Saving Faith with Eric Sentell of the Backyard Church Blog

Saving Faith Finale

Saving Faith thanks all the listeners and guests since it launched (under the name Metamorphosis) in March 2020. While future episodes are unlikely, existing episodes will continue to be available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms. Thank you, and God bless. Saving Faith creates space for Christians: * to deconstruct harmful beliefs and attitudes; * to reconstruct a faith that works; and * to explore how they can follow Jesus in today’s world.  Host Eric Sentell interviews guests, offers Christian commentary on events, talks theology, and riffs on following Jesus day-to-day. He is a regular contributor to the popular Medium blog, "⁠The Backyard Church⁠ [https://medium.com/backyard-theology]," and a moderator for the ⁠blog's online community⁠ [https://the-backyard-church.mn.co/feed]. Contact Eric at jamesericsentell@gmail.com. Learn more about Eric’s church, Trinity UMC in Piedmont, MO, at⁠ www.umctrinity.org⁠ [http://www.umctrinity.org/] Podcast Author: Eric Sentell and Trinity United Methodist Church, Piedmont, MO

A Gay Methodist Pastor Tells His Story - An Interview with Rev. Keith Turner

What's it like to fear losing your job -- nay, your calling -- because of your sexual orientation? Reverend Keith Turner [https://bethelindy.com/about/]answers that question, and more, in this episode. Read Keith's powerful essay, "My Church Finally Caught Up to Me: A Gay United Methodist Pastor Tells (Most of) His Story [https://medium.com/@keith.turner_83061/my-church-finally-caught-up-with-me-a-gay-united-methodist-pastor-tells-part-of-his-story-b1c889024fa0]." Then read Keith's insightful response to "sincerely-helf beliefs," "Critique of Sincere Belief. [https://medium.com/@keith.turner_83061/critique-of-sincere-belief-b75f9d5db65a]" Saving Faith creates space for Christians: * to deconstruct harmful beliefs and attitudes; * to reconstruct a faith that works; and * to explore how they can follow Jesus in today’s world.  Host Eric Sentell interviews guests, offers Christian commentary on events, talks theology, and riffs on following Jesus day-to-day. He is a regular contributor to the popular Medium blog, "⁠The Backyard Church⁠ [https://medium.com/backyard-theology]," and a moderator for the ⁠blog's online community⁠ [https://the-backyard-church.mn.co/feed]. Contact Eric at jamesericsentell@gmail.com. Learn more about Eric’s church, Trinity UMC in Piedmont, MO, at⁠ www.umctrinity.org⁠ [http://www.umctrinity.org/] Podcast Author: Eric Sentell and Trinity United Methodist Church, Piedmont, MO

Tom Oord for Real! - An Interview with Dr. Thomas Jay Oord

Last episode, Eric tried to recreate Tom Oord's answers. This episode, listeners get the real deal! Tom graciously agreed to come back for another conversation. We talk about "God After Deconstruction [https://www.amazon.com/God-After-Deconstruction-Thomas-Oord/dp/195867026X]," "Why the Church of the Nazarene Should Be Fully LGBTQ+ Affirming [https://www.amazon.com/Church-Nazarene-Should-Fully-Affirming/dp/1948609940]," and Tom's other faith-transforming, life-changing ideas. Check out ThomasJayOord.com [https://thomasjayoord.com/]. Saving Faith creates space for Christians: * to deconstruct harmful beliefs and attitudes; * to reconstruct a faith that works; and * to explore how they can follow Jesus in today’s world.  Host Eric Sentell interviews guests, offers Christian commentary on events, talks theology, and riffs on following Jesus day-to-day. He is a regular contributor to the popular Medium blog, "⁠The Backyard Church⁠ [https://medium.com/backyard-theology]," and a moderator for the ⁠blog's online community⁠ [https://the-backyard-church.mn.co/feed]. Contact Eric at jamesericsentell@gmail.com. Learn more about Eric’s church, Trinity UMC in Piedmont, MO, at⁠ www.umctrinity.org⁠ [http://www.umctrinity.org/] Podcast Author: Eric Sentell and Trinity United Methodist Church, Piedmont, MO

"God Can't" and other life-changing ideas with Dr. Thomas Jay Oord

Dr. Thomas Jay Oord's latest book, "God After Deconstruction," helps religious "nones" reconnect with God. Learn more about Dr. Oord's work at ThomasJayOord.com [www.thomasjayoord.com]. Saving Faith creates space for Christians: * to deconstruct harmful beliefs and attitudes; * to reconstruct a faith that works; and * to explore how they can follow Jesus in today’s world.  Host Eric Sentell interviews guests, offers Christian commentary on events, talks theology, and riffs on following Jesus day-to-day. He is a regular contributor to the popular Medium blog, "⁠The Backyard Church⁠ [https://medium.com/backyard-theology]," and a moderator for the ⁠blog's online community⁠ [https://the-backyard-church.mn.co/feed]. Contact Eric at jamesericsentell@gmail.com. Learn more about Eric’s church, Trinity UMC in Piedmont, MO, at⁠ www.umctrinity.org⁠ [http://www.umctrinity.org/] Podcast Author: Eric Sentell and Trinity United Methodist Church, Piedmont, MO

A Gay Ex-Pastor Asked People Why They Left Christianity - Here's What They Said

Why are people leaving Christianity? Why not ask some of those people. Brandon Flanery, author of the spiritual memoir "Stumbling," surveyed his social media following and analyzed the responses to find out why people are leaving Christianity. The results are both unsurprising and surprising. Learn more about Brandon and his writing at BrandonFlanery.com [https://brandonflanery.com/]. Saving Faith creates space for Christians: * to deconstruct harmful beliefs and attitudes; * to reconstruct a faith that works; and * to explore how they can follow Jesus in today’s world.  Host Eric Sentell interviews guests, offers Christian commentary on events, talks theology, and riffs on following Jesus day-to-day. He is a regular contributor to the popular Medium blog, "⁠The Backyard Church⁠ [https://medium.com/backyard-theology]," and a moderator for the ⁠blog's online community⁠ [https://the-backyard-church.mn.co/feed]. Contact Eric at jamesericsentell@gmail.com. Learn more about Eric’s church, Trinity UMC in Piedmont, MO, at⁠ www.umctrinity.org⁠ [http://www.umctrinity.org/] Podcast Author: Eric Sentell and Trinity United Methodist Church, Piedmont, MO