Caroline M.: Her Transgender Transition

Today I’m joined by Caroline Morrison. Below are the links to our three-part conversation about her transition as a trans-woman, and the wisdom she has gained in this process of changing genders and becoming more fully herself. It’s a courageous, revealing conversation that illumines facets of gender and social life we often take for granted. Here’s part one of our conversation.

Please listen, comment and share on social media. Thanks for tuning in!

PART ONE: 

PART TWO:

PART THREE:

Listen on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lift-podcast/id1194719815?mt=2
Listen on Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-lift-2?refid=stpr

Adam Hamilton, Part One

I'm thrilled to be joined in this first of two podcasts with my friend, Rev. Adam Hamilton, who serves as the senior pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, KS (www.cor.org). Pastor Adam has been named one of the "Ten People to Watch in America’s Spiritual Landscape" by Religion and Ethics Newsweekly, served on President Barack Obama’s advisory council on faith-based and neighborhood partnerships, and is the author of several books, including his best-selling Making Sense of the Bible. In this first of two podcasts, Adam and I discuss one of his earlier books and upcoming 2018 sermon series, Christianity and World Religions.

This conversation was especially fun for me, as Pastor Adam and I spent two years recording and producing weekly videos for YouTube, found HERE. This time, instead of being behind the camera, it was a treat to be part of the conversation with my wise friend and pastor.

Link on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lift-podcast/id1194719815?mt=2

Link on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-lift-2?refid=stpr

IN THIS PODCAST:
0:00 Why are there so many different religions?
2:40 Introduction to Pastor Adam Hamilton
3:32 How is God at work in other religions?
6:00 Thoughts on miracles
8:07 Pluralism: Are all religions the same?
11:29 Exclusivism: Does salvation depend on a one-time prayer?
14:35 Inclusivism: Is God’s mercy and love wider than we imagine?
19:10 Is the point of Christianity where we’ll go in the afterlife?
22:05 Are our answers to these questions a reflection on God, or on us?
Stay tuned for Part 2 of this conversation in a separate podcast.

Sarah Bessey on The Lift

I had the honor of interviewing Sarah Bessey, author of Out of Sorts and Jesus Feminist, on The Lift. Sarah's warmth is contagious and shines through in her voice - talking to her, I felt like I was sitting down with an old friend.

Sarah Bessey is an award-winning author of Jesus Feminist: An invitation to revisit the Bible’s view of women; and Out of Sorts: Making Peace with an Evolving Faith. Sarah lives in Abbotsford, British Columbia, with her husband Brian and four children. She writes, blogs and speaks about Christianity in all its complexity, from women’s roles and stained glass ceilings, to social justice, politics, mothering, loss and lament, ecclesiology, stepping on toes, leaving church, circling back, and wrestling – all out, all in – with a God who won’t let go.

Check out our podcast at these links:
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lift-podcast/id1194719815?mt=2
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-lift-2?refid=stpr
Soundcloud:


In this episode:
0:00  Do questions threaten God?
1:18  About Sarah
2:08  On not having things figured out
4:41  Growing up faith
8:18  The fear of questions (and how they're stifled)
15:26 Tough questions: Is the Bible inerrant?
18:42 Tough questions: Hell?
21:00 Tough questions: Why did Jesus have to die?
25:15 Excerpt from Out of Sorts
26:44 500 year shifts in Christianity
29:20 A "toddling charismatic stumbling along the Canterbury trail"
30:38 The door of grief & lament (and pregnancy loss)
34:41 Jesus Feminist & patriarchy
38:07 Sarah's Word-of-the-Year for 2017

Darryl Burton: 24 yrs falsely imprisoned

image (c) Riverfront Times

I recently had a chance to interview my friend, Darryl Burton, who was falsely imprisoned for 24 years for a crime he didn't commit. I'm always amazed to speak with Darryl, as we work together to coordinate public events to bring his story of injustice, redemption and forgiveness to the world.

Link on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lift-podcast/id1194719815?mt=2

Link on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-lift-2?refid=stpr

Br. Paul Quenon & Thomas Merton

I recently made a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Gethsemani, a monastery in Trappist, KY, to sit down with Br. Paul Quenon – poet, author and novice of perhaps the most influential American contemplative and monastic writer of the twentieth century, Thomas Merton. Br. Paul was a gracious host who invited me to None (afternoon prayers), a visit to Merton’s hermitage and a tour of the grounds, and then loaded my arms with several boxes and varieties of his homemade fudge (a true penance in the thick of Lent!). Ora et labora: prayer and fudge.

The memory of this day with Br. Paul - reciting poetry, recalling the lives of saints and sharing stories about his beloved novice master (one of my spiritual heroes) - is one I’ll never forget.

Learn more about Br. Paul Quenon and read his wonderful poems at www.monks.org. And if you haven’t read Merton, I’d suggest you start HERE with his #1 bestseller and autobiography, Seven Storey Mountain.

Link on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lift-podcast/id1194719815?mt=2

Link on Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-lift-2?refid=stpr

In this episode:

0:00 How Thomas Merton experienced God

2:23 Introduction to Br. Paul Quenon

3:01 How Br. Paul became a monk at Gethsemani

3:52 How do you experience God?

4:49 On mystical experience & apophatic spirituality

6:21 What was Merton like?

8:05 Merton’s interfaith work

9:42 How do we build bridges in the spirit of Merton?

11:42 Union with God & other lessons from Merton