**CONTENT NOTE** In this episode Jon and I talk about the gender politics in the Barbie movie, and our conversation touches briefly on eating disorders, body image, sexual violence, harassment, and purity culture. Please be aware of these themes and care for yourself accordingly. Make sure you're in a space where that flow of conversation is someth…

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Quotes today from the books The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin and This Here Flesh by Cole Arthur Riley. Support the show

Quotes in this episode taken from I Want You to Be: On the God of Love by Tomáš Halík and A Women's Lectionary for the Whole Church by Dr. Wilda C. Gafney. You can listen to "The Kingdom is Yours" by Common Hymnal here, and maybe have tissues nearby if you cry during songs. (The last time I tried to lead this in a congregational setting I literally…

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Quotes this week taken from the documentary Crip Camp, which you can stream on Netflix. Blessed are you who wait for tomatoes. Who water and weed and pray for rain and sun. Blessed are you building a highway in the wilderness, Or at least you were, Until you were stopped by the zoning board. Since when does the wilderness have a process for proposa…

Quotes and information this week drawn from Anna Case-Winters' commentary on Matthew, part of the Belief Series. A Blessing for Advent week 2: Blessed are you who escaped from the vipers nest. Who found yourself growing up in a world that had so thoroughly forgotten the very-goodness baked into its bones and bark that all it offered were tenuous pa…

It's Advent y'all! Each week during Advent I'm ending the episode with a blessing I wrote, text is included below for reference: When the World is Ending...or Beginning Blessed are you who sit in stunned silence in the driveway or parking lot, on the curb for just a moment too long because the illusion has broken yet again And you remember that twi…

Quotes this week from the Luke commentary of the Belief series, by Justo González and Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. Support the show

Quote taken from Justo González's commentary on Luke from the Belief Commentary Series. Also, a few impact words toward the end of this episode, so be mindful if you're listening at work or with young children around. Support the showAf Megan Westra

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I'll be on Instagram live this coming Thursday evening (October 6th) at 7pm Central with Kelley Nikondeha talking about her new book The First Advent in Palestine. Support the showAf Megan Westra

Sources cited in this episode: You Can Talk to God Like That by Abby Norman. Luke commentary by Justo González as part of the Belief Commentary series. Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder's chapter on Luke in True to Our Native Land. Support the show

This week I gleaned a lot from the notes in my New Oxford Annotated Bible, which is my favorite study Bible. Highly recommend if you're not quite ready to buy a bunch of commentaries, but you'd still like more background info on the text as you read. Support the showAf Megan Westra

Sources engaged in this episode are The Prophetic Imagination by Walter Brueggemann, Short Stories by Jesus by Amy-Jill Levine and Clarice J. Martin's chapter on 1-2 Timothy in True to Our Native Land. Support the showAf Megan Westra

Sources mentioned in this podcast include, Dr. Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder's commentary on Luke contained in True to Our Native Land and concepts from Dr. Scot McKnight's commentary on Philemon in the New International Commentary series. I can't remember which episode it was in, but adrienne maree brown talks about the wisdom of mushrooms on her po…

In this episode I reference quotes from Dr. Soong-Chan Rah's book Prophetic Lament and Dr. Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder's commentary on Luke 14 in True to Our Native Land. If you want to learn more about the formation of the Biblical canon and the deuterocanonical books, I love this quick intro from The Bible Project. Support the show…

Referenced in this podcast are (again) Justo González's commentary on Luke, and the scholarship of Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg who graciously does an extraordinary amount of public theology--much of it on Twitter--you can (and should) follow her at @TheRaDR. Support the show

Referenced in this episode are the BRILLIANT commentary by Justo González on Luke and this interview with Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright from 2008. All readings are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. If you're enjoying the show please consider leaving a review wherever you're listening, sharing on social media or supporting on Patreon. S…

JustTexts discussed in this episode are from Proper 14 in the Revised Common Lectionary. Isaiah 1:1, 10-20; Psalm 50: 1-8, 22-23; Genesis 15:1-6; Psalm 33:12-22; Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16; Luke 12:32-40. Sources engaged and uplifted: Patricia K. Tull's commentary on Isaiah in The Women's Bible Commentary. Randall C. Bailey's work on the concept of "whit…

The Podluck is back! We're going to be walking through the Revised Common Lectionary. Megan maps out why the change and what she hopes we can do together in this audio space. Support the showAf Megan Westra

Check out Dr. Alexander John Shaia's work with Quadratos on the Quadratos website. You can also follow him on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Support the show

During this series I'll be drawing from the following sources: The Jewish Annotated New Testament Matthew for Everyone by N.T. Wright Three Months with Matthew by Justo L. González True to Our Native Land: An African American New Testament Commentary edited by Brian K. Blount The Women's Bible Commentary edited by Carol A. Newsom Matthew: A Theolog…

A little detour on our Matthew road trip to talk with author and speaker, Tiffany Bluhm! Make sure you take a moment to read more about Tiffany's work on her website, subscribe to her podcast Why Tho? and pick up your own copy of Prey Tell. Support the showAf Megan Westra

During this series I'll be drawing from the following sources: The Jewish Annotated New Testament Matthew for Everyone by N.T. Wright Three Months with Matthew by Justo L. González True to Our Native Land: An African American New Testament Commentary edited by Brian K. Blount The Women's Bible Commentary edited by Carol A. Newsom Matthew: A Theolog…

I couldn't find the clip from Beauty and the Beast I referenced, so if you don't know what I'm talking about...sorry. During this series I'll be drawing from the following sources: The Jewish Annotated New Testament Matthew for Everyone by N.T. Wright Three Months with Matthew by Justo L. González True to Our Native Land: An African American New Te…

The quote I share in this episode is from Three Months with Matthew by Justo L. González. During this series I'll be drawing from the following sources: The Jewish Annotated New Testament Matthew for Everyone by N.T. Wright Three Months with Matthew by Justo L. González True to Our Native Land: An African American New Testament Commentary edited by…

The quote I share from Dr. Michael Joseph Brown is from his entry on Matthew in the commentary True to Our Native Land. During this series I'll be drawing from the following sources: The Jewish Annotated New Testament Matthew for Everyone by N.T. Wright Three Months with Matthew by Justo L. González True to Our Native Land: An African American New …

Rev. Alyssa Peterson-DeWitt is a writer, chaplain and sacred space holder. She is ordained in the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana). You can connect with Rev. Alyssa on Twitter or Instagram, and sign up for her weekly Zoom prayer through her website. For weekly centering exercises based on each episode, please join me over on Patreon. Support the s…

Matthew 1:1-17 I reference Carolyn Custis James' post "The Fab Four" in this episode. During this series I'll be drawing from the following sources: The Jewish Annotated New Testament Matthew for Everyone by N.T. Wright Three Months with Matthew by Justo L. González True to Our Native Land: An African American New Testament Commentary edited by Bri…

Join me on Friday's over on Patreon during this series for centering practices based on the weekly episodes. During this series I'll be drawing from the following sources: The Jewish Annotated New Testament Matthew for Everyone by N.T. Wright Three Months with Matthew by Justo L. González True to Our Native Land: An African American New Testament C…

Join me on Friday's on Patreon throughout this season for centering work based on this episode. Three important questions to consider when approaching Scripture: 1) Who am I? (What is your social location? What is your context? What are your assumptions?) 2) Who is the author(s) of this text? Who is their audience? 3) So What? For more background o…

Join me on Patreon for centering reflections on Fridays throughout this season. I'll be reading from the New Revised Standard Version unless otherwise noted. Support the showAf Megan Westra

Jessica is a writer, theologian and editor. She has two books, The Long Night and 365 Days of Peace. You can follow her on Twitter, Instagram, or visit her website to learn more about her work. Support the showAf Megan Westra

Holly is the founder of the nonprofit Rise, whose mission is to connect, equip and empower people to build a Church where women thrive. People are her passion. Rest for her is hot tea, good books, painted nails & delicious food shared with good people. She lives with her beloved dog Jack in Fort Worth, Texas. You can follow Holly's work on Twitter …

Lyndsey Medford is Director of Discipleship at Two Rivers United Methodist Church in Charleston, South Carolina. She is an indecorous Southerner, an erstwhile evangelical, and an inexpert advocate for justice. She also manages autoimmune disease and a tiny front-yard garden. Lyndsey holds a Master's degree in Theology from Boston University, but sh…

Michelle Van Loon is the author of six books, including Becoming Sage: Cultivating Maturity, Purpose, and Spirituality at Midlife (Moody Publishers, 2020). Michelle is a longtime contributor to Christianity Today, In Touch magazine, and is the co-founder of ThePerennialGen.com, a website for midlife women and men. She’s married to Bill, and is moth…

Stephanie Tait is a writer and speaker serving at the crossroads of joy and pain. You can read her work online at stephanietaitwrites.com or follow her on social media at @StephTaitWrites on Twitter and @StephanieTaitWrites on Instagram. Her book, The View from Rock Bottom, is available wherever books are sold. Support the show…

Rev. Lawrence T. Richardson is a pastor, prophet, digital evangelist and author. He is a graduate of St. Catherine University and Liberty Seminary. Rev. Richardson is on staff as lead minister at Linden Hills UCC, is a media trainer for Auburn Seminary and works as an executive clergy coach for the Center for Progressive Renewal. The author of, I K…

Rev. Lawrence T. Richardson is a pastor, prophet, digital evangelist and author. He is a graduate of St. Catherine University and Liberty Seminary. Rev. Richardson is on staff as lead minister at Linden Hills UCC, is a media trainer for Auburn Seminary and works as an executive clergy coach for the Center for Progressive Renewal. The author of, I K…

Beth Watkins spent 6 years working in North and East Africa with vulnerable populations and now lives in Baltimore, MD where she works with humanitarian immigrants and resettled refugees. Beth is a writer, former missionary, recovering white savior, and wannabe homesteader. You can find her on Twitter and instagram at @iambethwatkins and blog - iam…

D. L. Mayfield lives and writes on the outskirts of Portland, OR with her husband and two small children. Her first book of essays, Assimilate or Go Home: Notes from a Failed Missionary on Rediscovering Faith was released by HarperOne in 2016. Her second book, The Myth of the American Dream: Reflections on Affluence, Autonomy, Safety, and Power rel…

Tracie has been an educator for 30 years. Though her degree is in Art Education with an additional focus on English and Writing, the focus of her teaching has evolved right along side of her life journey. From art to adoption; spirituality to self-care, her message has grown to include grieving, healing and growing through loss and trauma. Tracie h…

Robert is a therapist who works primarily with adolescents & young adults, specializing in areas like anxiety, depression, and suicidality. He’s also an advocate for better understanding of mental health in the church, offering resources such as Suicide Prevention trainings, other mental health trainings, and hosting the CXMH podcast which focuses …

Elizabeth Behrens is a consultant and educator with Be The Bridge. You can access her anti-racist children's literature lessons and guides on Facebook. Follow her on Twitter @EB_FindingMercy. Support the showAf Megan Westra

Rev. Dr. Eric Atcheson is an ordained pastor in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the author of Oregon Trail Theology: The Frontier Millennial Christians Face—And How We’re Ready and On Earth as It Is in Heaven: A Faith-Based Toolkit for Economic Justice. Eric is a parish minister by training who has dedicated himself through his preac…

Kaitlyn Schiess is a writer and theology student living in Dallas, TX. She is a staff writer at Christ and Pop Culture, and her writing has also appeared at Christianity Today, Relevant, and Fathom Magazine. She is finishing a ThM at Dallas Theological Seminary while working in local church ministry with young adults in their 20s and 30s. Her first…