Reports From The Spiritual Frontier

Join us for a conversation with Paul Nixon of the Epicenter Group, as he shares about how the Coronavirus presents opportunities for renewal for churches. This continues our series, “Creativity, Compassion, and the Coronavirus”, in collaboration with the BTS Center, examining ways that faith communities can respond well in this COVID-19 moment.  If you need [...]

Join us for a conversation with Rev. Carolyn Lambert about leading families through grief and ritual, especially through the practice of funerals, in the time of the Coronavirus. This continues our series, “Creativity, Compassion, and the Coronavirus”, in collaboration with the BTS Center, examining ways that faith communities can respond well in this COVID-19 moment.  [...]

Join us for a conversation with Rabbi Eli Freedman of Congregation Rodeph Shalom about life cycle events during COVID-19. Hear him share about his experience hosting a backyard wedding, the constraint and creativity of funerals, weddings, and other life events during a time of social distancing, and what faith leaders should be aware of when [...]

Join us for a conversation with Beth Estock about fearlessly loving leadership during COVID-19. She talks about her personal experience with having COVID-19, how individuals and faith communities need to embrace grounding practices as this moves from a short-term crisis to a longer term reality, and the beautiful opportunities this can open up for faith [...]

Join us for a conversation with Dr. Alex Gee of Fountain of Life Covenant Church, the Black Like Me podcast, and the Justified Anger Coaltion as talks about the black church and COVID-19, how the most stressed churches are being asked to do the most right now, and what white allies can do to help. [...]

Join us for a conversation with Dan Wolpert of the Minnesota Institute for Contemplation And Healing talk about how to stay spiritually grounded. Hear him share about how leaders can stay spiritually grounded, how they can offer the same for their congregations, and experience an imaginative contemplative exercise that you can use in your context. [...]

Join us for a conversation with Wendy Hudson of Two Rivers Church about the 101’s of Digital Community.  Hear her share the basics for shifting worship online, how to digitize the rest of your congregation’s life, including offering care to members, while still being engaged in advocacy and care for your wider community. This week, [...]

This week, in collaboration with the BTS Center, Reports will be releasing a special series on creative, compassionate responses to the Coronavirus for faith leaders and faith communities. Hear a series of short, 20 minute conversations about the 101’s of moving your community to a digital space, how to stay spiritually grounded, how to best [...]

Join us for a conversation with poet Ciona Rouse about her journey from cradle United Methodist and pastor’s kid out of Christianity. Episode Highlights Include:  Ciona’s upbringing as a pastor’s kid and her experience as a denominational employee Her vocation as a writer and “God as author” “It struck me that I had spent my [...]

Join us for a conversation with Ophelia Hu-Kinney, of Queering the Kindom and the Reconciling Ministries Network, about her journey into Christianity in early adulthood and her continual process of reconversion. Episode Highlights Include:  “I referred to myself as an atheist who wanted to be proven wrong.” Her conversion experience in an evangelical Christian college [...]

Join us for a conversation with Elaine Heath of the Missional Wisdom Foundation and the Community At Spring Forest, about her journey into United Methodism and a contemplative path for institutional renewal. Episode Highlights Include:  How her childhood was a cross between Hillbilly Elegy and Glass Castle “I don’t know about that, but I know [...]

Join us for a conversation with Wayne Jacobsen, as he shares his journey out of congregational Christianity into a different way of being church. Episode Highlights Include:  “You may have left the congregation, but how did you leave the church?” The importance of relational structures over institutional structures “Who does God want to be in [...]

Check out the trailer for our opening series on 2020, “Why I Stayed/Why I Left”, examining all the different choices people are making about their spiritual commitments in our new religious reality, with guests Wayne Jacobsen, Elaine Heath, Ophelia Hu-Kinney, and Ciona Rouse. We’ll be releasing all our conversations on Wednesday, March 11th, and stay [...]

Join us for our holiday-delayed end-of-the-year conversation, where Beth Estock interviews Ben Yosua-Davis (the host!) about his experience hosting Reports From the Spiritual Frontier in 2019, his plans for 2020, and what it’s like to live on an island. Episode Highlights Include: The Joys of Backbreaking Manual Labor What Islands Teach Us About God Why [...]

Join us for a conversation with Rabbi Mike Moskowitz of Congregation Beith Simchat Torah as he shares his experience as an ultra-Orthodox rabbi advocating for transgender inclusion. Episode Highlights Include: (Or better yet, just look at Steve Silbert’s amazing sketchnote!) Why Mike is a self-identified religious fundamentalist and religiously non-cforming Why G-D is an all [...]

Join us for a guest episode from one of our favorite podcasts, Neighbor Next Door, as hosts Adam Barlow-Thompson and Matthew Johnson of the Neighboring Movement interview Mike Mather of Broadway United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. You’ll also hear about our campaign to fund a fifth season of Reports. Short version is that we’ve [...]

Join us for a conversation with Sarah Heath of Costa Mesa United Methodist Church. Episode Highlights Include: What it means to say “This is who I am.” Rob Bell and Fifty People In A Room Being a pastor without being a type Making space to be yourself and for your community to be itself Creating [...]

Join us for a conversation with Dr. Alex Gee, of the Justified Anger Coalition in Madison, WI; and the Black Like Me podcast.  Episode Highlights Include: Why we can’t know American Christianity apart from the impact of slavery Woke white supremacy Why white Christians need to stop rescuing and start listening Why the sky isn’t [...]

Join us for a conversation with Dani Watkins, Director of Programming for Citylink Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Episode Highlights Include: Ubuntu and the Wisdom of the Poor What it means when clients say, “I can’t ask for help because it hurts too much” Why the founding churches chose collaboration over building their own programs The [...]

Join us for a conversation with Jojo Legister, Executive Director of Fearless Dialogues.  Episode Highlights Include: How peace and reconciliation were woven into JoJo’s family What it means to “tend the space between us” The false starts and valuable learning from the early years of Fearless Dialogues Ways to design spaces for true encounter around [...]