaking up with” the Bible? (1:48)
- It’s not all or nothing. You can take the Bible with you when your faith progresses (2:44)
- Parts of the Bible wrestle with questions and disagree over the answers (4:30)
- We get to decide what parts of the Bible we hold onto and which parts we let go of (9:40)
- The Bible is a human product, so of course it’s not perfect (11:15)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and send us your questions for future episodes
Many of us grew up hearing that baptism was something that people do to be saved. But where does the ritual come from, and what can it mean for Progressive Christians today? Today, lead pastor Josh Scott walks us through a re-examination of the roots of baptism. He explains how baptism started as a ritual of purity, repentance, and resistance, and he shares how engaging with this ancient practice can help us feel connected to a larger community of people who follow Jesus.
Episode Recap:
- Many of us are taught that baptism is a step in the salvation process (2:35)
- Baptism began as a Jewish purity ritual (6:26)
- John saw baptism as a symbol of repentance and returning from the wilderness (8:25)
- Baptism is a rite of resistance (12:46)
- Baptism is a ritual of belonging (17:56)
- When we learn new information, it’s ok to interpret the Bible in new ways (21:31)
- God is not bound by the limitations we place on baptism or salvation (30:10)
- Ritual connects us to a larger community (35:07)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
- Contact us to learn more if you’re interested in getting baptized
Follow GracePointe on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
Whether or not the miracles in the Bible actually happened matters less than the meaning we can engage from those stories. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott continues our “What About...?” series with a conversation about miracles. He explains how Jesus’ miracles point to his mission of bringing social healing and inclusion to those who need it most, and he challenges us to take up Jesus’ call and join him in the work of healing our communities.
Episode Recap:
- People tend to have one of two opposite views about miracles (0:10)
- When you focus on whether miracles happened or not, you miss the meaning (4:10)
- The real question is, ‘What do these signs and wonders mean?’ (7:22)
- Whether or not Jesus brought physical healing, he brought social healing (10:31)
- Jesus invites us to join him in his work of healing (17:40)
- Be careful what you celebrate as a miracle, especially if someone else is harmed in the process (23:38)
Resources:
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- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
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Many churches use creeds to standardize what they believe, but in the process, they ultimately end up excluding those who believe differently. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott explains why he takes issue with creeds, tracing their roots back to the merging of church and state under the Roman Emperor Constantine. He breaks down four reasons why most creeds are problematic and then shares the meaning behind GracePointe’s only creed, “We Belong.”
Episode Recap:
- Before the creeds, the Jesus movement was extremely diverse (0:10)
- There is no such thing as “Christianity,” there are only Christianites (3:08)
- The creeds were an attempt to homogenize and control the Jesus movement (5:20)
- Creeds are inherently exclusionary, and Jesus was about inclusion (14:53)
- Creeds are expressions of momentary understandings (19:37)
- Creeds are about believing in doctrine, not following Jesus (23:02)
- Creeds prioritize being right over being transformed (25:45)
- Our creed at GracePointe: We belong (27:10)
Resources:
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- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
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The church has become so enmeshed in American life, but it wasn’t always so cozy with the state. Church actually began as a resistance movement. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott explains how our understanding of church and state has evolved since the time of Jesus, and how we lost something important when Christianity became a tool of the empire. He also shares some practical examples of ways we can work to combat theocracy and nationalism, while making the world better by caring for the people in it.
Episode Recap:
- There’s tension between feeling grateful to live in America and the reality of how the country treats people (0:40)
- Many of us don’t even realize how interconnected church and state have become (5:17)
- Jesus was crucified for challenging the empire (10:49)
- For 300 years, the church was an alternative to the ways of the empire (13:42)
- The church didn’t change the empire; the empire changed the church (19:06)
- The challenge is to work toward realizing the idea of America while challenging nationalism and theocracy (24:09)
- Withdrawal is not an option (30:20)
- Feeding the hungry and healing the sick is an act of resistance (33:42)
Resources:
- Learn more about GracePointe
- Check out our schedule of upcoming events
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Today we continue our “What About? 2.0” series by exploring the meaning of demons. Could it be there’s more going on in those stories from the Gospels than just what it appears on the surface?
Today at GracePointe we will continue our "What About? 2.0" series by looking at the Satan. What do we do with this idea? Is there an actual being called Satan? Or is this about something else?
Our lead pastor Josh Scott will be joined by founding pastor Stan Mitchell for a conversation about our journey and how we became an LGBTQ+ affirming community.
Happy Juneteenth! Today we celebrate liberation in the past and recommit ourselves to the work of equity and ending white supremacy in the present and future.
This week at GracePointe lead pastor Josh Scott will speak about the gun violence crisis we are facing in the US, by inviting us to think theologically about the challenges that we face.
What do we do after the dust settles? Do we rebuild? Do we stay still? Do we mourn or celebrate? What if we are asking the wrong question? Join us this Sunday as we imagine and build a new kin-dom.
The idea that “God helps those who help themselves” is as American as apple pie, but is it true? Is that how it actually works? It turns out this cliche (which isn’t found in the Bible) creates a whole lot of problems and offers no solutions. Join us this Sunday as we look at this “Unhelpful” saying, and explore an alternative.
“Let go and let God” sounds really spiritual. It takes a lot of faith to just put everything in God’s hands, right? Or does it? Could it be that this cliche actually does the opposite of what its intended to do? Join us this Sunday as we look at this “Unhelpful” saying, and explore an alternative.
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“God told me.” Talk about a conversation stopper! Have you ever been on the giving or receiving end of a “God told me”? What’s really going on there? Why do people say this? Is there a better way to share our beliefs, even convictions? Join us this Sunday as we explore an alternative to this “Unhelpful” phrase.
This week at GracePointe we continue our new series, “Unhelpful,” by looking at the phrase “God will never give you more than you can handle.” Is that true? Is that found in the Bible? Or our own experience? Join us this Sunday as we explore this together.
It’s Easter at GracePointe! Join us this Sunday as we celebrate and begin a brand new series called, “Unhelpful.” Have you ever been going through something difficult, and then someone comes along and says something to you that, while they might mean well, is just unhelpful? We all probably have. We’ll begin this week with a common one: “It was all part of God’s plan.” Was it? We’ll gather this Sunday at 9 or 10:45 am CT as we explore it together!
This week at GracePointe we will wrap up our first round of “What About?” with a Question + Response time with Josh. We will take questions LIVE in the room and from the online community. Make plans to join us this Sunday!
This Sunday at GracePointe we are continue our “What About?” series by asking, “What about the End Times?” Does the Bible predict the end? Did the early Jesus followers expect the end to come at any moment? Don’t be left behind ;) , make plans to join us this week!
This Sunday at GracePointe we are diving back in to our “What About?” series by asking, “What About Communion?” Join us as we seek to uncover the original context of this central Christian ritual, and ask why it still matters today.
This Sunday we are taking a pause in our "What About?" series and looking at the story of Jesus healing a woman on the sabbath in Luke 13:10-17. Hunter Wade, our Pastoral Intern, will be preaching as we explore the imagery in this story of being bound up and set free and what that might have to do with the sabbath and Satan according to Jesus in this passage.
One of the “what abouts” many people ask during a faith shift involves the meaning and purpose of prayer. What does prayer mean through a Progressive Christian lens? What, if anything, can prayer accomplish? Does is “work”? Join us this Sunday at GracePointe as we continue our “What About” series by asking, “What About Prayer?”
This week we will continue our “What About?” series by asking the question, “What about John 14:6?“ What does it mean when it says Jesus is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life”? Join us in person or online this Sunday as we explore the meanings of this passage!
This Sunday we are continuing our “What about” series by asking, “What about the death of Jesus?” The cross was and is a central symbol for Christians, but what does it mean? Join us as we explore the historical and theological meanings of the cross.
This Sunday at GracePointe we will ask the question, “What About Salvation?” If Original Sin hasn’t separated us from God, then what is the salvation experience? Join us this Sunday as we explore this question!
This Sunday at GracePointe we will continue our “What About?” series by asking, “What About Original Sin?” From where did this belief in Original Sin come? Is there another way to understand the human experience? Join us as we ask these questions!
This Sunday we’re beginning a new series called “What About?” We’ll start things off by exploring the question, “What about the Bible?”
This Sunday our friend Kat Armas will be joining us to talk about the story of Jonah—specifically a question God asks the prophet near the end of the book: “Is your anger a good thing?” Join us as Kat invites us to think about anger, righteous anger, and the way God responds within it.
What does it mean for GracePointe to be a Progressive Christian community? Join us this Sunday as Josh unpacks the meaning of both words and how they impact our identity and practice as a community.
Join us for a conversation about the impact of white Christian nationalism on communities of color.
This week we marked the one year anniversary of the January 6 Insurrection. Sunday Josh will reflect of the problem of white Christian nationalism, which was a major factor in the insurrection, as an anti-Christ ideology. Join us as we imagine a better way forward!
Pastor Josh Scott speaks on what it means go beyond the parameters and experiences that may have limited our faith and experiences.
All are welcome to join us each Sunday at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville, and we stream live on YouTube at 10:30AM CT for our virtual community.
Kat (she/ella) is a Cuban-American author and podcaster from Miami, FL, who holds a dual MDiv and MAT. Her first book, "Abuelita Faith: What Women on the Margins Teach Us About Wisdom, Persistence and Strength" sits at the intersection of women, Scripture, and Cuban identity. She also explores similar topics on her podcast, The Protagonistas, which centers the voices of Black, Indigenous, and other women of color in church leadership and theology.
All are welcome to join us each Sunday at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville, and we stream live on YouTube at 10:30AM CT for our virtual community.
Pastor Josh Scott and Director of Content and Curation Derek Webb field questions from members of the GracePointe community.
All are welcome to join us each Sunday at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville, and we stream live on YouTube at 10:30AM CT for our virtual community.
We were so excited to welcome special guest speaker Jo Luehmann to our gathering! Through her own widely-shared content and aggregations of resources, Jo (she, her) is working to decolonize theology for the sake of liberation.
All are welcome to join us each Sunday at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville, and we stream live on YouTube at 10:30AM CT for our virtual community.
After listing The Beatitudes in Matthew 5, Jesus proceeds to call those listening to his words into being salt and light. What did these terms mean to those who first heard them, and how might we apply Jesus’ message today?
All are welcome to join us each Sunday at 9AM and 10:30AM CT at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville, and we stream live on YouTube at 10:30AM CT for our virtual community.
Jesus’ blessing of the “persecuted for righteousness’s sake” has been used to justify harmful theology and ecclesiology for as long as we’ve been making meaning of The Beatitudes. What did it mean to be persecuted in Jesus’ context? What does it mean for us now?
All are welcome to join us each Sunday at 9AM and 10:30AM CT at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville, and we stream live on YouTube at 10:30AM CT for our virtual community.
In Matthew 5, Jesus blesses peacemakers, stating they will be called “children of God.” Our interpretation of peace is often incomplete, missing some of the important context Jesus’ audience would have had. What is a peacemaker? How do we define peace? What does it meant to be called children of God?
All are welcome to join us each Sunday at 9AM and 10:30AM CT at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville, and we stream live on YouTube at 10:30AM CT for our virtual community.
When we hear Jesus’s blessing of the “pure in heart”, it can be easy to read our own context(s) into a Beatitude with broader implications. What does it mean to be “pure in heart?” What is the promise being made here?
All are welcome to join us each Sunday at 9AM and 10:30AM CT at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville, and we stream live on YouTube at 10:30AM CT for our virtual community.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.” Jesus’s affirmation of mercy speaks to more than just a way of thinking—it’s an embodied way of being. What does it mean to be merciful, and what is the promise being made in this Beatitude?
All are welcome to join us each Sunday at 9AM and 10:30AM CT at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville, and we stream live on YouTube at 10:30AM CT for our virtual community.
Jesus pronounced a blessing on all who “hunger and thirst for righteousness.” Through the lens of a Christianity where sinless-ness is equated with righteousness, it can be easy to lose sight of the radical call to justice reflected in this Beatitude. How do we make sense of it in context?
All are welcome to join us each Sunday at 9AM and 10:30AM CT at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville, and we stream live on YouTube at 10:30AM CT for our virtual community.
“Blessed are the meek.” We inhabit a world skeptical of meekness, one that equates gentleness and humility with weakness. How do we embody Jesus’ blessing of the meek and bring God’s kin-dom to bear in our world?
All are welcome to join us each Sunday at 9AM and 10:30AM CT at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville, and we stream live on YouTube at 10:30AM CT for our virtual community.
“Blessed are the _____.” The Beatitudes in Matthew 5 are familiar to many, even those without a faith background. What did it mean for Jesus to pronounce these blessings, and how might our understanding of blessedness change in light of his teachings?
All are welcome to join us each Sunday at 9AM and 10:30AM CT at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville, and we stream live at 10:30AM CT for our virtual community.
For the first time since March of last year, GracePointe is gathering in-person! Join us at as we honor this new step in our community’s virtual and in-person journeys.
All are welcome to join us each Sunday at 9AM and 10:30AM CT at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville, and we stream live at 10:30AM CT for our virtual community.
The Great Commission has been used to justify the Church’s active and complicit participation in colonization, genocide, and so much more. What did this final charge mean to those who first heard it, and what does it mean for us today?
GracePointe is expanding back into in-person gatherings on Sunday, June 6th! All are welcome to join us at 9AM and 10:30AM CT at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville, and we will be streaming live at 10:30AM CT for our virtual community.
Many of us are familiar with the story of Jesus casting out demon[s] who send a herd of pigs to their doom. What we may be missing is the significance of this story to those who first heard and experienced it.
GracePointe is expanding back into in-person gatherings on Sunday, June 6th! All are welcome to join us at 9AM and 10:30AM CT at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville, and we will be streaming live at 10:30AM CT for our virtual community.
The Parable of the Talents is one of Jesus’ more famous parables. These enigmatic stories are subversive, and as we’ve seen over the past few weeks, it can be easy to miss the point. What does this parable mean for us?
GracePointe is expanding back into in-person gatherings on Sunday, June 6th! All are welcome to join us at 9AM and 10:30AM CT at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville, and we will be streaming live at 10:30AM CT for our virtual community.
Jesus’ parable about the wedding party has been subject to many different interpretations over the millennia. Assumptions are easily read into this story. How do we approach this famous parable? How can our perspectives limit its impact?
GracePointe is expanding back into in-person gatherings on Sunday, June 6th! All are welcome to join us at 9AM and 10:30AM CT at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville, and we will be streaming live at 10:30AM CT for our virtual community.
Many of us are familiar with the Gospel story of the widow who made a contribution of two coins in the Temple. What modern Christian interpretations often unintentionally miss is the profoundly subversive message of this story. What does the story of Jesus and the Widow’s Mite mean? Let’s dive in!
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
In the Gospels, Jesus famously curses a fig tree and proceeds to clear the Temple courts. What does this story mean? How are Jesus’ actions instructive for us today?
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
We’re excited to be diving back into Bible Stories for Grownups, this time focusing on the Synoptic Gospels! For week 1 of this series, we’re studying Jesus and the Canaanite Woman—what did this story mean in its time, and what does it mean for us today?
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
In the wake of the empty tomb, the earliest followers of Jesus were reckoning with a new reality. Who is Jesus? What does this resurrection mean? Where do we go from here? Join us Sunday as we gather virtually for Easter together and ask those same questions, nearly 2,000 years later. What does the resurrection of Christ, the Divine incarnate, mean for us?
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
The cross was central to the faith and experience of early Christians. Paul even distilled his message into 2 words: Christ crucified. Many of us have understood the cross one way for much of our lives, seeing Jesus’ violent death as atoning for our sin, absorbing God’s punishment on our behalf. How do we look to the cross as Progressive Christians?
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
We’re delighted to have Rev. Tonetta Landis-Aina, pastor of Resurrection City Church in Washington, D.C., joining us as a guest speaker in our gathering!
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
Dr. Pete Enns, author and co-host of "The Bible for Normal People", joins us for a virtual conversation and answers questions asked by listeners.
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
This week, we conclude our What is Progressive Christianity series with a round of question and answer! Join us as Pastor Josh takes some time to respond to community questions about faith, the Bible, and more.
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
We’re continuing our series What is Progressive Christianity by talking about the way Progressive Christianity might approach eschatology. Eschatology is about the “study of last things.” It’s an area of theology that focuses on the "end times," the ultimate fate of humans and the world, and the “Second Coming” of Jesus.
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
We’re thrilled to have Brian McLaren joining us for our gathering! He speaks on Progressive Christianity’s posture towards other faiths, a subject he discusses at length in his book: "Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road?: Christian Identity in a Multi-Faith World".
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
Throughout Church history, centuries-long schisms have formed over the interpretations and applications of Sacraments—understood as means of grace. What role do Sacraments and practices play when seen through a Progressive Christian lens?
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
For many of us, in the framework we inherited, the gospel was about something that will happen in the future. The question that often sums this up is, “What would happen if you died tonight?” This Sunday, we’re asking, “What is the gospel through a Progressive Christian lens?
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
Progressive Christians can sometimes have an awkward, tense relationship with the Bible. Since we leave behind a perspective that sees it divinely dictated, we can more plainly see that there are especially problematic texts with which we must reckon. With that in mind, what do we do with the Bible?
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
The way we begin a story matters—the beginning gives shape to everything that comes after it. The beginning point many of us were given is that to be human is to be a problem that has to be solved. How does Progressive Christianity start the story differently?
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
Metaphors are an important part of our faith journeys. In terms like deconstruction or reconstruction, we find effective ways of communicating our experiences. At the same time, metaphors can be limiting. What purpose do metaphors serve in Progressive Christianity?
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
Last week, we launched our brand new series by discussing the second half of our Progressive Christian label, identifying as radical Christians committed to the way of Christ. This week, we’re diving into the first part, asking “Why Are We Progressive?”
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
So, what is Progressive Christianity? Join us as we launch a brand new series for a brand new year asking the very same question! We'll be diving into a variety of concepts over the next few weeks, growing and learning together.
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
Join us as we observe Epiphany and celebrate the arrival of a new year!
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
Christmas Eve is a moment filled with possibility and hope. How does Christmas provide us an opportunity to see and understand God as well as our relationship to the Jesus story?
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
We use the language of love to describe a lot, especially as a guiding ethic for how we engage the world. This final week in Advent is themed on Love—what did this idea mean for the people of Jesus’ day, and what does it mean for us?
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
The famous words of the angels to the shepherds offered good tidings of great joy for all people. What does this mean? What did it mean to the shepherds?
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
We hear peace on earth in carols and in the Gospel narratives of the birth of Jesus, yet it’s hard not to consider that—in the 2,000 years since the angels are said to have uttered those words—we’ve not seen this realized. Peace on earth? Let’s dive in.
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
This Sunday marks the beginning of Advent! We're also beginning a brand new series today, believing Christmas can [still] change the world.
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
Guest speaker Dr. Diana Butler Bass, a brilliant theologian, scholar, and preacher, joins us for a powerful message on gratitude as a value to embody.
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
For many of us, the concept of humility has been closely related to humiliation. How do we begin to reframe the value of humility in a Progressive Christian context?
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
What does it mean to be authentic? Inherent to our journey and work as Progressive Christians is the belief that honesty and authenticity make each of us better. Community member Corey Dandridge (he/him) joins Pastor Josh Scott for week 5 of our Let Us Be Series.
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
For many of us, curiosity was discouraged in our faith journeys. Being curious might have been considered a path to doubt or even disbelief. At GracePointe, we believe in being curious. How do we lean into and embody this value as a community?
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
What does it mean to have courage? How can we be a courageous people in a world that rewards complacency and the status quo?
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
For week 2 of our Let Us Be Series, we’re exploring the embodiment of a key value in our community: love. How can we be love? What does this mean for us, even in a pandemic?
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
It’s worth asking: How do our values align with our actions? How do we be what we claim to believe? This week, we're so excited to start a brand new series: Let Us Be — Embodying Our Values!
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
We’re so excited to welcome a special guest speaker today: Brian McLaren! @brian_mclaren is an author, speaker, activist, and public theologian. A former college English teacher and pastor, he is a passionate advocate for “a new kind of Christianity”—just, generous, and working with people of all faiths for the common good.
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
This week, we’re wrapping up our Bible Stories for Grown-Ups series with the story of Daniel: Resisting Empire. Maybe you grew up with the flannel-graph or even the Veggietales version—what does this story mean in its ancient Hebrew context?
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
Though slightly more obscure than some of its textual counterparts, the Hebrew Bible story of Naaman the Syrian has an important contextual lesson both for the audience of the time and for us. What does a post-critical lens have to say?
We're also grateful for a performance from GracePointe friend Ben Grace! Check out his art at https://www.bengracemusic.com/.
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
The story of Jonah reads a bit like a tragedy mixed with a comedy. What does a post-critical, contextualized view of this ancient Jewish story have to say to the world today?
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
Much of the messaging and nuance in the Hebrew Bible story of Ruth is lost in a pre-critical reading of Scripture. How can we see this powerful narrative in a new, post-critical light as Progressive Christians?
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
The story of Samson and his context as one of many “judges” in the story of the Israelites holds a lot of meaning, much of which can be lost in the flattened, pre-critical view so many Christians hold. What might an integrated, post-critical lens reveal in this ancient Hebrew Bible story?
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
In the story of Jacob and Esau, we read of a conflict between brothers with profound implications for the future of Abraham's descendants. How do we make sense of this story in its context and in light of our experiences?
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
The Genesis story of the binding of Isaac can hard to comprehend. What does it mean, and how do we appreciate it in its context?
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
We’re diving into the Hebrew Bible story of Noah and the flood. What do we do with it? How might Progressive Christians make sense of it?
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
As children, so many of us were taught ways of understanding Bible stories that may have lacked context and substance. Let's dive into these narratives with a fresh Progressive Christian perspective in pursuit of a "grown-up" faith.
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
We're wrapping up our RE: Series by discussing the meaning of "end times". What does Scripture actually say about it, and how might Progressive Christians reframe and reimagine this fraught concept?
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
Last week, we talked about the difference between judgmental (control through fear and shame) and judgment, that judgment is a good thing, because it locates God in the place where our spiritual ancestors discovered her: with the poor, marginalized, and oppressed, willing their liberation. This week, we’ll be picking up that idea of judgment because it’s connected to the manner in which justice works.
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
When you dig through the data, you discover that one of the major reasons people leave church is that “Christians are hypocritical and judgmental.” We can all probably relate to that feeling in one way or another. How might Progressive Christians reimagine and reframe the meaning of judgment? What even does it mean?
Special thanks to poet and Vanderbilt librarian Kashif Andrew Graham, @kagwrites on Instagram, for his contribution to our gathering! Be sure to follow him and support his work.
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
What are some things that come to mind when you hear the word humility? What does it mean to be humble? Humility is defined as “a modest or low view of one's own importance.” After all, the starting place that many, if not most, of us were given was that we, as human beings, are totally depraved. How might a Progressive Christian lens reimagine the meaning of humility?
This week, you'll also hear from some of our long-distance members! Thank you to those who participated.
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
What comes to mind when you hear the phrase Word of God? For most people, first association that pops into mind is the Bible. Many of us were raised with the lens that taught us that the Bible was the inerrant, infallible Word of God, that contains no errors or issues (in the original autographs). That’s quite the expectation, which is one of the problems when it comes to the way we approach the Bible: We place expectations on the Bible that it isn’t equipped to bear.
This week, we're excited to share our Creative Arts Team's rendition of "You Alone" performed by Dr. Shelley Kofahl-Kihn, Adam Budnick, Jasmin Bridgeforth, and Josh Collins.
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
Miracles are very much a part of the scriptural narrative, and for many Christians, miracles are just as common and real now as they were believe to have been for the writers of the canon. Progressive Christians may have an altogether different perspective–how might we reframe and apply the meaning and history of miracles?
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
Much has been made of faith in the lives and experiences of Christians. Just have faith. Trust and believe. What did faith mean for Jesus and the Early Church, and how might Progressive Christians reframe and reimagine its application today?
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
Many of us associate this term with fraught altar calls and shame-filled church experiences–how might Progressive Christians find meaning and substance in it, instead? Particularly for this moment as a community and society, what does repentance have to say about the manner in which we live?
We were grateful to be joined by community member Jasmin Bridgeforth for a spoken word in today's gathering!
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
We’re jumping back into our RE: Series with a look at the meaning of “Church”. We describe ourselves as a Progressive Christian church–what can that word mean for us, and how might a Progressive Christian lens inform our reframing of “church”?
We were grateful to be joined by Ben Grace for a special performance in today's gathering!
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
In these uncertain and challenging times, finding and sustaining community can be especially difficult. Dr. Robyn Henderson-Espinoza and Pastor Josh Scott host a conversation about creating and participating in meaningful community during a pandemic.
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
At some point, we’ll be given the green light to return to our lives and routines. However, that won’t immediately flip a switch; many of us will feel a real and valid anxiety around emerging from lockdown. How do we know it’s really safe? How do love others and ourselves in this transition?
We were grateful to be joined by the band HuDost for a special performance in today's gathering!
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to become a sustaining supporter of the community.
Many people have experienced an identity loss during this period of lockdown and physical distancing: a job, or perhaps a role they play in the world. How do we find and embrace our identity when it feels like it’s been stolen from us?
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to partner with us.
Prayer is one of the toughest concepts to reimagine through a progressive lens. When God ceases to be a being above the clouds, what happens to prayer? Does God intervene, or worse, choose not to intervene? How does prayer work in the context of a global pandemic?
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to partner with us.
How do we make sense of God’s love and presence in the midst of a global health crisis? Where is God during a pandemic? Pastor Josh Scott dives into week 2 of our Meaning-Making Series.
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to partner with us.
How might a Progressive Christian lens inform our experiences and the ways we find meaning in such challenging and uncertain times? Pastor Josh introduces our brand new series, “Meaning-Making.”
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to partner with us.
What do we do with Easter and the story of Jesus’ resurrection, especially in a time of such uncertainty, grief, and hopelessness? Pastor Josh Scott explores how we can experience Easter anew.
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to partner with us.
Atonement assumes that our relationship with God is broken and that God requires restitution. But, we believe we are inherently united with God, that nothing can separate us from that union, even when we aren’t aware of it. How can Progressive Christians talk about the death of Jesus, a central event in the Christian tradition, in meaningful ways?
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to partner with us.
Join us for week 3 of our RE: Series as Pastor Josh Scott discusses sin. What is sin? Is it still a relevant word? We’re excited to dive in!
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe is gathering online at gracepointe.net. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to partner with us.
Salvation-what do we make of it as Progressive Christians? How do we reframe and reclaim this idea so many of us have deconstructed? Pastor Josh Scott dives in for Week 2 of our RE: Series.
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe will be gathering online at gracepointe.net and at Facebook.com/gracepointetn. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to partner with us.
Pastor Josh introduces our brand new RE: Series, a reimagining, rethinking, and reclaiming of the language of faith for Progressive Christians.
To promote the safety of our community and neighbors, GracePointe will be gathering online at gracepointe.net and at Facebook.com/gracepointetn. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to partner with us.
Gathering is, perhaps, the earliest rhythm the first Christians practiced. Coming together, celebrating our differences, and loving each other well is where our theology is realized. Pastor Josh discusses the importance of gathering in the final week of our Rhythm Series.
In an effort to love our neighbors, GracePointe has suspended all in-person gatherings and programming for the month of March. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to partner with us.
Just as loving your neighbor starts with loving yourself, forgiveness starts with you. What does forgiveness look like as a practice for Progressive Christians? Pastor Josh dives into the subject for Week 8 of our Rhythm Series.
If you're interested in joining in person, we gather every Sunday at 9:00AM and 10:45AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to partner with us.
In one of the Genesis Creation Stories, God is said to have placed humans in the Garden of Eden not to dominate or exploit it, but "to farm it and to take care of it." This leads us to ask: How we can embrace Organic Theology? We are dependent on our world and all that is in it, so what if we began to view Creation as a transformative experience?
If you're interested in joining in person, we gather every Sunday at 9:00AM and 10:45AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to partner with us.
Fasting and feasting are ancient, sometimes confusing spiritual practices many of us have experienced at one point or another. This week, we ask: How can fasting and feasting inform our practice as Progressive Christians? Note: This recording began slightly later in the message due to a technical error. Our apologies for the inconvenience!
If you're interested in joining in person, we gather every Sunday at 9:00AM and 10:45AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to partner with us.
Hospitality is transformative because it connects us to one another. Let's cultivate a personal and corporate practice of welcome, invitation, and openness. It has the power to transform not just our individual selves, but the world.
If you're interested in joining in person, we gather every Sunday at 9:00AM and 10:45AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to partner with us.
How do we make meaning of Scripture? What purpose does the Bible serve in our spiritual journeys? Join us for Week 3 of our Rhythm Series as Pastor Josh Scott navigates this important subject.
If you're interested in joining in person, we gather every Sunday at 9:00AM and 10:45AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to partner with us.
What do we do with prayer? How does it work? Does is it even work? Pastor Josh Scott shares some perspective on this ancient, universal spiritual practice and relates it to a Progressive Christian reframing of faith.
If you're interested in joining in person, we gather every Sunday at 9:00AM and 10:45AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to partner with us.
For many of us, the practices that grounded our Christian spirituality took on new meaning as we considered a progressive reframing of faith. What are some transformative practices for Progressive Christians? Join us for our Rhythm Series!
If you're interested in joining in person, we gather every Sunday at 9:00AM and 10:45AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to partner with us.
Theology isn't the endpoint.
While theology can be a beautiful and rich part of our experience, it pulls us forward into action. It compels us to love one another in word and deed.⠀ ⠀ Let's keep moving.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 9:00AM and 10:45AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined.
GracePointe's Founding Pastor, Stan Mitchell, joins us for a special gathering to discuss Gratitude and Honesty through the lens of our story.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 9:00AM and 10:45AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined.
Jesus invites our curiosity.
Through the course of his ministry recorded in Scripture, he asked 307 questions; Jesus was asked 183 questions, of which he only answered 3. Curiosity is at the heart of who we are, and we'll never stop asking questions. Listen to Pastor Josh's latest message in our Core Series!
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 9:00AM and 10:45AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined.
How can we love courageously?
Pastor Erin Edwards of Live on Purpose Community Church joins us for an incredibly powerful message on Love and Courage, two of GracePointe's Core Values.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 9:00AM and 10:45AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined.
At GracePointe, we affirm that life is a gift to be enjoyed and that love is a responsibility to be shared. This week, we dive into how these values work together to build a more just and generous Christian faith.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 9:0AM and 10:45AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined.
We are inherently united with God. There is no separation. God does not need a sacrifice to love us.
Join us as Pastor Josh Scott dives into our Core Values, the ideas and beliefs that shape and guide the GracePointe Community. This week, we're looking into Inherent Unity and what it means for us.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 9:00AM and 10:45AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined.
GracePointe was delighted to host author, speaker, and pastor Doug Pagitt as he tours for his latest book, "Outdoing Jesus"! Listen to this moving talk on Jesus' first recorded miracle, and be sure to check out his book!
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined.
This week we conclude our series contrasting conventional and unconventional wisdom. This week we dig in to one of the most difficult of Jesus’s teachings. We all have enemies, and Jesus offers a challenging, unconventional approach to them: love.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined.
This week we continue our series contrasting conventional and unconventional wisdom. Conventional wisdom holds that politics and religion are separate spheres, and they should never be combined. After all, Jesus did say, “Give to Caesar what to Caesar’s,” right? But what does that mean? Is it, perhaps, actually a brilliant bit of unconventional wisdom? That’s what we explore in this week’s teaching.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined.
This week we continue our series contrasting conventional and unconventional wisdom. How many times have we heard or said, “The Bible clearly says...” followed by a statement that is assumed to be orthodox? But does the Bible clearly say anything? That’s what we’ll unpack in this teaching.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined.
This week we continue our series contrasting conventional and unconventional wisdom. When someone says, “God helps those who help themselves,” it’s rarely in the context of things going wrong. It’s actually a statement born of (unconscious) privilege. In this message we unpack that privilege and talk about a better way to think about God.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined.
This week we continue our series contrasting conventional and unconventional wisdom. People often say, “Everything happens for a reason,” a phrase which seeks to find meaning in the events of life. But is that true? Would it even be comforting if it were? Perhaps, if we look for it, there is an unconventional approach to finding meaning in the circumstances we experience.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined.
This week we continue our new series, [Un]Conventional Wisdom, by talking about a commonly used phrase, “God doesn’t put more on us than we can handle.”
Where does this phrase come from? Is this true? Or is there a more encouraging and life-giving way to see it?
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined.
Conventional wisdom is a shared body of wisdom about how to live; it’s a lens and worldview that we share. It’s what “everybody knows.” Yet, sometimes conventional wisdom is, well, flat out wrong. Jesus taught and embodied an alternative wisdom - unconventional wisdom - that cut against the grain of his context (and ours!). In this first teaching, we explore an often misunderstood bit of Jesus’s teaching concerning “The Two Ways.”
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined.
This week we continue thinking about the role ancient rituals play in Progressive Christianity in the 21st century. Where did baptism come from? What did it mean in its original context? Does it make sense to continue this practice today? We speak to all this and more in this teaching.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined.
What is the place of rituals like the Eucharist in Progressive Christianity? Is it still a vital piece of our identity, or should it be left behind? In this message we discover the subversive origins of the Eucharist and imagine how it can re-shape our ongoing experience.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined.
The largest chunk of the Christian Calendar isn’t celebrations of Easter or Advent. It’s a period referred to as “Ordinary Time.” There something about that word, “ordinary,” that sounds just so ... ordinary. Unremarkable. Forgettable. We live for the opposite, the extra-ordinary. We await and orient our lives around those moments that transcend ordinary, yet the vast amount of our lives are spent in anything but. What are the gifts and lessons of ordinary time? How can we allow it to teach us to be present and engaged in the everyday-ness of our lives?
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined.
This week, we marked the day of Pentecost — a day to reflect on the meaning of being the Church. In this teaching, we centered on four words – Peace, Sending, Breath, and Forgiveness – that bring that meaning into focus.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined.
Community is about presence.
Seeing and being seen, knowing and being known, giving and receiving.
Let's do that together, and let's do it well.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined.
Peace is about: telling ourselves the truth; carving out intentional space to cultivate "shalom"; seeking to be a non-anxious presence.
Pastor Josh Scott leads us into a sermon of peace, wholeness, and how we can experience God's love in our very presence.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined.
Forgiveness isn't about condoning, forgetting, reconciling, or bypassing justice.
Forgiveness is a choice, a process, a journey, and about letting go.
Pastor Josh Scott leads us into a powerful message on Forgiveness for week 5 of our Contagious Series.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined.
See: Pay attention, be aware. Feel: Seek to understand how others feel. Act: Do what you can to help.
Pastor Josh Scott dives into contagious compassion in week 3 of "Contagious".
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined. Visit gracepointe.net for more!
In the wake of yet another shooting in a place of worship, Josh reminds of the ways our faith can help us sustain and spread a climate of joy in otherwise tumultuous and difficult times. This is the second installment of our series, "Contagious".
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined. Visit gracepointe.net for more!
This Easter we had extra cause for celebration as we welcomed our new Lead Pastor Joshua Scott and family for their first official week with Gracepointe! The overflow crowd reflected the message, in which Josh noted how Jesus - in a culture obsessed with the distinction between "clean" and "unclean" - constantly found his way to the marginalized, erasing boundaries and spreading a welcoming and "contagious" love among those who came to follow his way of living.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined. Visit gracepointe.net for more!
Our own Dr. Jeff Clark offers a Progressive reading of Jesus' "triumphant" entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and how it might inform our posture toward life in times of darkness or difficulty.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined. Visit gracepointe.net for more!
"Judge not so that you are not judged."
Jesus was making a profound statement, but for many of us, a flawed interpretation of it has long defined its meaning in our minds. GracePointe's Founding Pastor Stan Mitchell dives into what is a beautiful reference to Divine love and mercy.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined. Visit gracepointe.net for more!
, as well as Liz Dyer, founder and leader of the Mama Bears. They shared powerful stories of their own journeys and of the restorative, healing power present in simple acts of kindness and dignity like hugs and high-fives.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined. Visit gracepointe.net for more!
Founding Pastor Stan Mitchell holds a dialogue with GracePointe's incoming Pastor Josh Scott. They talk about Josh's story, GracePointe's story, and look to the future when Josh steps into his role on Sunday, April 21st.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined. Visit gracepointe.net for more!
Jeff Bohannon, a longtime member of the GracePointe family, recounts his story in the trials, grace, and belonging he discovered along the way.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined. Visit gracepointe.net for more!
Pastor Josh Scott dives into the ways our beliefs about God inform our beliefs about ourselves. In the same way the Father called Jesus the "Son in Whom I am well pleased" we are beloved children in whom God delights.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content, and text "GracePointe" to 77977 to donate if you are so inclined. Visit gracepointe.net for more!
A religion that focuses on believing right dogma above all else ultimately loses its radiance. The shine comes when following Jesus becomes a way of life. Pastor Ray Waters of The Village in Hapeville, Georgia, joins us for a moving message on a radiant faith.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content. Visit gracepointe.net for more!
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If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content. Visit gracepointe.net for more!
GracePointe's founder and lead pastor Stan Mitchell speaks on the profundity and meaning of Communion, a practice the historical Church has known since its inception. What do we mean by it, how do we practice it, and who is included in it?
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content. Visit gracepointe.net for more!
Jennifer Mayeaux brings a powerful sermon on the subversive power and message of the cross, a central component of the Christian tradition and the story of Jesus.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content. Visit gracepointe.net for more!
Chris Kratzer, pastor and author of "Leatherbound Terrorism", joins us for our Sunday morning gathering to share about the bravery we can find in our belovedness. Centering on the story of Jesus' baptism, Chris offers a moving and poignant message inclusive of all.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content. Visit gracepointe.net for more!
Tripp Fuller of the popular Homebrewed Christianity podcast joins us for a Sunday gathering with a talk on difficult conversations, seen through the lens of Jacob and Esau.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content. Visit gracepointe.net for more!
Rev. John McLean of Unity of Nashville Church joins GracePointe for a message on the work of Christmas and the serenity that can follow. Rev. John also cites the "Serenity Prayer", composed by Reinhold Niebuhr.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content. Visit gracepointe.net for more!
Pete Wilson, founder and former lead pastor of Cross Point Church in Nashville, shares from his personal journey over the last couple of years. Drawing from the divine disruption of Mary's life and the coming of the Christ, Pete recounts the beauty of God using disruption for good in his own life.
Note: Due to a technical difficulty, the very beginning of his message is missing. The Scripture reference he uses is Luke 1:26-38.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content. Visit gracepointe.net for more!
Pastor Cody Deese of Vinings Lake Church joins us for a message he calls a "Holiday Survival Guide"–the unity of all things and the connectedness of all people.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content. Visit gracepointe.net for more!
Pastor, author, and activist John Pavlovitz brings an encouraging message on the progress we've made and the progress we're making. Faith in Progressive Christianity is not an easy journey, but it's certainly beautiful.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content. Visit gracepointe.net for more!
Rev. Sarah Heath of Costa Mesa United Methodist Church joins us for a sermon on the incredible women in Jesus' ancestry. Centering on the story of Ruth, she walks us through the nature of belonging and what that means for our faith community.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content. Visit gracepointe.net for more!
Anna Golladay, a former United Methodist minister whose credentials and job were revoked after she performed a same-gender wedding earlier this year, speaks on the beauty and power in knowing God is the God who sees us precisely where we are.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content. Visit gracepointe.net for more!
Pastor Ray Waters of The Village Church in Hapeville, GA, joins us for a moving talk on the power and consequences of fear.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content. Visit gracepointe.net for more!
On what is time change day for most of us, we welcome back our friend Josh Scott - lead pastor of Morgantown Community Church - as he considers what we can learn about having a healthy relationship with change and growth through a time that even Jesus learned something and changed his mind.
If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. We also have a podcast on your platform of choice! Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content. Visit gracepointe.net for more!
Our own Jennifer Mayeaux shares her story of transgender transition - the joys and sorrows, the peace won at heavy cost. Join us as she describes powerfully her journey toward embracing her fundamental belovedness as a child of God. If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville, TN. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content. Visit gracepointe.net for more!
Ryan Meeks, founding pastor of Eastlake Church in Seattle, Washington, joins GracePointe for a message on embracing the life we have with mindfulness for the present. If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content. Visit gracepointe.net for more!
GracePointe's Lead Pastor Stan Mitchell speaks on change and new beginnings on our very first Sunday in our new location. If you're interested in joining us, we gather every Sunday at 10:30AM at 4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville. Follow @gracepointetn on every social media platform for regular updates and Progressive Christian content. Visit gracepointe.net for more!
For our last gathering at the Unity campus, Stan Mitchell speaks on the nature of blessing and the ways GracePointe experiences blessedness. Beginning October 14th, GracePointe will meet at Clementine Hall (4710 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville) at 10:30AM. Join us for an Open House Sunday, October 7th at 10:30AM! To learn more about our community visit gracepointe.net or follow us on social media @gracepointetn.
This week our pastoral staff talk through some of through some of the specific opportunities we have to engage and participate in realizing the vibrant, thriving community we desire. We encourage you to consider it, then visit gracepointe.net/volunteer to let us know how you'd like to engage in this effort. To learn more about our community visit gracepointe.net or follow us on social media @gracepointetn.
This week we were honored to welcome Josh Scott, pastor of Morgantown Community Church, as he reminded us of the critical role of curiosity in a vibrant life of faith. Find more content on progressive Christianity and learn more about our community at gracepointe.net or follow us on social media @gracepointetn!
We continue our exploration of forgiveness this week through the story of Joseph. You can learn more about our community at gracepointe.net or follow us on social media @gracepointetn.
Stan reminds us this week that we love best when we begin with the "generous assumption" of others' best intentions. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or follow us on social media @gracepointetn.
For more content and information on Gracepointe Church, visit gracepointe.net or follow @gracepointetn on social media!
Hear prominent pastor, author, and speaker Jonathan Martin preach on the redemption offered to both the oppressed and the oppressor. This message was recorded on Sunday, August 19th, 2018. For more content and information on Gracepointe Church, visit gracepointe.net or follow @gracepointetn on social media!
Stan reminds us this week that those things we call "good" and "bad" often travel on parallel tracks and arrive at about the same time, and that the work of God is in the togetherness of it all. Stick around after the message for some important announcements and updates from our Leadership Council and Stan. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN.
It was fantastic to be back together with everyone. We begin with an update from the Leadership Council on our plans for the fall, and then a message from Stan before gathering for a shared time of dinner together. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN.
With a little help from Mr. Rogers and Stan’s favorite scripture (2 Corinthians 12), we celebrate God’s strength in our weakness! This message was recorded as part of our weekly service on May 19, 2018. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN.
We resume (and wrap up) this "Gracepointe 101" series with a discussion on what we talk about when we talk about "church". Stick around at the end to learn how you can be involved in our efforts this summer to extend extra love and support to Nashville's refugee population. This session was recorded as part of our regular weekly service on May 12, 2018. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN.
We take a brief intermission this week from our Gracepointe 101 series to hear from our own Dr. Jeff Clark, who offers a challenging but encouraging reminder of the unique role we have in this time, in this place, in bringing about the radically-inclusive world we believe Jesus desired and modeled. This talk was recorded as part of our regular weekly service on Saturday, May 5, 2018. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN.
A critique often leveled against progressive/liberal Christians is that we don't hold a "high" view of the Bible. Stan makes the case here that, for many of us, it's quite the opposite. Approaching the Bible with a better perspective can release beauty and depth that perhaps was absent for us before (while lessening the potential for wielding scripture as a weapon).) This is week three of our "Gracepointe 101" series, exploring what we talk about when we talk about the Bible. This message was recorded as part of our weekly gathering on April 28, 2018. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN.
We continue the "Gracepointe 101" series this week, exploring what we talk about when we talk about Jesus Christ. This message was recorded as part of our weekly gathering on April 21, 2018. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN.
Stan begins a new series this week: "Gracepointe 101". Many among us have expressed having some difficulty conveying what Gracepointe is about to others who may be interested. Over the next few weeks, we hope to inform that "elevator pitch" discussion through an overview of what we mean when we talk about God, the Bible, Jesus Christ and, finally, about Church. We begin this week, April 14, 2018, on the topic of "God". Fifty bonus points if you can find the 12-syllable not-a-word embedded! Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN.
This talk was recorded as part of our weekly service on April 7, 2018. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN.
This talk was recorded as part of our weekly service on March 24, 2018. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN.
Stan reminds of the importance of the "dying" phase of what the Christian church has called the Paschal Cycle. Also, for you Stranger Things fans, you can enjoy Pastor Stan offering a message from The Upside Down for the first few minutes. :) This message was recorded as part of our weekly service at Gracepointe Church on March 17, 2018. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN.
The church has long struggled to reconcile its "Good News" with its exclusivism. Join us as we explore that history and consider ways that we - as a congregation and as part of the broader church - can work to right the course. This message was recorded as a part of our weekly service at Gracepointe Church on March 10, 2018. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN.
We're joined this week by Rev. Sarah Heath, lead pastor of First UMC Costa Mesa, CA. She challenged us, among other things, to be "transformed" and not simply "conformed". A gifted writer, speaker, and pastor, you can learn more about her and her work at revsarahheath.com. Her talk was recorded as part of our weekly service at Gracepointe Church on February 24, 2018. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN!
Our own Drew and Jana Epperson encourage us this week toward seeing life as journey, transformation, and becoming. Please accept our apologies for some tech/microphone issues during Jana's portion of the talk. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net, or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN.
As we enter the traditional church season of Lent, Stan and Justin work through what some of this "giving up" or "adding in" stuff for Lent is all about. This message was recorded in our weekly service on Februrary 10, 2018. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net on or social media @GRACEPOINTETN.
Which is more important in breathing - inhaling, or exhaling? In this podcast from our service on February 3, 2018, Stan pulls examples from Jesus' life and ministry to remind us that the answer is "yes". Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN.
Story is deeply embedded in our humanity. Sharing and hearing each others' stories offers much-needed connection in these increasingly divided and isolated times. Story was Jesus' go-to teaching method. So, we set aside this special evening for a handful of our Gracepointe family to share a portion of their stories, after which we gathered for a wonderful variety of homemade soups - and more stories. (We would love to share both with you, but our media provider unfortunately does not yet support upload of soups.) We hope you'll join us soon, in person or online, to share your own story and join in the unfolding story of this community. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net, or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN.
This week we hear from a treasure within our own ranks. Elder and pastor Lee Anglin is encouragement embodied - listen in as he encourages us to keep running the race set before us. Prayer, poetry, and message recorded January 20, 2018, at Gracepointe Church. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN.
This week we were honored to host a conversation with Amber Cantorna about the difficult, costly experience of coming out in a hyper-conservative evangelical setting, and her current work supporting and encouraging those in similar circumstances. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or on social media at @GRACEPOINTETN.
Stan wraps up the Christmas season (see what we did there?) with Epiphany this week while our hometown Titans were busy getting their first playoff win! Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN.
We're joined this week by John McLean, pastor of Unity of Nashville (whose campus we share), as he leads us through his congregation's contemplative practice of letting go and looking forward. We look toward 2018 with the expectation that the best is yet to come, and we wish you a safe, happy new year! Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN.
Advent continues this week with beautiful readings from Steven and Wendy, then Stan reminds us we are often longing for what has been there the whole time. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN!
After a couple of weeks of special services, we returned to our normal format this weekend with a discussion on "longing" and its role in this Advent season. Our apologies that, due to technical challenges with recording a congregation-wide discussion, some of the audio may be difficult to understand. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN!
This week we hear from Ray Waters, founder and pastor of The Village in Atlanta, GA, as he shares the many ways our journeys have overlapped and offers encouragement for the days ahead. This video was recorded November 18, 2017 at Gracepointe Church. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN!
Did Jesus have anything to say about pedal taverns and casserole? That and other topics discussed in this archive of Stan's message from November 4, 2017. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN!
In this week's service (Oct 28, 2017) Stan continues Exploring the Questions of Jesus, beginning with a reading from our friend and elder Lee Anglin and followed up by music with Matt, Shelley, and Cassie. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN!
Stan began a new series this week considering the questions Jesus asked of those around him, and even of God, and what we may learn from those questions. This is our message podcast from October 21, 2017. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN!
With Stan in the great Northwest visiting our friends at EastLake Community Church, we were honored to welcome John McLean, senior minister at Unity of Nashville - the faith community whose campus we currently share. In this video from our service on October 14, 2017, join as as we focus on finding peace in tumultuous times. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN!
We were thrilled to welcome our friend John Pavlovitz back to Gracepointe Church to discuss his new book, "A Bigger Table", and to consider radical inclusion as a foundational aspect of following Jesus. Learn more about Gracepointe Church at gracepointe.net or on social media at @GRACEPOINTETN. You can also keep up with John at johnpavlovitz.com, and we encourage you to pick up "A Bigger Table" from any major bookseller.
This week we heard from Justin Pitt, long-time Gracepointe attendee and former leadership council member, on some of the ways his perspective on poverty and our friends experiencing homelessness has evolved and grown through his own experiences and the teachings of Jesus. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN!
In this message from September 23, 2017, Pastor Stan concludes this series on vision and mission in this time of transition. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN!
In this message from September 16, 2017, Pastor Stan continues the conversation about our vision and mission in this time of transition. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN!
In this message from September 9, 2017, Stan begins a series revisiting our vision and mission in this time of transition. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net, or find us on social media @GRACEPOINTETN!
Pastor Stan's message from September 2, 2017. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net, or find us on social media @GRACEPOINTETN!
Pastor Stan's message from August 26, 2017. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net, or find us on social media @GRACEPOINTETN!
Pastor Stan's message from August 19, 2017. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net, or find us on social media @GRACEPOINTETN!
Pastor Stan's message from August 12, 2017. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net, or find us on social media @GRACEPOINTETN!
Pastor Stan leads the congregation in saying goodbye to the church location in Franklin, blessing it for its new inhabitants, and opening a path for a new beginning. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net, or find us on social media @GRACEPOINTETN!
Pastor Stan reflects on the past eight years ministering on Country Road in Franklin, TN and the lessons learned along the way. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net, or find us on social media @GRACEPOINTETN!
Pastor Stan continues our exploration of the biblical story of Joseph. A story of betrayal, wrestling through that betrayal, and ultimately a restoration of relationships and transformation of individual souls. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net, or find us on social media @GRACEPOINTETN!
Pastor Stan continues our exploration of the life of Joseph and what it can teach us about forgiveness in our own lives. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net, or find us on social media @GRACEPOINTETN!
Pastor Stan continues where we left off in part I with the biblical story of Joseph, a powerful tale of betrayal and forgiveness. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net, or find us on social media @GRACEPOINTETN!
Pastor Stan offers some additional history and context of GRACEPOINTE Church, and makes a case for the importance of our mission and community. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net or on social media @GRACEPOINTETN!
Pastor Stan revisits the arc of biblical Joseph's life from favored son to slave then ascent to power over his oppressors, and explores what it can teach us about forgiveness. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net, or find us on social media @GRACEPOINTETN!
Pastor Melissa shares a message on refocusing who we are and what we are called to do. "if anyone remembers our name if we're ever known for anything let it be we ran into the night running with a firelight, firelight" Learn more about us at gracepointe.net, or find us on social media @GRACEPOINTETN!
Pastor Stan wraps up the Eastertide series on this Pentecost Sunday. "We cling to what we love. We name our deaths. We grieve our losses. We claim our births. We adjust to our new realities. We let go of the old, we allow it to ascend, and we allow it to bless us. And then we finally accept the Spirit of the life that is our new reality. ... That is the beauty and the brilliance of this thing called Christianity." Learn more about us at gracepointe.net, or find us on social media @GRACEPOINTETN!
Pastor Stan delves into progressive spirituality and God as mystery to be explored. "Life is the gift of God and life is to be enjoyed. As such, love is our ultimate strength and life is to be shared." Learn more about us at gracepointe.net, or find us on social media @GRACEPOINTETN!
Pastor Stan continued the Eastertide series exploring this time and experience of deconstruction and reconstruction. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net, or find us on social media @GRACEPOINTETN!
In this message archive from May 14, 2017, Pastor Stan talks about the process of becoming, of maturing spiritually, and the journey from Simon to Peter and finally to Simon Peter. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net, or find us on social media @GRACEPOINTETN!
Pastor Stan continued the Eastertide series exploring, through a Progressive Christianity lens, that time after Christ's resurrection and before his ascension. "Eastertide is the season of resurrection, and resurrection is not resuscitation. Resurrection is not simply the recapturing of what was. It is the opening of what was to become something entirely new, and beyond." Learn more about us at gracepointe.net!
Pastor Stan again continued our exploration of Eastertide and the upcoming Pentecost as viewed through the lens of Progressive Christianity. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net!
This week Pastor Stan continued our exploration of Easter and the upcoming Pentecost as viewed through the lens of Progressive Christianity. This podcast episode contains the message portion of our Sunday morning service from April 23, 2017. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net!
You know the Easter story - the dramatic unfolding of suffering, death, and life renewed that is so central to our Christian faith. But you will still likely find new depth of insight here as Pastor Stan digs into the unique role that the women in Jesus' life played in this story, and what it can teach us about facing our own pain and finding redemption. This is the archive of Stan's message from our Easter 2017 service at GRACEPOINTE CHURCH. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net!
Pastor Stan Mitchell leads this sermon on Palm Sunday. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net!
Pastor Melissa Greene delivers this week’s message on what the Paschal Cycle means for us. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net!
In this service we spent some time with current and upcoming members of our Leadership Council, and then Pastor Stan poses the question “What part do you play in becoming well?” as we continue our series “Bloom: Reflections on the Cycle of Life”. This is the podcast of the message portion of our Sunday service from March 26, 2017. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net!
Continuing our series "Bloom: Reflections on the Cycle of Life", Pastor Stan explores the question "do I BELIEVE I can be well?" and works through what it even means to be "well" in this context. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net!
Pastor Stan examines our spiritual practice of lent - what it is, why we do it, and how we practice it in our community. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net!
Ash Wednesday Service - Join us as we are reminded of our beginnings, our endings, and our capacity in between. We have much to offer and receive in this life. This was a night of recognition, owning and empowering. A time to reaffirm your connections and the impact those connections have on your life. From stardust, you have come and to stardust, you will return. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net!
Pastor Stan delves into this central symbol of Christianity and explores its rich meanings that we believe are still unfolding today. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net!
Pastor Stan explores the ways our understanding of God and how God views us informs the way we pursue justice, peace, and joy in the world. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net!
This week we wrapped up our series "Jesus, Progressive Christianity, and Us" with a congregational question-and-response time, then a bit of family business as the Leadership Council presented their recommended candidates for consideration. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net!
Pastor Melissa continues our exploration of the distinctive elements of progressive spirituality and how it can be applied in our community. Recorded February 5, 2017. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net!
Pastors Stan and Melissa continue this exploration of the distinctive elements of progressive spirituality. Survey results from the previous week are shared and discussed while the congregation asks questions and shares perspectives. Message delivered by Pastors Stan Mitchell and Melissa Greene on January 29, 2017. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net!
Pastor Stan begins this series by exploring the distinctive elements of progressive spirituality in general, and then those elements that distinguish Christianity from other progressive faith traditions. We also survey several categorical views of who Jesus was/is, and finally begin to delve into how that all relates to us as a faith community. Message delivered by Senior Pastor Stan Mitchell on January 22, 2017. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net!
Remembering the life and service of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Message delivered by Senior Pastor Stan Mitchell on January 15, 2017. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net!
Pastor Stan Mitchell delivers this message on the Epiphany. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net!
Pastor Stan Mitchell continues our Advent series on the topic of Joy, and we hear from friends at Thistle Farms about the life-changing work happening there. Recorded December 11, 2016. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net!
On this second Sunday of Advent, November 4, 2016, Pastor Stan explores what it means for us to work toward peace. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net!
We begin this first week of Advent with a message of Hope. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net!
Pastor Stan wraps up our series exploring what "Beauty Is...". Learn more about us at gracepointe.net!
Pastor Melissa offers a timely message on the redemptive, restorative power of beauty as part three of our series exploring what "Beauty Is...". Learn more about us at gracepointe.net!
Continuing our series exploring what "Beauty Is...". We hear from Pastor Stan Mitchell as well as special guest Susan Cottrell. Learn more about us at gracepointe.net!
Stan and Melissa kick off a new 4-week series on "Beauty Is...". Learn more about us at gracepointe.net!
Pastor Stan wraps up of our series examining prejudiced and biased blind spots we all have and our need to expose them.
Part five of our series examining prejudiced and biased blind spots we all have and our need to expose them. This week’s message was given by our friend and very special guest Micky ScottBey Jones!
Part four of our series examining prejudiced and biased blind spots we all have and our need to expose them. Pastor Anna Register offers this installment on the topic of sexism.
Part three of our series examining prejudiced and biased blind spots we all have and our need to expose them. Pastor Stan Mitchell offers this installment on the topic of religionism.
Part two of our series examining prejudiced and biased blind spots we all have and our need to expose them. Pastor Melissa Greene offers this installment on the topic of xenophobia.
A series examining prejudiced and biased blind spots we all have and our need to expose them: classism, xenophobia, racism and genderism.
Series wrap-up with congregational discussion led by Pastors Stan Mitchell and Melissa Greene
Pastor Stan discusses the importance of listening to those we may disagree with. This message is a response inspired by last week's dialog with Dr Forrest Harris.
Pastor Stan talks with Dr Forrest Harris about race relations in the church. Dr Harris presents his ideas for how we can move forward towards freedom and justice.
Pastor Stan looks at the recent controversial statements by members of the TV Show, Duck Dynasty.