In this episode, Fred interviews Carl R. Boyd - Veteran Educator, Author, Musician and Civil Rights Activist.

In this episode, Fred interviews Doug Weaver - Artist and Social Media Personality with over 1 Million Subscribers across multiple platforms.

Learn more at:

https://www.tiktok.com/@dougweaverart

https://dougweaverart.org/

https://www.instagram.com/dougweaverart/?hl=en

https://www.facebook.com/dougweaverart1/

About Doug:

Hi! My name is Doug Weaver. I was born in Oregon, moved to Missouri for college and graduate school, and then moved to Rwanda to teach art, music and drama in the Peace Corps, and now I live in St. Louis, MO. I live in the city with my wife, son, dog and two snakes. I have my BFA from Columbia College, and my MFA from Fontbonne University. I primarily make oil paintings, but I also enjoy egg tempera, encaustic, metal leafing, book making, metalsmithing, and printmaking.

In this episode, Fred interviews Steve Watson - Author of: All Flesh Shalom: Larger, Freer, More Loving Readings of the Good News of Jesus.

Learn more at:

https://allfleshshalom.substack.com/

https://www.reservoirchurch.org/staff/steve-watson-3/

https://a.co/d/05bZdYNx

About Steve:

Steve Watson has been the senior pastor of Reservoir Church since July, 2013. Prior to that, he served as the principal of Watertown High School and as a middle- and high-school English teacher in the Boston Public Schools. Steve is also active as a leader in interfaith community organizing for public justice and on the integration of healthy faith and mental health. He serves on the Board of the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, is a regional area developer with the Post-Evangelical Collective, and is a past board member of Samaritans. Steve has a B.A. in music from Brandeis University, a Masters in Education from UMASS-Boston, and a Doctorate in Theology and Ministry, through the Center for Open and Relational Theology at Northwind Seminary.

Born and raised in eastern Massachusetts, Steve has traveled extensively but has never left behind his great affection for the Charles River, the Red Sox, and (almost) all things New England. Steve and his wife Grace, a government policy analyst, became members of Reservoir Church in 2006. They love this community’s accessibility, authenticity, and vibrant connection with a living God. Beyond Reservoir and his family, Steve also loves hiking and walking in the woods, reading fiction and theology, and singing with his Renaissance choir, Convivium Musicum.

In this episode, Fred interviews Gayle Hansen Browne - Author of Wild Geese Rising: Living Prayer as Moment-by-Moment Contemplative Action.

Gayle Hansen Browne, ThD, is an author, spiritual director, mindfulness guide, retreat leader, theologian, and Episcopal priest.

Learn more at:

https://substack.com/@gaylehansenbrowne

About Wild Geese Rising:

In Wild Geese Rising, prayer arises as a way of beholding and befriending life. This book transforms the practice of “saying our prayers” into an instinctive way of living prayer as moment-by-moment contemplative action. Gayle Hansen Browne tells the story of what prayer can be with keen attention to translating complex theological thinking and spiritual insights into everyday language. The book first tells the story of what happened to prayer during shifts from ancient Jewish and early Christian theological and spiritual traditions to the Western Christian perceptions we assume regarding prayer today. Browne then explores contemporary insights that emerge from open and relational theology, as well as evolutionary and ecological spirituality. The result is practical wisdom and inspiration for anyone who seeks to engage with the Divine as they behold and befriend life through moment-by-moment contemplative action. For anyone who ever wonders how prayer can make a difference in the world today, this book is for you.

In this episode, Fred welcomes back Calvin Arsenia - Author, Artist, Musician, Curator & Director of Kansas City's Greenwood Social Hall.

Learn more at:

https://calvinarsenia.com/

https://greenwoodsocialhall.com/

About Calvin:

Gaining widespread recognition for his soulful vocals and virtuosic classical-harp playing, Calvin Arsenia is a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist hailing from Kansas City, Missouri. In addition to his solo work, Arsenia has collaborated with a variety of artists across different media, including film and television, and has performed at numerous festivals and venues around the world. He is known for his heartfelt and introspective lyrics that often touch on themes of love, loss, and personal growth. Arsenia's music has been described as a blend of folk, pop, and R&B, and he continues to use his gift of music to draw bridges between communities separated by race, class, gender, sex, and/or religious beliefs.

Since 2023, Arsenia has been the director of an intimate concert venue and community space in the heart of Kansas City, Missouri, called Greenwood Social Hall - the location he filmed his award-winning music video featuring his cover of Britney Spears's Toxic.

Alongside his best friend and co-host New York based comedian Justin Randall, Arsenia explores the ups and downs of being a queer person raised in the Evangelical Church in the 2020-2021 podcast We Were Christian Kids.

In 2021, Arsenia released a book of poems and short stories called Every Good Boy Does Fine; Both a journey of individual healing and a call for action, these poems show that, with a little love and acceptance, anyone can flourish.

In this episode, Fred interviews Jonathan Bentley - author of - Shadowing St. Francis: A Pilgrimage of Sacred Emergence in the Age of A.I.

https://mitpressbookstore.mit.edu/book/9781968136376

What if orthodoxy is dead and AI knows why?

A barefoot monk, a broken church, and an open future. A retired tech entrepreneur. Fifty years as a committed evangelical. A decade of faith deconstruction he couldn't outrun. And a 120-mile pilgrimage through Italy that changed everything.

Shadowing St. Francis follows Jonathan Bentley from Florence to Assisi to Rome, walking the ancient path of a man who stripped naked in the town square, handed his clothes to his father, and walked into the woods to find God. Eight hundred years later, Francis of Assisi still has something to say-to those exhausted by certainty, wounded by the church, and wondering what faith looks like in a world of algorithms and anxiety.

In this episode, Fred interviews theologian, philosopher and scholar - Dr. Thomas Jay Oord - author of A Systematic Theology of Love.

Learn more at:

https://thomasjayoord.com/

About Dr. Oord:

Thomas Jay Oord is a theologian, philosopher, and scholar of multi-disciplinary studies. Oord is a best-selling and award-winning author, having written or edited more than forty books. Academic Influence ranks him among the most influential theologians in the 21st century. Oord directs doctoral programs at Northwind Theological Seminary and directs the Center for Open and Relational Theology. He is known for his research and writing on love, open and relational theology, science and religion, evil and power, and the implications of freedom and relationships for transformation.

In this episode, Fred interviews William Paul Young - Author of The Shack.

Learn more at:

https://wmpaulyoung.com/

About Paul:

The data of history might help you understand where a person has been, but often hide who they actually are. The Shack and Cross Roads will tell you much more about me than a few facts ever could, but a writer is always more, intentionally illusive behind the curtain of words. For me as a human being, everything is about Jesus and Father and Holy Spirit, about relationships, and to live is to participate in an adventure of faith which can only be experienced inside one day’s worth of grace at a time. Aspirations of success, visions of significance and dreams of grandeur all died a long time ago and I have absolutely no interest in resurrecting them. I have finally figured out that I have nothing to lose by living a life of faith and trust. I know more joy every minute of every day than seems appropriate, but I love the wastefulness of my Papa’s grace and presence.