That Makes Total Sense! | Special Release

Episode 8 – Migration Part 2 with Matthew Soerens

SPECIAL OFFER | As a listener of the show, you can get 25% off the entire Made for PAX Bible Study Series [https://www.ivpress.com/made-for-pax-bible-study-series?utm_medium=ivp_evn&utm_source=IVPOD25] by using the code IVPOD25 at checkout at ivpress.com. We hope you enjoy this episode! Summary When I think of individuals and organizations who have their work cut out for them, always, but especially with our current times, I think of Matthew Soerens and World Relief. For those who may not be familiar, World Relief [https://worldrelief.org/] is a Christian humanitarian organization who serves people who are in crisis all over the world, especially those who have been displaced from their homes. As you can imagine, for their team in the U.S., that means lots of work with folks who immigrate here, whether as refugees or asylum seekers—people with complicated circumstances who are in vulnerable situations.  As the close to our IVP / Made for Pax Series, I am beyond grateful to have Matthew back on the podcast to talk about migration and how Christians can respond to the topic, and our neighbors, more generally, and how our current political situation is affecting the lives of people here and abroad. Matthew shares insight and wisdom from decades of work in this space and I am thrilled he was able to take time out from that work to join me here. I can’t wait for you to listen and share! Mentioned in this episode Migration: Experiencing God’s Care for Immigrants - A 6-Week Interactive Bible Study [https://www.ivpress.com/migration] by Alexis Busetti and Dorcas Cheng-Tozun Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion, and Truth in the Immigration Debate [https://www.ivpress.com/welcoming-the-stranger] by Matthew Soerens, Jenny Yang and Leith Anderson World Relief [https://worldrelief.org/] Ep. 115 with Karen González [https://thatmakestotalsense.com/podcast/episode-115-karen-gonzalez/] Ep. 162 with Karen González [https://thatmakestotalsense.com/podcast/episode-162-karen-gonzalez/] Links This is a special, one-season release of That Makes Total Sense! from IVP author, Alexis Busetti. To continue listening to the podcast after episode 8, follow the show on Alexis’s channels: * Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/that-makes-total-sense/id1478826581] * Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/5lg2LM4FSF2mnSwLChk99h?si=412ebf5637df445d] * Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/affa27d9-d781-49a7-ac3f-db2e035e3a83/that-makes-total-sense]   Disclaimer: The comments, views, and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and/or the guests featured on the podcast and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of InterVarsity Press or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. As an Amazon Affiliate, this channel earns commissions from qualifying purchases when you use the links above.

Episode 7 – Accessible Spiritual Practices with Jenai Auman

SPECIAL OFFER | As a listener of the show, you can get 25% off the entire Made for PAX Bible Study Series [https://www.ivpress.com/made-for-pax-bible-study-series?utm_medium=ivp_evn&utm_source=IVPOD25] by using the code IVPOD25 at checkout at ivpress.com. We hope you enjoy this episode! Summary Chats with Jenai always result in wisdom for me, so I am grateful for our conversations! (This one is no exception!) Jenai is the author of an amazing book called Othered: Finding Belonging with the God Who Pursues the Hurt, Harmed, and Marginalized [https://bakerpublishinggroup.com/products/9781540903914_othered] and is a cohort leader at Made for Pax. (Our first convo [https://thatmakestotalsense.com/podcast/episode-253-jenai-auman/] for the podcast was incredible!) She is one of the endorsers of this series by IVP and Made for Pax, and I am thrilled to have her voice here. In this episode, we talk about contemplative spirituality, spiritual direction, and exploring spiritual spaces that might have once been foreign to us. She also gives her favorite entry point into the spiritual disciplines. In other words, she encourages us that the spiritual practices from the patristics are not reserved for any one group in particular, they are accessible for all (and these studies help pave the way!). I’m excited for you to listen! Mentioned in this episode Made for Pax Bible Study Series [https://www.ivpress.com/made-for-pax-bible-study-series?srsltid=AfmBOorzAKFA02ZUASdneYFduwobbUJJ51qb8E_NqHtUjk6lAYJHC9Le] by IVP Made for Pax [https://www.madeforpax.org/] Ep. 315 [https://thatmakestotalsense.com/podcast/ep-315-ivp-made-for-pax-series-tiffany-bluhm/] with Tiffany Bluhm The Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy and "Women's Work" [https://www.paulistpress.com/Products/3-061-0/the-quotidian-mysteries.aspx?srsltid=AfmBOorW9HhrId89asMqE17tvx8I9LXmJzjB9zowKwIKE0-wPYnKGR9s] by Kathleen Norris A Fire in the Bones: Reflections on African-American Religious History [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/204059/a-fire-in-the-bones-by-albert-j-raboteau/] by Albert J. Raboteau Links This is a special, one-season release of That Makes Total Sense! from IVP author, Alexis Busetti. To continue listening to the podcast after episode 8, follow the show on Alexis’s channels: * Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/that-makes-total-sense/id1478826581] * Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/5lg2LM4FSF2mnSwLChk99h?si=412ebf5637df445d] * Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/affa27d9-d781-49a7-ac3f-db2e035e3a83/that-makes-total-sense]   Disclaimer: The comments, views, and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and/or the guests featured on the podcast and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of InterVarsity Press or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. As an Amazon Affiliate, this channel earns commissions from qualifying purchases when you use the links above.

Episode 6 - Mental Health Part 2 with Bianca Hughes

SPECIAL OFFER | As a listener of the show, you can get 25% off the entire Made for PAX Bible Study Series [https://www.ivpress.com/made-for-pax-bible-study-series?utm_medium=ivp_evn&utm_source=IVPOD25] by using the code IVPOD25 at checkout at ivpress.com. We hope you enjoy this episode!   Summary For many Christians who have struggled with mental health challenges, either personally or accompanying loved ones, the church has often been a place of conflicting messages. Do we just need Jesus or can therapy help? Are we allowed to talk to God in that way or about those things? Am I weak or sinful? Questions like these and others have surrounded mental health care, but the good news is, it’s getting better! And one of the main reasons is because therapists and other Christian mental health professionals, like my guest for this episode in the series Bianca Hughes, who are helping fight the stigma and shame associated with seeking help and are opening the doors for honest conversations leading to healing. I was so encouraged by this conversation as we explored faith and mental health and I hope you are too! Be sure to check out Bianca’s panel conversation below, as a featured additional resource for the Mental Health [https://www.ivpress.com/mental-health?utm_medium=ivp_evn&utm_source=IVPOD25] bible study. Mentioned in this episode: Mental Health: Experiencing God’s Care for Our Mind, Body, and Spirit - A 6-Week Interactive Bible Study [https://www.ivpress.com/mental-health?utm_medium=ivp_evn&utm_source=IVPOD25] by Dorcas Cheng-Tozun Authentically Be You Counseling and Wellness Studio [https://www.authenticallybeyou.com/] “What’s the Difference between Therapists, Spiritual Directors, and Pastors?: A Video Panel with Mental Health Helpers” [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG64nug-Wvs] Links This is a special, one-season release of That Makes Total Sense! from IVP author, Alexis Busetti. To continue listening to the podcast after episode 8, follow the show on Alexis’s channels: * Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/that-makes-total-sense/id1478826581] * Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/5lg2LM4FSF2mnSwLChk99h?si=412ebf5637df445d] * Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/affa27d9-d781-49a7-ac3f-db2e035e3a83/that-makes-total-sense]   Disclaimer: The comments, views, and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and/or the guests featured on the podcast and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of InterVarsity Press or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. As an Amazon Affiliate, this channel earns commissions from qualifying purchases when you use the links above.

Episode 5 - Liberation with Kristel Acevedo

SPECIAL OFFER | As a listener of the show, you can get 25% off the entire Made for PAX Bible Study Series [https://www.ivpress.com/made-for-pax-bible-study-series?utm_medium=ivp_evn&utm_source=IVPOD25] by using the code IVPOD25 at checkout at ivpress.com. We hope you enjoy this episode!   Summary Oh my goodness! I had a great time talking with Kristel Acevedo! We continue our series on conversations centered around the Made for Pax / InterVarsity Press bible studies [https://www.ivpress.com/made-for-pax-bible-study-series?utm_medium=ivp_evn&utm_source=IVPOD25] with this one on Kristel’s contribution Liberated at the Cross: Peace and Reconciliation in God’s Kingdom [https://www.ivpress.com/liberated-at-the-cross?utm_medium=ivp_evn&utm_source=IVPOD25], available in English and Spanish. We talked about cruciformity, peace, the upside down kingdom of God, and of course, liberation. Kristel shares about her own journey and in that, she invites us all to place these concepts in our own contexts, and in our own lives and communities. I know you’re gonna love this one! Mentioned in this episode: Liberated at the Cross: Peace and Reconciliation in God’s Kingdom -- A 6-Week Interactive Bible Study with Video Access [https://www.ivpress.com/liberated-at-the-cross?utm_medium=ivp_evn&utm_source=IVPOD25] by Kristel Acevedo Liberados en la cruz: Paz y reconciliación en el reino de Dios—Un estudio bíblico interactivo de 6 semanas con acceso a video [https://www.ivpress.com/liberados-en-la-cruz?utm_medium=ivp_evn&utm_source=IVPOD25] by Kristel Acevedo Cruciformity: Paul’s Narrative Spirituality of the Cross, 20th Anniversary Edition [https://www.eerdmans.com/9780802879127/cruciformity/] by Michael J. Gorman Transformation Church [https://transformationchurch.tc/] Links This is a special, one-season release of That Makes Total Sense! from IVP author, Alexis Busetti. To continue listening to the podcast after episode 8, follow the show on Alexis’s channels: * Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/that-makes-total-sense/id1478826581] * Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/5lg2LM4FSF2mnSwLChk99h?si=412ebf5637df445d] * Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/affa27d9-d781-49a7-ac3f-db2e035e3a83/that-makes-total-sense]   Disclaimer: The comments, views, and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and/or the guests featured on the podcast and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of InterVarsity Press or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. As an Amazon Affiliate, this channel earns commissions from qualifying purchases when you use the links above.

Episode 4 - Peace with Drew Jackson

SPECIAL OFFER | As a listener of the show, you can get 25% off the entire Made for PAX Bible Study Series [https://www.ivpress.com/made-for-pax-bible-study-series?utm_medium=ivp_evn&utm_source=IVPOD25] by using the code IVPOD25 at checkout at ivpress.com. We hope you enjoy this episode!   Summary Any time I get to talk with Drew Jackson, it is a complete joy for me! And, as you may have guessed from that opening statement, Drew is no stranger to the podcast (I highly encourage you to catch our other conversations about his books of poetry on the coming of Christ [https://thatmakestotalsense.com/podcast/episode-110-drew-jackson/] and the Gospel of Luke [https://thatmakestotalsense.com/podcast/episode-184-drew-jackson/]). This time, he’s here talking about his study in the Made for Pax series, Let Peace Reign: Love, Justice, and Dignity in God’s Kingdom--A 6-Week Interactive Bible Study with Video Access [https://www.ivpress.com/let-peace-reign?utm_medium=ivp_evn&utm_source=IVPOD25] by Drew Edward Jackson, and it is a good one! There are lots of conversations about peace and unity right now in our Christian communities, but what does that really mean? What does peace look like when there seems to be so much strife and injustice all around us? How can we follow the example of Jesus, especially as he announces his ministry in Luke, in our current contexts today? This conversation and study are incredible places to start diving deeply into those questions and more. Mentioned in this episode: Let Peace Reign: Love, Justice, and Dignity in God’s Kingdom--A 6-Week Interactive Bible Study with Video Access [https://www.ivpress.com/let-peace-reign?utm_medium=ivp_evn&utm_source=IVPOD25] by Drew Edward Jackson Letter from Birmingham Jail [https://www.csuchico.edu/iege/_assets/documents/susi-letter-from-birmingham-jail.pdf] by Martin Luther King, Jr. Links This is a special, one-season release of That Makes Total Sense! from IVP author, Alexis Busetti. To continue listening to the podcast after episode 8, follow the show on Alexis’s channels: * Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/that-makes-total-sense/id1478826581] * Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/5lg2LM4FSF2mnSwLChk99h?si=412ebf5637df445d] * Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/affa27d9-d781-49a7-ac3f-db2e035e3a83/that-makes-total-sense]   Disclaimer: The comments, views, and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and/or the guests featured on the podcast and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of InterVarsity Press or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. As an Amazon Affiliate, this channel earns commissions from qualifying purchases when you use the links above.