Chunky Theological Salsa: Recent Episodes
Scott Lisea
Chunky Theological Salsa...deeper dives into things we would like to hear more about, engage with more deeply, and consider from various viewpoints. And by we, we mean Scott & Eben.
"Chunky" because they are topics that matter--they have gravitas...plus Scott can get chunky if he eats too many cookies.
"Theological," because faith reaches into every part of the human experience. Plus we love thinking about stuff. Plus Eben has a purple sweatshirt from Fuller Seminary where we both earned degrees.
"Salsa," because who doesn't like salsa--the condiment and the music?!
Welcome to a special season of Chunky Theological Salsa! In this episode, Scott introduces the series and the season of Advent. Each day of Advent will have a brief episode that features prayer, scripture, a devotional reflection, and a suggested practice to try. Come, Lord Jesus!
BONUS: The full version of our little podcast song. A salsa arrangement of Bach's Prelude #1 in C Major by Eben.
Scott and Eben talk with David Bailey (bio below). Discussion topics include: what the last few weeks have been like for him as an African-American man (living in Richmond Virginia); his reconciliation work with the governor of Virginia and the state legislator in 2019 (which was the 400th anniversary of enslaved Africans arriving in Virginia); Biblical concepts of justice and human dignity, and how they can inform some of the discussions being had now; being political without being uncritically partisan; flaming squirrels and minor league baseball in Fresno; the sometimes unappreciated depth of Martin Luther King Jr., and what we can learn from previous generations; some of the spiritual principles and practices that help David stay centered on Christ and pursue his calling in distinctly Christian ways, and how those principles might help us.
David M. Bailey is the founding director of Arrabon. He is an active national speaker and strategist for organizations concerned with cultural intelligence and culture-making. David was named by Christianity Today as one of “The Twenty Most Creative Christians We Know” and is the executive producer of Urban Doxology. He has spoken at Westmont three times in the past two years, and will continue to partner with the college in deepening our capacity for cultural understanding. His greatest honor in life is to be married to his wonderful and beautiful wife, Joy.
Scott and Eben talk with their former professor Dr. Tremper Longman III (bio below) about his timely book "The Bible and the Ballot: Using Scripture in Political Decisions." (Eerdmans, 2020). We cover a range of topics, from abortion, to religious liberty, to reparations, to Tremper's favorite dead language (spoiler alert, it isn't Ugaritic). Tremper has been a pillar in the Westmont community for years, and we are so grateful we had this chance to talk with him!
Here is a link to purchase the book: https://www.eerdmans.com/Products/7734/the-bible-and-the-ballot.aspx
Dr. Tremper Longman III graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University, earned a Master of Divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary, and completed a doctorate in ancient Near Eastern studies at Yale University. He served as the Robert H. Gundry professor of biblical studies at Westmont from 1998 until he retired in 2017. He continues to serve the college as a distinguished scholar of biblical studies. He has written or co-authored numerous scholarly articles and more than 20 books, including interdisciplinary works, books with psychologist Dan Allender, works on history and historiography, and textbooks for both seminary students a lay people. He is one of the main translators of the New Living Translation and has served as a consultant on other popular translations of the Bible including the Message, the New Century Version, and the Holman Standard Bible.
Bonus episode: Scott felt led to preach a special sermon for Pentecost this year. This is the audio of the sermon, with some meditative music Eben recorded for the background (based off of the Gregorian Chant "Veni Creator Spiritus". Come, Creator Spirit. You can see the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-4T0Xp3ydI
First, we had the name.
Then we needed the song.
Eben, after drinking a whole six-pack of vanilla creme soda fell into a trance and received a vision then promptly wrote and recorded Chunky Salsa #1. Seven edits later, after some tasteful additions, the prophecy is fulfilled, and here we are. We dare you not to dance.
Westmont's Men's Basketball Coach John Moore is retiring from coaching after 27 years at the college. He retires after after guiding the Warriors to a 26-5 record, the Golden State Athletic Conference regular season title and a program-record sixth straight NAIA National Tournament. He is also the winningest coach in the program's history, and was named the NAIA Coach of the Year. His list of accolades is long, but he has some profound things to say to us about humility, faith, passing the ball, and the friendships he's built over the years. This salsa is indeed chunky with life lessons, some hilarious stories, and Biblical wisdom. What a guy! We are glad he will remain at Westmont in the Kinesiology department.
Scott and Eben chat about race, diversity, and faith. We share some of our backgrounds and experiences. Scott tells us what he's read / been reading that has been helpful. We talk about concepts like "whiteness", "white privilege", and "white supremacy." We talk about the Bible and the church. And a chorus from Eben's hit song "I Bump My Head" makes an appearance at the end.
We'll be sure to expand on some of these themes and topics in future episodes, and invite some guests to speak into them.
In our inaugural episode, Scott finds out more about who Eben is, and we discuss our hopes and dreams for the podcast. The question "will there be dinosaurs in heaven" is posed, but not answered.