The Brown Line Church Podcast: Recent Episodes
Brown Line Church
Thoughtful, enjoyable, and practical takes on Jesus-centered prayer and lifestyle practices meant to lead you into life, connect you with God, and help you grow personally and spiritually...
On Father’s Day, Hayley discusses what it means to commit to being family and a collective body. (Photo by Gary Butterfield on Unsplash)
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Like wind blowing leaves on a tree, God’s Spirit is unseen, but what can be seen are the effects of God’s Spirit. On Pentecost Sunday, Vince leads us in looking for those effects in our community. (Photo by Phix Nguyen on Unsplash)
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Vince closes our series using attachment science to improve our relationships with God, by bringing in one last psychological framework to help us intentionally shape our images of God to be more like Jesus’ loving parent image.
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Hayley and Vince cue up some community comments and questions from our last three weeks discussing how Attachment Science can help us improve our relationships with God.
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Mother’s day is, perhaps, just the occasion to talk about trying to intentionally replace mixed-message, shame-inducing images of God with consistent, loving, mothering images of God. Vince continues our series applying Attachment Science to spirituality.
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Continuing our look at how Attachment Science can help us improve our relationships with God, Hayley and Vince turn our focus to anxious insecure attachment. (Art by Laura Porter for verywell.com)
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We begin our look at how the framework of Attachment Science can help us improve our images of God, and, in turn, our relationships with God. First up, a focus on shut-down (or avoidant) insecure attachment with God.
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We can tell intuitively that the most dominant stories framing our lives everyday are too empty and too unjust to be what life is all about. AND we can also tell intuitively when a story comes along that does capture what life is all about! Vince presents the New Testament's story of The Resurrection as one such story...
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In the face of hopelessness, is there only strength and weakness? Are values and virtue not worth standing for? Vince closes our effort to give up “giving up” (for Lent) with some encouragements beyond our modern pulls toward nihilism. (Art by Morgan Sorensen @see_machine)
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What do we do when we know we need communities and institutions to lean on, but they let us down? Hayley and Vince continue our Lenten tradition of giving up (for Lent) hidden beliefs that cause us to give up. (Art: Ethiopian Icon of Jesus washing disciples' feet)
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Continuing our Lenten tradition of giving up hidden beliefs that aren't serving us, Vince explores how basically all working people today end up believing "it all comes down to me", and offers the story of Jesus being tempted in the desert as inspiration to not give up. (Photo by Luis Villasmil on Unsplash)
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This week, for our Lenten tradition of giving up hidden beliefs that aren't serving us, we're finding language for our numbness in the book of Ecclesiastes, and finding help for our weary, modern "selves" in the stories of Jesus' healings.
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For our BLC Lenten tradition, join us in giving up hidden beliefs we hold (religious and secular) that aren't serving us. This week: how the Hebrew Bible's Ecclesiastes captures our modern feelings of meaninglessness when we unconsciously believe everyone gets what they deserve.
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The modern world doesn't stop for a random Wednesday in the Church Calendar. If you're on the go, let us help you mark Ash Wednesday with this guided prayer.
Hayley and Vince re-load a Bible study on the oft-misused references to spirit and flesh in the New Testament, as they continue modeling the use of two strategies for cultivating life-giving faith in the face of modern confusion, injustice, and burnout.
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Hayley and Vince talk more about the two "untangling" strategies people in BLC tend to find helpful for cultivating life-giving faith in the face of modern confusion, injustice, and burnout. This week's Bible study to see our strategies in action: New Testament passages about Jesus dying for our sins.
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There are multiple good strategies for cultivating life-giving faith in the face of confusion, injustice, and the demands of modern life. Hayley and Vince describe two strategies they tend to hear people in BLC share about.
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Bringing to a close our focus on "Neighboring" (loving our neighbors as ourselves), Vince interviews his old friend Hannah, a community organizer with Chicago's ONE Northside.
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On the weekend we remember Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the US, we look to be inspired by perhaps his most enduring contribution to theology: "the Beloved Community".
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To neighbor well (to love one's neighbor as yourself) requires a mature handling of personal responsibility, rather than hard and fast rules. Hayley and Vince share from their experiences and from the Christian tradition along these lines. (Photo: Derick Mckinney on Unsplash)
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To be alive today is to be in a continual state of having your conscience pricked, for worthy reasons! Vince shares how prayer has helped him wisely and compassionately navigate that reality.
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Hayley’s reflection after our community's unique take on the traditional Anglican "Lessons & Carols" service. (Art by Lauren Wright Pittman)
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The commodification of the stories we return to every Advent can neuter their power to frame the good life for us, so this week enjoy a fresh imagining of the Mary & Joseph relationship (and some original art) from open and relational theologian Jonathan Foster.
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For the second Sunday of Advent, Hayley reflects on the beauty of slowing down and the gift of the tender mercy of God. (Art: Jesus Offering the Light, 2004, by Jyoti Sahi)
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A big financial update on our church (it’s good news!) and a time for questions about the financial side of running our church. All are welcome to listen, whether you consider yourself a stakeholder in BLC or you're just curious how this church does "family conversations".
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A panel from BLC's Solidarity Team invite the whole church to build more communal bonds. (Photo: Tim Dennell, via Flickr)
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For the Sunday before American election week, Vince offers some final odds and ends, with the hope to meet some of the various needs people in our community may feel: encouragement, comfort, hope, a fire lit under us, a fire put out in us before it consumes us, or maybe just some learning. (Image by Element5 Digital on Unsplash)
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“And who is my neighbor?” Led by the work of Kaitlin Curtice, Hayley discusses how an indigenous vision of kinship can help us navigate the 2024 election season. (Art: Alanah Jewell)
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Hayley and Vince continue our series of messages for election season 2024, discussing how democracy needs healthy religion, visiting the Hebrew Bible's book of 1 Kings, and imagining how to live as a "hopeful skeptic" beyond the binary of cynic or optimist. (Art: woodcut by Kreg Yingst)
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Did you know there's an election coming up? For our first election season message, Vince brings us to maybe THE Jesus teaching from the Sermon on the Mount: Love your enemies.
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Vince reflects on the Biblical story of Martha and Mary in Luke 10, as he shares some stories from his Sabbatical. (Art: Mary and Martha, by He Qi, 2014)
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To wrap up our series on Embracing Beliefs, Carri shares about their experience as a hospital chaplain. Hayley and Carri discuss the sacred nature of carrying grief and witnessing beauty.
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Carol joins Hayley as they talk about God’s faithfulness in Carol’s life. How does the steadiness of a loving God guide us as we navigate inevitable pain and loss?
Financial Board Letter
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Brad joins Hayley as they discuss the way mystery calls us beyond ourselves. How does experiencing love, beauty, and community shape us and help us live more meaningful lives?
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Teel joins Hayley as they discuss the role of music in community and spirituality. How do we hold things loosely when it comes to our view of worship?
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Hayley introduces our series of summer messages on embracing beliefs. What beliefs have shaped your understanding of God and community? How can our beliefs contribute to goodness in the world?
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Vince doesn't have any pithy, Instagram-ready one-liners for us this week, but he does have some pastoral encouragements for the summer before he's off on Sabbatical.
Financial Board Letter
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Hayley and Vince tell stories about the value of being rooted in an open community and the power of rituals in everyday life. (Image from @scotthepainter)
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Our celebration with some personal stories and a brief message on how churches embracing Pride today can find a powerful Biblical parallel in the early church's embrace of the Gentiles (Art: Peter in the house of Cornelius, by Gustave Doré, 19th century)
FINANCIAL BOARD LETTER 2024:
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What does it look like to have pictures of fathering that are rooted in tenderness instead of power and control? How can this tenderness then inform our view of God? Hayley reflects on what it means to call God Abba Father.
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Vince shares one of his biggest personal lessons in solidarity, and brings our theme “from charity to solidarity” to a close by talking about a very important challenge to making that mindset shift: guilt.
What's the distinct help that prayer offers to the building of a solidarity economy that works for all of the 99% of people who have to work for a living, and not just a few at the top? Hayley and Vince discuss through the lens of the Church Calendar's celebration of Pentecost. (Icon Art by Kelly Latimore)
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Like Jesus, we can be thoughtful about what images we let (and don't let) form our personal images of God. In our current moment of global war crimes, mass economic exploitation, and collective deconstruction of versions of faith that no longer work for people, we need mothering images of God more than ever before. (Mosaic: Jesus as Mother Hen -- Dominus Flevit Church in Jerusalem)
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The usual way Americans interpret Jesus' parables is surprisingly weird. Continuing our series "From Charity to Solidarity", Vince explains with a look at Jesus' Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard from Matthew 19-20. (Illustration by Lauren Rolwing for The Southeast Center For Cooperative Development)
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Hayley and Vince dig deeper on how a solidarity mindset is distinct from a charity mindset, with a focus on the role and promise of community. (Illustration by Lauren Rolwing for The Southeast Center For Cooperative Development)
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Join our church in dreaming together this spring about a more profound, more connecting, more sustainable way to address economic suffering and struggle in our country. Vince sets the table for this ongoing project teaching us about the God of Solidarity, who calls us toward the same mindset. (Illustration by Lauren Rolwing for The Southeast Center For Cooperative Development)
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Jumping off of our community's discussions and comments over the last couple months, Hayley reflects on our Lenten practice of trying to give up unhelpful and incomplete beliefs.
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Easter's celebration of Resurrection isn't about elevating Jesus above all, like an authoritarian emperor. It's a vision of hope and justice to lift up ALL people, that begins with Jesus, and moves forward by the power of persuasion, not force.
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Our church's tradition on Palm Sunday, beginning Holy Week's re-telling of the last days of Jesus' life, is to talk about the Cross. This year, Vince talks about the way Jesus' death on the Cross can help free us from cycles of revenge and retribution, and encourages us to give up the popular American belief known as Penal Substitutionary Atonement.
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Does Christianity have to be the only game in town for it to be anything worthwhile? Or can Christianity be a distinct, important contribution to the world — worth giving your life to — AND other world religions also have truthful, ultimate things to offer the world too?
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The idea of "eternal conscious torment" disgusts, and even traumatizes, many. Unfortunately, it feels like it is synonymous with Christianity, even though it is (gasp!) not in the Bible! Hayley and Vince point us toward alternative Christian beliefs about eternity and morality.
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Our wider culture's good response to self-punishing versions of religion is to focus instead on self-care. Hayley highlights the helpfulness of that, and yet also wonders if it is incomplete, before suggesting an alternative aim we might make our goal, from deep in the Jesus tradition.
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Hayley and Vince kick off the Lenten season sharing several ways BLC hopes to help you (and your friends/family/roommates) live with intentionality and meaning over the next 40 days, without feeling exhausted or burdened.
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We tie up various loose ends and respond to some outstanding questions after leaning into the discomfort of talking about suffering for the last month. (Art: "Sorrowing Old Man At Eternity's Gate" by Van Gogh)
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A natural response to suffering in church settings is: “I’ll pray for you.” Which is great! But it can also lead to disappointment, or even (dare we say it) embarrassment. How can prayer to alleviate suffering be an important and deep part of our lives and communities? Are there popular beliefs about prayer we need to unlearn?
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What is it behind the most inspiring stories we know of people embracing suffering? Vince wonders if it's a certain kind of perspective that's hard for modern Western people to learn. But it still can be! (Photo by Adrian Swancar on Unsplash)
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Vince & Hayley respond to a grab bag of questions about suffering and the tension of alleviating vs embracing. (Image from the Center for Action & Contemplation)
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For MLK Day weekend, we continue our look at the tension of alleviating suffering and embracing suffering for a good, full life, learning from some of Dr. King's 1967 speeches.
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That is the question! Vince reflects personally and intellectually on how a good, full life seems to involve BOTH a commitment to alleviating suffering AND an embrace of the inevitability of suffering. What do we do with that? How does one hold that tension? Jesus' life and ministry offer needed insights.Join our live chat! https://discord.gg/MNXJSM8New here? http://brownlinechurch.org/connectResources http://brownlinechurch.org/resources Donate http://brownlinechurch.org/donate
Hayley brings us to the provocative, beautiful suggestion from 13th century mystic Meister Eckhart that we are all called to be mothers who give birth to God -- bringing God's Spirit into the uprootedness of life, into the most unfathomable of circumstances. (Art by @osageandfern)
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Vince asks questions about poverty, exploitation, and perceiving God's Spirit as we turn again to Matthew's Christmas story about the confrontation between Herod and the Magi. (Art: "Herod greeting the three magi" by Rolf Nesch, 1922)
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For the second Sunday of Advent, we visit again Mary's Magnificat -- the song of longing and revolution that formed Jesus in the womb.
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Where is God when we feel stuck or trapped? For the first Sunday of Advent, the four weeks leading up to Christmas, we look at Isaiah 9, a traditional Advent passage, with help from womanist theologian Monica Coleman. (Art: Isaiah 9 by Amy Lindahl)
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Instead of a message this week, we have our annual update on the financial and business side of running BLC. Plus, we're celebrating our community's 10 year birthday! (Image from Hamid Roshaan on Unsplash)
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Through the lens of the Nap Ministry's Tricia Hersey and her book "Rest is Resistance", Hayley continues our church's discussion of how to address societal burnout. (Illustration by Kumé Pather)
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The forces of acceleration behind our societal burnout are experienced as guilt by the middle class, and as injustice by the working class. Vince points us to the Bible's Zacchaeus to help us imagine how communities can counter this "tyranny of acceleration" by holding up alternative visions of fullness of life.
Scholar Sources to learn more
Charles Taylor
https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674987692
Hartmut Rosa
https://www.amazon.com/Resonance-Sociology-Our-Relationship-World-ebook/dp/B07VLTJGVL/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Andrew Root
https://www.andrewroot.org/books/
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Two friends of Vince, in different helper professions, join us to continue our discussion of societal burnout (Cartoon by Bruce Mackinnon)
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The most natural response to burnout in our culture, according to scholars of the Modern World, is a good response in many ways, but, alas, it can't save us from busyness. Vince explains, and point us to Jesus' alternative vision of a good life that isn't busyness.
SCHOLAR SOURCES FOR THIS SERIES
Charles Taylor
https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674987692
Hartmut Rosa
https://www.amazon.com/Resonance-Sociology-Our-Relationship-World-ebook/dp/B07VLTJGVL/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Andrew Root
https://www.andrewroot.org/books/
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Burnout is not a problem with fringe individuals; burnout is a societal problem. How did we get here? And how can we, together in community, address societal burnout, rather than demand individual heroic effort to overcome it? What does Jesus have to offer us in this? And how might BLC help us stay open to that?
Links to sources for this series
Charles Taylor
https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674987692
Hartmut Rosa
https://www.amazon.com/Resonance-Sociology-Our-Relationship-World-ebook/dp/B07VLTJGVL/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Andrew Root
https://www.andrewroot.org/books/
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Is there any wisdom that is more across-the-board applicable than forgiveness? — to both interpersonal and societal struggles? — to both small slights and major abuse? There might not be! For our part 2 on "conflict resolution", Vince explores Jesus' teaching on forgiveness, as explained by Desmond Tutu and his daughter Mbpo Tutu in "The Book of Forgiving".
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Vince & Keziah tell on themselves to surface various nuggets and insights on conflict resolution that have helped them over their 15 years of marriage, and highlight what a difference-maker it is to actually living those things out when you feel seen by a God of Love. (Image by jean wimmerlin on Unsplash)
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We Modern people like to maintain the image of our minds being a locked-down, private space, but, when we let our guards down, we often feel a call away from closed self-sufficiency. Maybe our minds are more mysterious than we assume, and we'd welcome a flashlight and some outside input. This week, Vince teaches us about Listening Prayer. (Photo by Tawseem Hakak on Unsplash)
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For our shortened end-of-August service, Vince reminds us that a full life stops to mark transitions (like the turning of the academic calendar) rather than speeds through them. He leads us in a blessing over the back to school transition from author Kate Bowler.
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Modern life is like being under a waterfall: so many experiences and demands and thoughts and feelings tumbling down on us, leaving us in constant reactivity mode. "Getting behind the waterfall" is a contemplative prayer practice meant to get us out of reactivity mode.
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Beginning with the famous "Invisible Gorilla" study by Daniel Simons, Vince suggests a prayer practice for experiencing transcendence in the midst of our exhausting, pressure-heavy lives, which can feel simultaneously instinctual AND extremely hard (or strange) against the backdrop of Modern Life.
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In Illinois, over 9,000 people are unhoused, and over 389,000 more are considered at risk of being unhoused. This Sunday is our annual project for packing relief kits for our unhoused and underhoused neighbors, and for demonstrating that the real moral question for our country is how we treat the poor.
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Everyone can perceive God, but different people will perceive more naturally in different ways. Vince brings to us a resource that can relieve pressure about how prayer has to look, and inject some creativity and new ideas into our personal prayer lives.
Resource here: http://brownlinechurch.org/spiritual-pathways
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While Psalm 139 is most known for its incredibly affirming beginning ("I am fearfully and wonderfully made"), it also has a dark, troubling turn ("I hate with perfect hatred"). What holds it all together? The final verses that reveal "the God of the Gut Check"...
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In celebration of Pride weekend, we celebrate the God who celebrates and welcomes all. (Photo by Alex Jackman on Unsplash)
While there are many unhelpful pictures of power and control, we can find in Jesus a power that is rooted in compassion and trust. On this Juneteenth and Father’s Day weekend, we look at the Psalms’ portrayal of God as a source of help and liberation. (Art: "Christ Breaks the Rifle" by Kelly Latimore)
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Continuing our series inspired by the Psalms, Hayley & Vince share experiences of music and song connecting them with God. (Photo by Aaron Burden via Unsplash)
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Graduations and "comings of age" can mean so much more when we mark them in communal spiritual practice. Join us as we begin a new annual tradition for our church: Graduation Sunday.
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Psalm 42 offers comfort in the form of validating our present struggles. How do we navigate the ebb and flow of hope and despair? What do we do when our experiences of God change?
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For Mother's Day, Vince takes us to Psalm 91, inspired by reflections from feminist process theologian Marjorie Suchocki (Art: The Child's Bath, by Mary Cassatt, 1893)
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This week is a special service! Like an author’s dedication at the beginning of a book, baby dedications are parents' dedications at the beginning of a life, shared with community.
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There's a tension between a pursuit of joy and a pursuit of meaning behind the New Testament writings that formed the early Jesus movement after Jesus' death and resurrection. How might honoring that tension help us in our struggles today to hold to hope instead of cynicism?
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Is "experiencing God" only for certain people? The intuitive or contemplative? Or, alternatively, the super expressive? Or maybe only the most pious? Or those who know the most about the Bible? The Gospels' stories of encounters with the Risen Jesus (like Luke 24's "Road to Emmaus") encourage us beyond these limitations we may place on ourselves. (Art: "Grace" by Rhoda Nyberg, Eric Enstrom)
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Hayley demystifies regular, active experience of God with a look at some of the Bible’s stories of people experiencing the Risen Jesus. (Art by @scottthepainter)
NOTE: DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, WE LOST THE FIRST FEW MINUTES OF AUDIO FROM HAYLEY’S MESSAGE — SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE! — YOU CAN FIND HER NOTES HERE: http://brownlinechurch.org/listen-to-teachings/230416
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Is there any hope? Or should we just "eat and drink, for tomorrow we die"? The 1st century Jewish version of the age-old struggle of hope vs. cynicism was the debate over whether to believe in "the resurrection of the dead." Can something from that debate then inspire us in our versions of the struggle today? (Art by Morgan Harper Nichols)
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Our hope is that this reflection can stand alone as a meaningful way to pray and slow yourself down today, BUT if you have been following along in our Lent Mealtime Readings & Prayers, this reflection will build upon the story we have been following there (and in particular the reading and prayer for Good Friday).
Find our Lent Mealtime Reading & Prayer for Good Friday here: https://mailchi.mp/cb7f2a018796/good-fri-reading-prayer-9018091
Is God always angry? For Palm Sunday -- which begins Holy Week's march toward Good Friday -- we continue our differentiation from the American Christian legacy that we are "sinners in the hands of an angry God", with a focus on alternative ways to believe in the power of Jesus' crucifixion.
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Unfortunately, one of the most enduring legacies of American Christianity is a sermon from 1741: "Sinners in the hands of an Angry God". Few today know the sermon, but most know the belief behind it, as its influence over modern images of God and faith is immense. This week, we deconstruct the term “sinner” and unpack an alternative Christian belief: that the most true thing about you is that you are loved by God.
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Health, wealth, and prosperity messaging is not just that of celebrity televangelists like Joel Osteen. More subtle examples are in nearly any church that teaches or models praying for others, and in secular settings like the self-help industry. What does it look like to give up those subtle messages and find the reassurance they promise in more reliable beliefs?
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The cultural pictures we have inherited for imagining a powerful God are mostly “white, bearded, muscular, dispassionate God up in the sky, who can do anything” images. But, for the long-suffering, the image of a God who "can do anything but refuses to" is no comfort at all. Is there a better way to imagine a powerful God?
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Sorting or categorizing the world into good-bad or in-out is a deeply ingrained human behavior, evolutionarily, meant for protection from danger. But this instinct can easily turn into scapegoating or exclusion. Is the religion of Jesus just another example of that? Or can living it out push us beyond the in-out mentality? (Art: book cover of Scapegoats, by Jennifer Garcia Bashaw)
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Curiosity > Certainty. Connection > Answers. It’s okay to be both a believer and a skeptic at the same time. Hayley gets us talking about how much we humans crave certainty, how we might ween ourselves off of it, and what can nourish us better.
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Hayley prepares us for our Lenten experiment of “giving up unhelpful beliefs” with a look at how healthy belief is an act of creative re-purposing. (Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash)
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Healthy unlearning or deconstruction isn't burning down what was before. It is looking back on our younger selves with love and fondness, not disdain or embarrassment. It is differentiating and integrating what was before into a broader, more beautiful story. (Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash)
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Conflict, family, prayer, the pros & cons of labels & categories, the unique offers of belonging in the context of mature spiritual convictions: some of the topics Hayley and Vince hit for our final discussion on belonging in modern life.
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Hayley speaks to another angle on belonging in modern life, and casts a vision for small groups for our community. Art: "Three Friends" (2018) by Salman Toor
Inspired by Discord comments and personally shared reflections from our first two messages on belonging, Hayley and Vince expand on various themes.
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Vince continues our discussion of belonging, observing some of the things about modern life that leave us feeling less human, and casting a vision for a way churches (like BLC) can help us feel more human again through multi-generational community.
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Hayley and Vince kick off our new series swapping stories of their worst and best experiences of trying to belong, and discussing the unique promises of belonging within Jesus-shaped community.
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Vince shares a song and a reflection on what's working right now to help him "pay attention" (pray) and perceive God.
Song: Come Thou Long Expected Jesus - Charles Wesley, as arr. by Vince Brackett
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Hayley shares this year’s Christmas reflection after one of our favorite celebrations of the year: our original take on the traditional Anglican Lessons & Carols Christmas service. (Image from @scottthepainter)
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On the third Sunday of Advent, we look at the way Matthew's Christmas story (the one with the wise men following the star, and Mary, Joseph, and Jesus fleeing from Herod to Egypt) sets up Matthew's larger message about Jesus. Matthew is a subversive drama (think "Hamilton").
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On the second Sunday of Advent, we look at the way Luke's Christmas story (the one with the angel Gabriel visiting Mary and Elizabeth, and the manger, and the shepherds) sets up Luke's larger message about Jesus. Think: "Luke is a protest song." (Art by Amber Hawkins)
Vince introduces our theme for this year's Advent (Economic Justice and the Bible's two Christmas Stories) and how to participate.
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Every person ever has a worldview: the lens and frames of reference through which they view their world — including the authors of Biblical texts! An understanding of this can help us shape our modern culture’s application of the Bible away from terrorizing and toward life-giving. Vince and BLC’s Brad Fruhauff discuss. (Image from Scott Van Daalen on Unsplash)
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Reveling in the creativity and power of storytelling can unlock some of the most life-giving applications of the Bible to our modern world. At the same time, divorcing BiblIcal narratives from their roots in storytelling can trap people in some of the most terrorizing applications of the Bible. (Image from Evan Turk's The Storyteller)
Special guest Natasha Huang, a hospital chaplain, joins us remotely to talk about spiritual practice, God, and community in the midst of grief. (Image from Shifaaz Shamoon on Unsplash)
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Our annual service, when we remember loved ones lost by people in our community in the past year.
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In challenge or pain, all people long to experience empathy. And yet, when we're faced with the opportunity to empathize with another, we can accidentally minimize all too easily. Hayley unpacks how, in 21st century America, the Bible can be used to empathize or minimize. (Image from @keeleyshawart)
No matter how much (or little) we personally pick up the Bible, we all can influence how it is evoked in our culture: away from terrorizing applications, toward beautiful applications. This week's focus is inspired by one of our favorite responses to our survey about "Texts of Terror". It was two words: "Paul. LOL."
The Bible is everywhere in Western culture, in all of its beauty, and in all of its problematic imagery. Vince suggests some options for feeding life-giving applications of the Bible, and starving terrorizing applications of the Bible.
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Hayley sets the table for our new series, "Texts of Terror", in which we hope to defang (and maybe even redeem) Biblical texts that have been used to terrorize people.
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Concluding our discussion of the modern experience of crushing, constant guilt, Hayley and Vince move us to the topic of grace: a close-relative of forgiveness, but also distinct in important ways.
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Concluding our discussion of the modern experience of crushing, constant guilt, Hayley and Vince move us to the topic of grace: a close-relative of forgiveness, but also distinct in important ways.
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Concluding our discussion of the modern experience of crushing, constant guilt, Hayley and Vince move us to the topic of grace: a close-relative of forgiveness, but also distinct in important ways.
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Hayley and Vince respond to feedback from our first two weeks discussing the constant, nagging “guilt before ourselves” that modern people experience.
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Hayley and Vince respond to feedback from our first two weeks discussing the constant, nagging “guilt before ourselves” that modern people experience.
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Hayley and Vince respond to feedback from our first two weeks discussing the constant, nagging “guilt before ourselves” that modern people experience.
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Hayley and Vince continue this month's discussion of the modern experience of constant, nagging guilt, and in particular how healthy spirituality and community might help us address guilt in our relationships.
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Hayley and Vince continue this month's discussion of the modern experience of constant, nagging guilt, and in particular how healthy spirituality and community might help us address guilt in our relationships.
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Hayley and Vince continue this month's discussion of the modern experience of constant, nagging guilt, and in particular how healthy spirituality and community might help us address guilt in our relationships.
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From Kendrick Lamar to Counting Crows, from social media to sociology, Vince suggests a theory on why, in our culture, everyone seems to feel guilty all the time. Is the traditional religious discussion of guilt helpful to this predicament? Or is there something else we need?
From Kendrick Lamar to Counting Crows, from social media to sociology, Vince suggests a theory on why, in our culture, everyone seems to feel guilty all the time. Is the traditional religious discussion of guilt helpful to this predicament? Or is there something else we need?
From Kendrick Lamar to Counting Crows, from social media to sociology, Vince suggests a theory on why, in our culture, everyone seems to feel guilty all the time. Is the traditional religious discussion of guilt helpful to this predicament? Or is there something else we need?
It was so fun (and helpful!) doing a grab bag of religious phrases or words that have lost their meaning (along with the prompt, "keep it, change it, or toss it?") we've decided to do a second round!
For some of us, religious language may have lost meaning over time, making well-intended words feel empty or harmful. What if we could reframe these words to bring about new meaning? This week Hayley and BLC’s Laura Mitchell swap some examples.
Hayley begins our new series with a look at our community’s survey results on “religious language that has lost its meaning”, and a discussion of “God has a plan” language. (Image from Paul Sableman on Flickr)
Everyone has biases. When confronted with our own, it's normal to feel embarrassed or defensive. But learning to embrace changing our minds is an essential life skill. Jesus' life and teachings have more to say on this than you might think...
American Christianity must use its influence to critique our country’s enabling of gun violence and injustice. Jesus received and critiqued the tradition he inherited, intentionally cutting ties with violence and tribalism, despite backlash, so he could pass on something more loving. How can we be encouraged to, despite backlash, continue to do the same?
For our online-only service the weekend of 4th of July, Vince reflects on three different imaginations of where God is when we pray (and recommends one of them)...
Recent scholarship suggests powerful parallels between today's Pride Movements and the resistance of violence and domination and exclusion in 1st and 2nd century Imperial Rome by some early Jesus communities, namely how they both push the boundaries of gender.
What does it mean to belong to ourselves and belong to one another? On the weekend of Juneteenth and Father's Day, we look to the words of writer Cole Arthur Riley as Hayley shares thoughts around being personally and communally well. (Image: cover art for “This Here Flesh” by Cole Arthur Riley)
For week 2 of our reflections on community, Vince feels like the default shape of community in modern American life leaves him missing a lot. He wonders what is different about a Jesus-shaped experience of community...
Vince reflects on feeling cared for by community over the last month, and on 10 years of seeing a variety of different ways people experience healthy community, to encourage us toward a spacious model of community that is never one-size-fits-all.
In the wake of continued tragedies, judgment and shame around our own responses and the responses of others can arise. What if, instead, we allowed compassion to re-align our vision? Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan offers wisdom here...
We wonder, this week, what voices you’re paying attention to in the wake of what happened in Buffalo?
Our own comments as pastors, for the sake of our community, are just: it’s okay if you don’t feel optimistic right now about the world.
To believe in the God Jesus shows — who joins those who suffer in solidarity, and whose mission is to bend the world toward justice — DOESN’T require you to feel optimistic.
The playing out of our world involves our participation as human beings, not just God’s. And frankly our faith in humanity’s willingness to join God in a mission of solidarity and justice is shaken after mass shootings.
It’s okay to not be optimistic.
We think of Jesus’ story of the widow who everyday went to the judge in her town asking for justice for the ways she’d been wronged, even though (and Jesus is careful to note this part) the judge had a consistent record of injustice.
The upshot of Jesus’ story is that, eventually, the unjust judge actually gives the widow her justice. But NOT because he saw the light or repented of his unjustice or was moved by higher values. RATHER because he was so bothered by the widow.
Not exactly a story of optimism about human rulers and society.
BUT, like the widow in Jesus’ story, God perseveres. God will never not come to comfort those in pain, and never not work to correct what is broken or supremacist or racist or harmful in our world.
May that fill us with the hope and perseverance we need to continue to, as best we can, choose to join this God. Even if we lack optimism.
The narrative of Mary Magdalene gives us a picture of Jesus meeting us within real and embodied pain. What can we learn by looking at the resurrection through the lens of those with a closer proximity to suffering? (Art by Kelly Latimore)
What does it mean to be fearfully and wonderfully made? (Psalm 139) From a lens of judgment, scriptures like this are a weapon for controlling marginalized bodies. From a lens of love, they speak to God's companionship in the complexity of our embodied experiences.
Formed by things like reality tv, religious legalism, and even a little too much self help, we can often automatically take on a lens of judgment when looking at ourselves and those around us. Instead of falling into the trap of comparison, can we adjust our vision to see more clearly through a lens of compassion?
This is Vince's last Sunday on the mic for a month. He offers some pastoral comments for the moment.
For our Easter reflection this year, Hayley is struck by the opening line from the Gospel of John's telling of Mary Magdalene's visit to Jesus' tomb on Easter morning: "While it was still dark..."
Any uncomfortable feelings and thoughts you may be carrying are NOT distractions from you observing Good Friday; they are the reasons to observe it. We hope this brief reflection and prayer in consideration of Jesus on the Cross helps you to experience the Cross as “solidarity” and “breaking cycles of blame and revenge” (rather than as “substitution” or “punishment”).
You are not alone if you find it inconsistent, problematic, or shaming the way Jesus’ crucifixion is presented as “substitution” in the vast majority of American churches (as though God needs someone to be punished, and Jesus “substitutes” himself for us, who really deserve the punishment). As we begin Holy Week this Lent, we offer some ways to shift your consideration of Jesus’ crucifixion away from “substitution” and toward two other things: “solidarity”, and “breaking cycles of revenge”.
60% of American adults believe in the idea of soulmates, according to a recent YouGov poll. But romance can be a fickle, crappy, unforgiving thing to put one’s trust in. Unfortunately, much of American religion reinforces the belief that to be single is to be incomplete. How can a community like BLC counter such beliefs?
Purity culture (making "acceptance from God" dependent on White American Evangelicalism's specific ideas on sexual ethics and gender identities) peaked in the 1990s and early 2000s, and still has a massive impact today. Is there a way outside of purity culture to find God's help in developing a healthy sexual ethic? We believe so!
Christian supremacy is very much linked to the other supremacies our world is talking about (white supremacy, national supremacy), but it’s sometimes given a pass because of an interpretation of Jesus’ words: “no one comes to the Father except through me.” Is there another way to interpret Jesus’ words? Is there a way to wholly give oneself to the tradition of Jesus and not end up a Christian Supremacist? We think so!
Is it possible to experience the Bible as a source of life and approach it critically at the same time? (Spoiler: we believe the answer is yes.) Or would that mean you're betraying the Bible or God? (Spoiler: we believe the answer is no.)
How can anyone believe in a loving and powerful God when there is so much evil and suffering in the world? If the common religious response that "it's all a part of God's plan" is not satisfying to you (or has hurt you personally), you are not alone. For week 1 of Lent, we experiment with an alternative way to believe in a loving and powerful God -- that doesn't bypass people's pain, that is consistent with Jesus' picture of God, and that invites intellectual curiosity rather than shuts it down.
As Jesus offered specific critique of the 1st century Roman Empire's so-called "peace", it feels important to us to offer specific critique of 21st century America's so-called "peace". Vince gives one more framing to our upcoming Lent 2022 experiment in giving up false beliefs.
Summarizing Jesus' message about how human growth and change works, Fr. Richard Rohr suggests no one can think themselves into new ways of living; we must live ourselves into new ways of thinking. We have this insight in mind as we prepare to give up false beliefs for Lent this year.
Psychological growth often involves leaving behind coping mechanisms from our past that used to protect us but now harm us. Spiritual growth often involves doing the same with religious coping mechanisms. Seeing this process through requires an ability to look back at our past selves with compassion rather than disdain.
This week we honor the way our Co-Founding Pastor Kyle Hanawalt has shaped our community forever.
There's more to Jesus' three examples of non-retaliation from the Sermon on the Mount -- "turn the other cheek", "let them take your cloak also", and "go the extra mile" -- than it seems on the surface. (Art: "Come Ye Blessed... " from the Sermon on the Mount, by Nathaniel Mokgosi. 1980.)
Most of the images Jesus and St. Paul used to describe life are organic things that grow and change -- soil, vines, bodies, families -- rather than manufactured or mechanistic things that follow formulas. There's A LOT of wisdom behind that! (Art by Scott Erickson: @scottthepainter)
On the weekend our country remembers Dr. King, we do a book report on Howard Thurman's "Jesus and the Disinherited" -- reportedly the book Dr. King kept in his pocket during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Thurman is one of the most important theologians in American history, but unfortunately not as well known as he ought to be. (Photo: Book jacket for "Jesus and the Disinherited" by Howard Thurman)
Hayley and Vince, inspired by both new and ancient things they've read recently, want you to realize that your prayer life is probably in better shape than you think it is! (Art: Book jacket for "A Rhythm of Prayer" edited by Sarah Bessey)
Hayley Larson reflects for us after our annual take on the traditional Anglican Christmas Carols Service.
A specific prayer practice some at BLC find extremely helpful is Emmanuel Prayer. It involves accessing our memories to help us connect with the God who is always with us (Emmanuel means "God with us", and is a name for God we return to often during Advent). Vince interview BLC's Anna Cruz about her experience.
The season of Advent in the church calendar encourages us to annually come back to the theme of "waiting", suggesting how core it is to learn to "wait well" in order to "live well". Hayley and Vince unpack some helpful and some harmful spiritual perspectives on waiting they've encountered (and perhaps you have too?)
We ring in the first Sunday of Advent 2021 with our first visit of the year to some of our favorite Carols, and a look at the song of Mary from Luke 1, according to the First Nations Version of the English New Testament.
Once a year we set aside a Sunday to remember and grieve loved ones lost by people in our community. Grief is complicated and frustrating, and yet, if honored and treated with respect, it can often be a place people discover God to be a God of Comfort.
Special guest and old friend of BLC Kristen Daly-Mosier unpacks three movements the Jesus tradition encourages us to make as a capitalistic, materialistic, colonizing culture: (1) From "stewardship" to "solidarity", (2) From "uses" to "gifts", (3) From "classification" to "revelation".
Vince passes on a reflection on prayer as partnership from writer and pastor Libby Tedder Hugus, jumping off of Jesus' teaching that the Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread.
Vince interviews special guest and friend of BLC Natasha Huang about being a chaplain, and the ways we all can learn from chaplains for the benefit of our relationships and interactions and community.
Whether it’s from the self-help industry or Christian messaging, toxically simple takes on “how to rest & recharge” or on “the three steps to a (fill in the blank) life” abound. Hayley helps us scour the Jesus tradition for more realistic and helpful outlooks on life.
On the weekend of Indigenous Peoples Day, we unpack a couple of resources that help us encounter the Bible from a First Nations' perspective.
Vince reflects on a provocative reading of the Gospel of Luke's story of two men meeting the Risen Jesus on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus.
In honor of Latinx & Hispanic heritage month, we investigate the origins of some of our church's core beliefs and values in the thoughts of Latin American Liberation theologians. (Art: "Cristo de la Liberacion" by Maximino Cerezo Barredo)
BLC's Lara Johnson leads a monthly film club, and we want to give you a taste of what it's like. The group watches movies or TV series that have depictions of faith lived out against the backdrop of modern life or modern crises or modern technology, and then discusses together the beauty and challenges they reveal in our own lives and faith.
Join us as we attempt to capture and give expression to the many feelings and thoughts and complicated prayers we all might have bouncing around inside us 20 years after 9/11.
A teacher in our community offers a prayer for parents, a parent in our community offers a prayer for students, and a student in our community offers a prayer for teachers.
Listen in on our family conversations for August 2021! (1) What are the latest plans and thoughts on in-person community and pandemic life? (2) What’s the status of BLC's Five Year Plan? And (3) our pastors have been bouncing around some very big thoughts about why our church exists.
Vince, Kyle, and Hayley share experiences, reflections, and suggestions on the intersection of spiritual health and therapy. They discuss how therapy can be amazing for anyone, and how to overcome common obstacles to a good therapy experience.
One tension it feels we must hold to live life well is (on one side) pursuing ideals, and (on the other side) choosing to embrace what is true right now and maybe can't be ideal. Hayley and Kyle discuss how to do that well without losing our minds or succumbing to cynicism.
A healthy, full life of course has a strong element of inward reflection and being in touch with oneself. And, at the same time, a healthy, full life is also richly relational and never closed off. Life (and connection with God) are found in holding the tension of looking inward and outward.
Life is often found in tension -- holding together two things that seem opposed but actually need each other. This week, Kyle and Vince discuss the tension of pushing yourself AND giving yourself grace.
In so many ways, life is found in tensions. In holding together two things that seem to be opposed to one another, but actually need one another. One that strikes us lately is the tension between humility and self-worth: Being quick to admit we’re wrong or that we need help, but also boldly believing we are NOT our worst mistakes or victimizations; we are fundamentally worthy of love from God and from other people. Kyle and Vince talk about how to hold the tension.
Join us as we celebrate 4 wonderful new children in our community, and support the families that are raising them.
To watch the recording of full ceremony, visit: https://youtu.be/8p_hngd-VT8
Looking for some deeper content recommendations of what to read or watch or pray next? Our pastors -- Hayley, Kyle, and Vince -- each share something they're watching, something they're reading, and something from scripture that is helping them find meaning lately.
When faced with a social anxiety, our first assessment is usually: will I feel comfortable? But when we stay attentive, a second assessment emerges in us: what would be most life-giving? That can feel overwhelming to have to answer on our own, but if we are perceiving a loving God with us in the process it can feel freeing.
Hayley Larson and Vince Brackett are suspicious of the way "power" is usually understood in religious settings. It can seem to evoke hierarchy, colonization, white supremacy, and a cold, removed God. But what is power if we start with the person and teaching of Jesus?
Vince Brackett, Abby Dye, and Elizabeth Bertrand discuss the various ways we are prone to assume "God might be pleased with other people, but not me," and suggest some ways to leave this spiritual imposter syndrome behind.
What’s the most spiritual thing you did in the last year? Chances are you have images of prayer or meditation or reading the Bible coming to mind. Those are great, but what about the last powerful new realization you came to? When you learned something, or discovered a new perspective, or changed your mind. Hayley wonders if God is in those experiences as much as anything in life…
Maybe you’re already doing a lot of the practices and behaviors and reflections you need to in order to experience deep connection with God, but you’re just not calling those things “connecting with God”. What if the opportunity to feel spiritual enjoyment, health, purpose, aliveness, and hope (even in the midst of despair or injustice) is closer than you think? Kyle kicks off our new series...
May 23 is a day of action for our church, as we talk about justice for the unhoused, and organize a way that we as individuals can each provide relief to our neighbors experiencing suffering due to homelessness.
Expectations and hope (and also maybe some fear and anxiety) are building as more of us become fully vaccinated and life’s many calendar invites for in-person gathering begin to return. Kyle wonders if we can take this as a “blank slate” opportunity, and offers a prayer/meditation practice for helping us wisely reintegrate into a less social-distanced life.
For Mother’s Day this year, we’re thrilled to welcome special guest Cheryll Hanawalt, mother of our co-pastor Kyle. Kyle interviews his mom about motherhood, God, healthy spirituality, and community.
In relationships, it’s experiences above all that build trust. The same is true for relationship with God, so we want to consider together: what personal experiences have shown you God might be all-loving? If you grew up religious, you may have been taught that you can’t trust your experience, because you’ll just make God in your own image, and that’s why you need a strict set of beliefs. We hope to show you otherwise!
For some of us, who grew up being taught "the Bible is without error", the violence attributed to God in the Bible presents major cognitive dissonance. For others of us, it doesn't feel quite so major, but it still doesn't make sense! If the Bible is a resource to the modern spiritual life and the pursuit of love and justice in the world (and we believe it is!), what on earth do we do with its violence?
For black and brown Americans, the judgments of authorities too often lead to harm and mistrust (even death, as in the shootings of Daunte Wright & Adam Toledo). On the surface, the God of the Bible can seem just as cruelly authoritative, but what if God is actually the opposite? In our culture obsessed with determining guilt vs. innocence, judgment becomes a weapon people use against each other. On the surface, the God of the Bible can seem just as judgmental, but what if God is actually the opposite?
We collected awesome, honest questions from people in our community about how it’s hard to believe in an all-parts loving, no-parts punishing God. Hayley, Kyle, and Vince (our pastors) have found there ARE actually satisfying responses to these hard questions, that can free us up to feel spiritually alive and active. Even better: there are a number of them. We don’t all have to come to the exact same conclusions…
Much of conventional American religion paints a split personality picture of God (part loving, but part punishing). This leaves many struggling with self-punishment and perfectionism. For Easter Sunday this year, Vince paints instead a consistent picture of the God Jesus shows us (all loving, no part punishing) who helps us have more grace for ourselves, not more punishment.
How we long for change and justice to come about in one fell swoop! But Revolution never seems to happen that way. Does that mean it’s not worth hoping for? When we hold together the traditional Palm Sunday story (of Jesus entering Jerusalem as a triumphant King) with the traditional Holy Week stories (of Jesus exiting Jerusalem en route to his execution), we get a picture of Revolution that isn’t “one fell swoop”, but it is participatory and resilient — and that IS worth hoping in.
Today's prayer guide gives us a place to put our feelings about the things that are outside of our control
After a week of senseless violence against people of Asian descent, after a year of inexcusable public scapegoating of people of Asian descent (behavior that, for much of our country’s history, has persisted without acknowledgement), this Sunday is a day to commit again to the very heart of the Jesus way: interrupting scapegoating.
Today's prayer guide gives us a place to put our feelings about the things that are outside of our control
When we're younger, our dreams for the future are often born from a place of imagination and wonder. As we mature, we learn that, unexpectedly, loss and challenge can also be a birthplace for dreams for our future (maybe the best birthplace). Kyle and Hayley discuss...
Today's prayer guide gives us a place to put our feelings about the things that are outside of our control
Belief changes are normal and healthy (especially when going through upheaval, like, I don’t know, say... a global pandemic). Religious settings don’t often communicate safety to reconsider and re-examine beliefs about God, but the season of Lent encourages us to consider how “death and resurrection” is the shape of life and growth. What if that’s how we looked at the inevitable changes in belief we all undergo?
Today's prayer guide gives us a place to put our feelings about the things that are outside of our control
No one goes through life unscathed. According to the Jesus tradition, not even God. (More than that, especially not God!) What a paradoxical but welcome message! God is not distant and removed from pain, God empathizes with us in our wounds. On this second Sunday of Lent, Hayley encourages us toward the healing in embracing our woundedness. (Art by Gloria Ssali)
Today's prayer guide gives us a place to put our feelings about the things that are outside of our control
(We experienced technical difficulties this week, please forgive the poor audio quality!)
The yearly rhythm of observing Lent (which began this week) gets us considering how "death and resurrection" or "loss and renewal" are the shape of life. After nearly a year of pandemic life, none of us have to be reminded that death and loss are a part of life. Kyle wonders if that means observing Lent might be particularly good for our souls this year.
Today's prayer guide gives us a place to put our feelings about the things that are outside of our control
Today our prayer guide kicks off featuring the song "Dust We Are and Shall Return" by the Brilliance
On the weekend of Valentine’s Day, Kyle and a panel of folks from our church help us relieve the pressure everyone feels about romance being what will complete us. (For single people, of course, but also for partnered people!) Unfortunately, churches have reinforced this pressuring message just as much as 90s Disney movies, pop music, Hollywood, etc, and just called it “Biblical”. But it’s not!
You are (or could be) exercising creativity more than you think. And that is more spiritually good for you than you think. Kyle, Rebecca, Isaac, and Maria share their experience.
Being with yourself is not always easy. But being with yourself and being with God are linked. This week, Hayley guides us through two common spiritual practices that many of us may use already in our hopes to more comfortably "be with ourselves", and equips us with a fresh prompt for the weeks ahead.
Felt connection with God (not just going through the motions of religion) can be fleeting and hard to find one's way into -- even when we're not in the midst of a pandemic and winter -- and even for people who have had a prayer life for many years -- and even for people who have experienced it in the past but don't currently. Vince shares about an approach to prayer that can help many and that utilizes a tool we all have: our memory.
First... a brief comment on MLK weekend. Then... most of the reading we do day-in, day-out is reactive: The news of what just happened or the latest takes and opinions on the world. And that’s not necessarily bad. But what we have to be more intentional about to work into our diet is non-reactive reading: Reading that forms us, inspires us, or challenges us, separate from our never-ending news feeds. Non-reactive reading is a key ingredient to spiritual health and growth for many, and this Sunday Kyle leads us in considering a number of options we might try.
We put on hold our scheduled topic for last Sunday in light of what we all witnessed happen at the Capitol. How do we respond as people trying to take their cues from Jesus? As people of faith and good will? As people trying to pursue justice and inclusion and truth?
Vince kicks off our new series by teaching us a spiritual practice called "Lectio Divina" -- reading with the intent to experience the divine (rather than reading with the intent to study or understand). We try it out with two passages from the Bible: a personal interaction with Jesus and a story of protest from the Old Testament.
Last Sunday we hosted a communal online experience meant to offer each of us some spiritual help in our individual journeys of leaving behind what constricts us and embracing promise for the future. Our sense is, as we turn the page on 2020, this past year has been full of chances for constricting lies, traumas, thoughts, beliefs, or vows to make their way into us and start to take up residence.
Full recording of our virtual kid-friendly take on the traditional Anglican Christmas Carols Service — carols, readings, a brief reflection, and prayer. (Art by Janet McKenzie)
For many of the problems we are personally navigating, there are no simple solutions. Because many problems don't come down to isolated issues, they come down to the systems of our society or religion or government (or family unit even) themselves. Special guest Cara Carothers, an advocate for educational equity, joins us to talk about how we can hope and fight even so.
The winter ahead feels certain to be long for lots of reasons: fatigue, disconnection, loneliness, loss. And the reactions we may have to all this are those often associated with grief: anger, denial, bargaining, and feelings of depression or defeat. Special guest Erica Coates, professional counselor and friend of BLC, offers some spiritual/mental health principles that can help us grow hope within us so we can grieve our losses well, rather than pass on our pain to the next person.
For some of us, America's political divide hits very close to home. BLC's Christina Culver and Kyle Hanawalt discuss how faith can offer a way to feel hope about the future even if we never experience someone changing their mind. When is it right to say something, and when is it right to not? What are healthy boundaries to protect that hope?
Optimism is great! It's what we feel when external signs point toward a better future. But hope is internal (spiritual even); it's not dependent on external good news. Hope is more resilient. Many Advent reflections point to two figures from the Bible who had profound experiences of hope being sparked inside them: Simeon and Anna. How might they encourage us this year?
BLC stakeholder Elizabeth reflects on finding comfort from God in the midst of grief. Part of our value on emotionally healthy spirituality is trying to provide meaningful experiences of ceremony or ritual for people who otherwise wouldn’t have that, so once a year we set aside a Sunday to remember and grieve loved ones lost by people in our community. Jesus, the God acquainted with grief, is an incredible help in this.
We are not bad or faulty for needing to brush our teeth everyday; it's just good hygiene. Likewise, we are not bad or faulty for having to lay down the same burdens continually, for having to pray regularly for the same resolve again and again, for needing the same thing we did yesterday; that's just good spiritual hygiene.
What is caring for our spiritual health as a community that feels a mix of relief (that Trump did not win), moved (to have our first ever woman of color vice president), AND hurt or disappointed (that the message delivered by the election results was not as resolute as hoped)?
It’s no surprise that white American Christianity has chosen Donald Trump as its leader when for decades its prevailing use for Jesus on the Cross has been “motivation by fear of punishment from a strongman, violent God”. What an unhealthy, worthless picture of God! BLC stakeholder Abby Dye helps us discover Jesus on the Cross as a totally different (and inspiring) picture of God that models a totally different kind of leadership: self-sacrificial love.
With last week's news about so many families still separated on the US-Mexico border we feel a renewed need to educate ourselves on what we can do and find hope for change in Jesus, the God who identifies with outsiders. Special guest Sami DiPasquale, who works on the border in El Paso & Ciudad Juarez, is interviewed by friend of BLC Val Buchanan, as we continue try to shift the American narrative about God away from white, conservative, Trump-backing evangelicalism.
DefundCPD's message is "the safest neighborhoods have more resources, not more police." Yet, one day of Chicago's budget for police ($4 million!) accounts for 32 months of its budget for Violence Protection Programs. BLC stakeholders Laura & Leicester Mitchell share with us about "Jesus, the revolutionary" and their work with #DefundCPD, as we continue to try to shift the American narrative about God away from Trump-backing, white, conservative evangelicalism.
Constant movement instead of strict adherence, defending those without power instead of those with power -- BLC's old friend Joey Rodil shows us how Jesus' descriptions and modeling of his own mission can help shift our narrative about faith (and our experience of it) away from typical white American Christian notions.
It should break our brains that the biggest reason we might get four more years of Donald Trump as president is American Christians. What if our church could help shift the narrative in our country about who God is, and whose side God is on? One of BLC’s resident theologians Hayley Larson leads us through our first starting point for answering the question "who is Jesus?" — the God who became human.
On Sunday, we talked about a vision of what BLC looks like five years from now, we heard four promises from Vince & Kyle, and they made four asks of all of us in the community. Here it is in audio form!
Not much about what we might accomplish or where we might be in the future feels imaginable right now. But what we can imagine is who we want to be: our character, our integrity, our values. Kyle leads us in a prayer practice of imagining ourselves 5 years from now.
Across many traditions, mature, life-giving spirituality has often been understood as a move away from reactivity. That doesn’t mean removed or without emotion. It means deeply invested and affected, but in a way that is slowed down, wise, and aligned with our values. Jesus suggests we are loved and shaped away from reactivity by relationship with God.
Kyle brings us to the comfort of God in the matters we have no control over, and brings us to the challenge of God in the matters we do have control over.
Building authentic relationships with people requires getting in touch with what's really going on inside us. Kyle walks us through a prayer practice that can help.
Imagine concentric circles. The circle in the center is the person or people closest to a crisis or trauma. Each of the circles working outward are the people next closest. Vince shares the one simple rule in this model to help us care well and avoid making things worse.
Spiritual fulfillment is something human beings long for, but Jesus suggested it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich (or privileged) person to find it. Vince shares some of the more humbling experiences on his journey of finding spiritual fulfillment by learning to align himself with the oppressed, rather than with his privilege.
BLC's Hayley Larson shares with us from both her personal story and professional studies how feminist language, images, and actions help us see the God Jesus reveals more fully, and how relying exclusively on male reference points is dangerous to faith.
With help from BLC’s Maria Santillan, we consider how, in the same way microaggressions reinforce systemic racism in America, spiritual microaggressions in church settings reinforce systemic marginalizing of people whose family or culture don’t pre-dispose them to understand or be able to navigate American churches. Our church considers this a fight for equity — for the important perspective of church outsiders, like Maria, to be valued in spiritual conversations.
Touching on a theology of liberation, joy, and suffering that connects Jesus' cross to the lynching of Black Americans, BLC's Leicester Mitchell helps us see Jesus and the Gospel through the lived experience of a Black man in America today.
Vince and Kyle talk about why liberation theologies are what our country needs right now, why liberation theologies shine a clearer light on what is happening in Jesus on the Cross, and yet end with a surprisingly charitable view toward sin theologies.
As we try to centralize the perspectives of oppressed voices on God and faith, part of what we must do is de-centralize the voices that have been dominant. Kyle, one of our pastors, shares some turning points in his life learning about God and faith, which each saw him leave behind a "God of the Powerful" and move closer to a "God of the Oppressed".
How does our church’s ongoing equity work relate to another of our core values: emotionally healthy spirituality? Vince and Kyle discuss how defensiveness is more toxic than discomfort, how emotional health for those on the bottom of society is only made possible through equity, how an equitable society is better for the privileged too, how living in accordance with our values is awesome, and how Jesus changes the answer to the question, “what is the good life?”
Continuing our “God of the Oppressed” discussions, we learn from BLC's Linda Kim about seeing God from the perspective of a second-generation immigrant, formed by the overlap of family and environment.
Taking inspiration from last Sunday’s discussion learning about Latin-American views on Jesus as the God of the Oppressed, Kyle & Vince consider how white guys like them might more closely follow that God, and all the good that offers them in spite of the sacrifice that requires of them.
If you want to be able to fight injustice and experience hope, resilience, and joy in spite of it, you need a faith and a God that are acquainted with suffering and oppression. Continuing our series “God of the Oppressed”, we learned this week from BLC’s Barbara Cunningham about oppression and the God who responds to it from a Chilean perspective -- a story of dictatorship, political suppression, and being told what and how to think.
Civil rights hero Fannie Lou Hamer said "Nobody's free until everybody's free." July 4th is meant to be a celebration of freedom, but freedom is not experienced by all equally in America, so we set aside this service to pray for change in our country, and for our church as we seek to do our part in that change.
BLC’s old friend Joey Rodil joins Vince & Kyle to discuss more queer insights on God & faith, like the ability to love more readily, and seeing the parallel between Jesus speaking up for the marginalized and drag queens speaking up for the queer community.
In honor of the weekend many would have been participating in Chicago’s Pride Parade if not for COVID-19, Rebecca Janvrin joins Vince & Kyle to discuss queer insights on God and faith. This kicks off our new series of discussion: God of the Oppressed. We’ll be immersing ourselves, one at a time, in various different marginalized perspectives on Jesus and faith and the Bible. Really, we can’t come to a proper theology and understanding of Jesus at all if we’re not trying to do that from marginalized perspectives, because Jesus was a marginalized person.
We need help to persevere, to resist the temptation to take the foot off the gas on anti-racism and revert back to the status quo, even if the news is moving on to “the next story”, and even if we feel some exhaustion. Kyle and Vince share what’s inspiring them to persevere, including a recent panel from Christian Community Development Association: https://ccda.org/justice-initiatives/catalyzing-the-moment/
Our experience has been that Jesus is on the side of the marginalized, always. But what do we do with competing views of Jesus out there? Kyle and Vince discuss the way competing views of Jesus cause internal and external strife in our lives and relationships, and workshop ways to navigate that well.
What are your personal next steps toward anti-racism? Should you expand your quarantine circle? For our individualized questions when there is no one-size-fits-all wisdom, we’re big believers in listening to God for in-the-moment guidance. But, often in religious settings, glib or unexamined references to “hearing God” make many feel deficient (when they’re really not) or feel like “that’s for other people but not me”. Kyle, Vince, and Christina try to cut through that…
Vince processes his experience participating in a protest this weekend and not participating in another, Kyle wonders how to speak to his kids about systemic racism and protest, and the two of them discuss both the complications and power behind the protests on the Northside of Chicago this past weekend meant to be in support of Black Lives Matter.
If we use oral health & hygiene as an analogy, becoming anti-racist isn’t taking your tonsils out, it’s brushing your teeth — we have to commit to ongoing, everyday work.
Thank you to Jen Conant, Linda Kim, Christina Culver, Elizabeth Bertrand, and Kevin Williams for sharing.
Kyle & Vince continue the church’s discussion of how to do community, and touch on the evils of the comparison game, the connection between trying not to judge ourselves and trying not to judge other people, and why Communion is so important to our church in Kyle’s view.
Hayley, Kyle, and Vince discuss “shoulds” and false “right” pictures of community, American metaphors vs New Testament metaphors for community, practical ways to do community right now in the midst of shelter-in-place, and obscure references from the show Friends.
Kyle and Vince get excited when they discover that certain Biblical references may not be about what they’re popularly thought to be about in American culture. Because, despite all of the damage that is done when the Bible is misappropriated, it is (properly treated) a treasure trove!
Maria joins Kyle and Vince as they share personal experiences on how and why it’s hard to grieve and celebrate, and as they consider the helpfulness of rituals, traditions, and community.
Vince and Kyle discuss the link between grief and celebration, in terms of marking Mother’s Day during shelter-in-place and in terms of life in general. Then Carol & Stephen Montgomery and Nate Jones pass on their experiences of learning to grieve and celebrate at the same time.
Where can we find God in the way COVID-19 is resetting society? Vince, Kyle, and guest Val Buchanan discuss.
Kyle and Vince continue last Sunday’s discussion, asking if self-care and connection with God are the same thing, and considering helpful vs unhelpful lenses we’re taught to use when we try to recognize God’s presence or voice in our lives.
Linda, Vince, and Kyle discuss loneliness, identity, introversion vs extroversion, and the prayers, scriptures, and images of God that are helping them during our shelter-in-place reality or have helped them in past seasons of loneliness.
Kyle and Vince follow-up on last Sunday’s discussion on mental health, touching on the pros and cons of growing up more religious vs. less religious, concepts of sin, and how a theology of the Holy Spirit is especially helpful to avoiding one-size-fits-all recommendations on mental health.
Vince & Kyle discuss the overlap of Jesus spirituality and mental health, and then pass on a mental health potluck of ideas, prayers, poems, technology, and resources from people in BLC’s community. There are no one-size-fits-all approaches to maintaining mental health, so take what you like and leave the rest!
A collection of personal stories from our community that capture what we celebrate on Easter — Jesus bringing resurrection after death, renewal after loss, redemption after suffering. Thanks to all who shared!
Today's prayer guide includes the song "Bless the Lord my Soul" (a Taize refrain), led by Brown Line Vineyard's old friend Katie Younkie-Sahyouni and recorded in 2016.
April 2020 — Holy Week — the year of the coronavirus pandemic
I heard that over the weekend Surgeon General Jerome Adams said that this week is going to be “the hardest and saddest of most Americans lives.”
Wow.
I’ve already said this (and I’m sure it’s far from original) but I just can’t get over how that comment comes this week of all weeks — Holy Week in the historic church calendar — the week we remember Jesus entering Jerusalem, embarking on the great suffering of his story. And here we are in the midst of a great suffering that will be a part of all of our stories now.
As our church has taken this Holy Week to discuss “Believing in God when bad things happen” (like global pandemic, but also like the individual sufferings of any of us), I think the best way to describe my overall pastoral reflection is this:
We should have called this “Confidence in God when bad things happen” instead of “Believing in God when bad things happen.”
Confidence in God is what I’ve realized I, as a pastor, want for you all most (and think will serve you all most) when it comes to this topic.
When we’re considering the hardest things of life, the issue is not really whether or not you and I believe in God, because if that God is morally suspect or not reliably good and trustworthy — if that God is the removed, blueprint-drawing, puppet-master God we’ve been distinguishing as NOT the God Jesus shows us — then so what!? What’s that going to do for any of us?
The issue is whether or not you and I trust God, whether or not we feel confident putting our hope for a future in this God’s hands. Is God reliable? Is God consistent? Or will God do something that seems unaccountable or arbitrary?
I want you to believe in the God that is consistent and reliable and trustworthy, that is worth putting your confidence in. That is the reason any relationships in our lives work — trust and faithfulness, fulfillment of promises, consistency in character. And our relationship with God is no different.
This is why I think Jesus is such a helpful north star for you and me and everyone. Because it means the question of “confidence in God” is not left mysterious — God is true and faithful and keeps promises, and knows suffering intimately, and has a consistent character marked by self-sacrificial love. God is like Jesus.
The question of “confidence in human beings” — in other people — that sadly will always be mysterious — we can’t necessarily be sure. Hell, I can’t necessarily be sure about myself often.
The question of “confidence in systems and structures” — in our society, in our governments, in our institutions, in the powers that be — also mysterious.
The question of “confidence in our natural world” — in our beautiful yet chaotic environments, in our miraculous yet imperfect biologies — mysterious.
Life works in mysterious ways, that is so true. But not God. God is not mysterious. God is like Jesus. And, because of that, we can have confidence in God, even when bad things happen.
Vince and Kyle continue the conversation of “Believing in God when bad thing happen” with a mailbag podcast responding to comments and question from last Sunday’s discussion.
With the coronavirus in view, but also any senseless suffering each of us might face, Kyle and Vince discuss the difference between a “Life as God’s Blueprint” understanding of believing in God and a “Life as a Battlefield” understanding of believing in God. The former is extremely common, but hurts many. The latter has helped them personally find powerful connection with God in the midst of hardship.
Today's prayer guide includes the song "Bless the Lord my Soul" (a Taize refrain), led by Brown Line Vineyard's old friend Katie Younkie-Sahyouni and recorded in 2016.
Life is full of uncertainty, and we feel that all the more in the midst of a global pandemic. In our experience, spirituality helps with uncertainty in a profound way, but it isn’t by providing certainty in response. So how does it help? Vince and Kyle discuss…
Today's prayer guide includes the song "Bless the Lord my Soul" (a Taize refrain), led by Brown Line Vineyard's old friend Katie Younkie-Sahyouni and recorded in 2016.
Audio of our online discussion, reflecting on what we can learn from the surge of spirituality born out of pandemic in the 14th century.
Today's prayer guide includes the song "Bless the Lord my Soul" (a Taize refrain), led by Brown Line Vineyard's old friend Katie Younkie-Sahyouni and recorded in 2016.
We've voted to leave the Vineyard in order to more freely live out our cultural and theological values
Everywhere people are being encouraged right now to practice the most Jesus-like behavior there is: self-sacrifice for the sake of the most vulnerable. In the midst of this awful reality, does the whole world have a chance to meet Jesus?
Today's prayer guide includes the song "Bless the Lord my Soul" (a Taize refrain), led by Brown Line Vineyard's old friend Katie Younkie-Sahyouni and recorded in 2016.
Kyle takes us to a book of the Bible that means a lot to him: Ruth. Among many things, the book is a powerful testament that what makes a legacy is not ethnic purity or meeting cultural/familial expectations; what makes a legacy is character.
Today's prayer guide includes the song "Bless the Lord my Soul" (a Taize refrain), led by Brown Line Vineyard's old friend Katie Younkie-Sahyouni and recorded in 2016.
In Harry Potter, Harry discovers the difference between “being dragged into the arena” of the hardship ahead of him and “walking into the arena with his head held high” — The same discovery is what made Jesus who he was — And the same discovery can transform us into all we’re meant to be.
Today's prayer guide includes the song "Bless the Lord my Soul" (a Taize refrain), led by Brown Line Vineyard's old friend Katie Younkie-Sahyouni and recorded in 2016.
Today’s prayer guide includes the song “Dust We Are & Shall Return” by the Brilliance, led by Keziah & Vincent Brackett from a 2016 Brown Line Vineyard Sunday service at Welles Park.
Kyle takes us through hopelessness, and equips us with a prayer that can help us to discover, as Jesus did in Gethsemane, strengthening from the Spirit of God, whom we might even give the name: Implanted Hope.
Continuing his series on becoming all we’re meant to, Vince shares how embracing the risks of journeying through Jesus’ Kingdom of God brings healing to our un-dealt with pain by unpacking the theology of the movie Moana, how Moana is a Christ figure, and how we are all Te Ka.
America can feel hopeless, can’t it? Kyle takes us to a hope-inspiring reading of the Biblical prophet Jonah from a Palestinian theologian, who sees the prophet as a picture of successful non-violent protest, in which the powerless speak truth to the powerful.
All of our favorite characters on journeys of higher purpose find a band of allies along their way — the people who encourage, support, celebrate, guide, and shape them. Likewise, if you want to live a life beyond the small and ordinary you need allies. Vince passes on some wisdom for filling out your band of allies, and, with help from Luna Lovegood, zooms in especially on what to do when we experience loneliness.
Our ordinary world and lives are ruled by attachment to possessions and consumerism. But what if there is an alternative, unseen, spiritual reality (Jesus’ “Kingdom of God”) that we can choose to live in instead, which can free from us from the restlessness and comparison of being driven by consumerism, and can bring us purpose, transformation and a feeling that God is speaking to us?
Disappointment and the passage of time birth apathy, and apathy can be hard to break. Kyle traces a thread through real and hard-earned messages of hope from the Ancient Jewish Prophet Haggai, the life of Jesus, and the belief of Dr. King.
The Biblical Prophet Obadiah (the shortest book of the Bible) points us to the truth that we destroy ourselves when we rejoice in the suffering of others. How can we, in 21st century America, stand for this truth?
If you’re a person of privilege who grew up exposed to the Bible, perhaps you at some point began to find the words of the Old Testament prophets “morally hard to swallow”. Chances are this is because, in a world of privilege, the prophets are often flattened into object lessons for “how to treat your co-workers”. (Those object lessons are not at all bad, but when the threats attached to them have the intensity of the Biblical Prophets, things can seem… well… out of proportion.) The Prophets are not coming from a world of privilege; the Prophets are Resistance Literature. And reading them from that perspective unlocks their moral courage and their timeliness for American today!
Just like our favorite fantasy stories and myths, Jesus’ message of the “Kingdom of God” is an invitation to us to leave our ordinary worlds, and step into a bigger reality that is outside our comfort zone and includes threats and danger, BUT will transform us into all we’re meant to be if we stay the course.
Most of us spend a lot of time being self-critical or self-punishing, and that sucks! Vince shares about his number one self-kindness practice over the last 5 months: contemplative prayer, how that helps him “get out from under the waterfall” of his endless thoughts, feelings, and experiences, and how the simple words “of course” can revolutionize your prayer life.
Kyle takes us to some familial conflict from the life of Jesus, and suggests some ways we can learn from and experience healing from the God who knows what it's like to come from a family.
Reflecting on Ben Stiller’s character from The Royal Tenenbaums and on his own experiences of grief or being with others in grief, Vince leads us in a discussion of ways faith in Jesus can help us when we are mourning the loss of loved ones for our annual Remembrance Service.
(Please forgive the poor audio quality this week!)
When Jesus spoke of a narrow gate that leads to life yet few people find (and, alternatively, a wide gate that leads to destruction which many people find), he was resonating with the deeply human experience of how hard it is for any of us to live up to our higher values. Kyle suggests that Jesus meets us there, and offers lots of help if we want to more consistently live in accordance with our values.
In three big ways, Jesus can help Americans talk about race in a meaningful, productive way that (1) doesn’t put all the burden on people of color, and (2) both challenges and calms the nerves of white people at the same time.
Entitlement is in us all. Gratitude is too, and that is so much more joyful and wonderful to live out of, but why does it feel like entitlement is the default for so many of us? According to Jesus in Luke 17, privilege may have something to do with it. At this church, we take that idea super seriously -- especially when it comes to religious privilege.
Being driven by fear or anxiety is not a joyful way to live. And, even worse, it skews our sense of priority, or in Jesus’ words, we become so focused on trying to strain out a gnat that we swallow a camel. Kyle offers some suggestions from his experience on how following Jesus can be an antidote to fear and anxiety.
Overly-simplistic or overly-certain interpretations of why some headline tragedy or horror occurred hurt people. In Luke 13, Jesus responds to two tragic headlines of his day with humanity and with solidarity shown to those most affected by the suffering. Vince unpacks what we can learn from Jesus here both in terms of how we respond to others’ suffering, and how we respond to our own suffering.
Does the encouragement to “serve God” from the Jesus and Biblical tradition mean we’re meant to approach God like the servants from Downton Abbey approaching the Crawley family? It seems not, according to the picture the Gospel of Luke that paints about “serving God”. According to Jesus, God is himself a servant, so, in some way, to serve God is to let God serve us…
Drawing from the story of Jesus activating the generosity of Zacchaues the tax collector, Vince offers some ideas from his own experience of Jesus helping him move past me-centered thinking — ranging from interpersonal resentments to engagement with public policy and politics.
Because Jesus understood in a deep way where he came from, he was able to be creative about where he was going - incorporating the good of his tradition and also departing from or reimagining his tradition when it ran counter to what he knew of God's heart for humanity. Kyle reflects on how Jesus has led him in his own version of such a journey.
Vince shares about the unique impact friendships in a spiritual context have had on him. And various leaders in the church share about ways Brown Line Vineyard can help you connect with other people in spiritual community this fall.
Even though he didn’t grow up spiritual, Vince found himself experiencing faith in a powerful way as he reached college age. But he slowly started to feel like a cultural outsider in churches. That led to some tension… until he discovered a new way to think about faith.
Kyle invites us to participate in some of the church’s plans for caring for families this fall.
When the writers of the Bible referred to “The Coming of the Lord” or “the Judgment at the end of time”, it was not a threat (“shape up, or you’ll be left behind by God!”), it was a word of comfort and promise: The injustices and senseless sufferings of your life and your world are NOT lost on God! He sees! He takes notice! And he will, in the end, right every wrong and wipe every tear from every eye. Vince takes us to the comforting words of James, the brother of Jesus.
People of privilege (like Vince: a white, straight, middle-class American male) need to be rattled to see that societal autopilot doesn’t just lead to the existential angst of “a meaningless life”, but, beyond that, it is a life and death matter for many! The New Testament book of James offers that needed rattling, and Vince leads us in asking how we can pursue our biggest values, even if that leaves us rattled.
Vince wants to rescue prayer from the “obligation zone” in people’s brains and put it in its right place in the “rest zone” in people’s brains. He shares from his own life a number of prayers that help him, and then Kyle shares why prayer is the key ingredient to this summer’s vision for BLV on being a “community of care”.
Vince shares how he learned to swear in his prayer life, and we further discuss the amazing connection between prayer and a community that feels caring — to the people in it, and to anyone such a community comes into contact with. Passionate about making BLV a place that cares for everyone? Consider joining our Pastoral Care Core!
Kyle and Vince share the beginnings of a vision for this summer at Brown Line Vineyard: leaning into one of our core values in particular — being a “community of care.” How? By creating more space for more people within the community to pray together for the needs of the church and people in the church. BLV is empowering a new level of leadership, a Pastoral Care Core. Hear how you can be a part of it!
Why is favoritism toward the rich and powerful so easy to fall into? Because we show favoritism toward what hold up as ideal. And the sneaky truth is that, setting our few more noble aspirations aside, we all still kind of think the good life is being rich and powerful. The book of James from the Bible has lots of help to break this tendency in us!
What do you expect from God if you pray? Jesus’ take is that of course you should expect good gifts. Vince leads us in reflecting on what can make this hard for some of us to operate with this foundational assumption, and on the unique role fathers have in helping us form this foundation.
A vision or message is nothing without people to carry it. With help from various Brown Line Vineyard team leaders, Vince leads us in saying thank you to all our volunteers, and reflects on the way this church’s vision has been influenced by St. Paul’s message about Jesus in Acts 17: born out of respect for wider culture, not being against wider culture.
It is remarkably easy to become “too much talk, not enough action” in 21st century America: we announce what we’re about with signs in our windows or yards, by “liking” good causes on Facebook, and by maintaining how we appear to others. In religious settings, this is reinforced all the more with a focus on holding the “right” beliefs and opinions. But, in our experience, life is really found in asking the hard question: what action do my beliefs and opinions produce? There’s actually a book in the Bible all about this human struggle to be “less talk, more action”: the book of James.
Biblical and historical imagery of God as "a good mother" can powerfully connect us with the heart of Jesus. And so can our own experiences and memories with mothers or mother-figures. Kyle shares some of his own story along these lines.
We had some technical difficulties this week. Sorry for the poor audio quality.
Vince shares about the helpfulness of coming to think of himself as “a sinner”, which hasn’t led him to debilitating shame or self-righteousness or judgment of others, but rather to freedom and personal growth and compassion toward himself (and others).
No one can do life alone. Vince shares some examples of how people care for each other in this community, but also shares about the reality that, like most good things, a community of care doesn’t happen by accident. It takes intentionality, effort, overcoming obstacles, and above all, considering how the flow of love into us (from God and from others) is linked to the flow of love out of us.
Stories of redemption tap into something deep in the human heart. Easter Sunday is all about redemption after regret, resurrection after death. Kyle shares what it has meant for him to experience not just healing from past hurts, brokennesses, or failures, but to experience those hurts, brokennesses, and failures be miraculously redeemed and actually bring good into the world.
Today's prayer guide includes the song "Bless the Lord my Soul" (a Taize refrain), led by Brown Line Vineyard's old friend Katie Younkie-Sahyouni and recorded in 2016.
Love is such a different way to respond to failure than demanding retribution (demanding "someone else must suffer because I suffered"). Vince shares about his experience of being loved by friends and by God in the midst of failure, and how that opened him up to be transformed by failure, and not shut down by it.
Today's prayer guide includes the song "Bless the Lord my Soul" (a Taize refrain), led by Brown Line Vineyard's old friend Katie Younkie-Sahyouni and recorded in 2016.
What is our assumed picture of God? Powerful? Glorious? Up in the clouds? With a quiver of lightning bolts? The picture of God that Jesus shows humanity is an inversion of this. What should our assumed picture of God be? One who lays down power to benefit others. That’s particularly hard for Americans to digest, but when we try, it can change us profoundly.
Today's prayer guide includes the song "Bless the Lord my Soul" (a Taize refrain), led by Brown Line Vineyard's old friend Katie Younkie-Sahyouni and recorded in 2016.
Self-sacrificial love is incredible. So many of the books and movies and tv shows that grab us are proof that it touches something deep in the human heart. The 40 days of Lent, which turn our attention to Jesus’ self-sacrificial love, are a wonderful time to lean into this. Vince suggests that, yes, in the age of the internet, there are more inputs than ever before to make us feel despair, but there are also more inputs than ever before to see Jesus through the story portrayals (and real-life examples) of self-sacrificial all around us.
Today's prayer guide includes the song "Bless the Lord my Soul" (a Taize refrain), led by Brown Line Vineyard's old friend Katie Younkie-Sahyouni and recorded in 2016.
If you grew up religious, the image of Jesus dying on the Cross may have been used as a tool to emotionally manipulate you into begrudging commitment or painful gratitude. Kyle’s journey of faith has helped him leave behind those feelings of manipulation when it comes to Jesus’ death the Cross, and find instead a God showing his heart to connect with all people and all cultures.
Today's prayer guide includes the song "Bless the Lord my Soul" (a Taize refrain), led by Brown Line Vineyard's old friend Katie Younkie-Sahyouni and recorded in 2016.
How do you fill in the blanks? “I don’t have enough ___.” Or “I am not ___ enough.” Dee shares how she’s felt the God reflected in Psalm 23 speak to her in places of feeling not-enough. And we learn some ways we can put ourselves in position to feel God speak to us in the same way.
Today's prayer guide includes the song "Bless the Lord my Soul" (a Taize refrain), led by Brown Line Vineyard's old friend Katie Younkie-Sahyouni and recorded in 2016.
If Jesus’ death on the Cross is just a confusingly violent picture of a God that requires punishment for his plan to work, Vince feels unsettled. But if Jesus’ death on the Cross is a picture of a loving and self-sacrificial God that chooses solidarity with scapegoats instead of solidarity with the powerful, then Vince finds himself pulled out of his small life and into a big and inspiring story. And he needs that!
Today's prayer guide includes the song "Bless the Lord my Soul" (a Taize refrain), led by Brown Line Vineyard's old friend Katie Younkie-Sahyouni and recorded in 2016.
Today’s prayer guide includes the song “Dust We Are & Shall Return” by the Brilliance, led by Keziah & Vincent Brackett from a 2016 Brown Line Vineyard Sunday service at Welles Park.
Insisting that millennia-old stories can speak plainly to a modern day context is one of the major reasons many people find the Bible an obstacle. Take the story of Abraham & Isaac, for example: to modern readers, this is a troubling story about a God who almost had a child sacrificed. Its’ really hard to get beyond that. BUT, to its original audience, this story communicated something very different. Could that communicate something different to us modern readers too?
In individualistic and capitalistic America, it is particularly hard to live out a conviction to be the keepers of our brothers and sisters. Why? Partly because we see so much of life as transactional. But, maybe above all, because we hate to feel discomfort, and the level of injustice and suffering that many of our brothers and sisters in America experience should make us feel uncomfortable. Kyle coaches us on leaning into that discomfort, letting it humble us, and letting it activate us.
From the ancient Jewish story of Cain & Abel, we get the powerful suggestion that part of being human is to be our brother’s and sister’s keepers — we are responsible for and to each other. But that is like the definition of “easier said than done”. Vince explores how the story of Cain & Abel addresses this: (1) posing the question “how will we respond to life’s disappointments and resentments?” and (2) showing us an encouraging, loving God who believes in us.
Drawing from his own spiritual practice and from years mentoring others in their spiritual practice, our resident Spiritual Director Nader suggests various ways to build more quiet into our lives, and the benefits we might experience from that.
Jumping off of questions and responses we received about Kyle’s recent talk “Faith is not about Heaven vs. Hell”, Vince asks Kyle to tell us more about his journey of faith, how that determines how faith is (and is not) pursued at Brown Line Vineyard, and the potential gifts to the wider Northside Chicago community Brown Line Vineyard can offer as a result.
The question of whether you’re “going to heaven” or “going to hell” just isn’t a helpful thing to build one’s faith on. Also, it’s not actually in the teachings of Jesus, or anywhere in the Bible — despite the fact that so many people (both inside and outside of churches) assume it to be.
On the weekend we remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Vince takes us to a Central American interpretation of Jesus' Parable of the Talents (or Minas or Pounds, depending on your translation). In it, Jesus suggests the God of the Universe is the God who resists injustice. So how might God be calling us to join in that?
Hear about the various ways Brown Line Vineyard can help you connect with other people this winter. From an every other Thursday drinks night to a book study on how to raise children in racially unjust America, we’ve got lots of options…
Resolutions are on the mind. For those of us who are spiritual, is God's role in our resolutions to threaten us to change? Or is God supportive and helpful and patient and wise about how human behavior actually works? Spoiler: we think it's the latter.
We visit the prayer of Mary the mother of Jesus — the Magnificat — every year during Advent, because it so perfectly captures faith for us. Kyle explains why, this year, it makes him think of a scene from the pilot of The Marvelous Ms. Maisel, and suggests a way we can experience how powerful it is to move from power to weakness.
Waiting is not something we Americans like. We prefer staying busy and being productive. We’ve even figured out ways to hire people to wait in line for us! But waiting is a part of life — waiting for doctors’ test results, waiting to hear about that job interview, waiting for a wrong to be righted. This first Sunday of Advent we try to increase our awareness of the God who is with us in what we’re waiting for.
We miss not being with you all in person this morning, but we hope you feel at least some connection to our community after this message, which feels exciting to share with you all!
Kyle leads us in remembering loved ones lost by people in our community over the last year, sharing about his own recent loss, and about how a “This American Life” episode following a mother who lost her daughter in the Aurora, CO movie theater shooting has helped him experience Jesus’ comfort.
When you hear or see something that strikes you as racist, sexist, classist, homophobic, Islamophobic, or cruel in any way, do you feel tempted to just be silent, for fear of discomfort? Or do you feel ready to speak up, but you’re not sure how? Jesus was never silent, and when he spoke up, he’s described as being “full of grace and truth”, or, we might say, “full of humility and courage”. Kyle offers some ideas on how we might pursue that balance.
The American Religious Right’s conflation of faith and partisan politics has been bad for the country and for faith... But, while Vince used to feel the best response to that was to strive to pursue an politically neutral faith (“both sides are equally bad/good when it comes to the model of Jesus”), he now feels that to be just as unsatisfactory... so what now?
Sharing from his own life regrets and from the work of Dr. Mirsolav Volf, Kyle encourages us that the magnetic and powerful life Jesus leads us into is found in choosing embrace over exclusion, in choosing self-sacrifice over others-sacrifice, and in resisting the power our in-group loyalty tests have over us.