The Way We Practice

Ched Myers: Luke and Sabbath Economics

My guest today is Ched Myers. A fifth generation Californian living in the Ventura Watershed, Ched is an activist theologian who has worked in the social change and radical discipleship movements for more than 45 years. His groundbreaking book on the Gospel of Mark, Binding the Strong Man [https://bookshop.org/a/99933/9781570757976], is a modern classic of New Testament scholarship and the organization he co-founded, Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries [https://bartimaeuscooperativeministries.cloversites.com/home], has continued to animate radical discipleship in a variety of contexts. Ched is the author and editor of many books including Who Will Roll Away the Stone [https://bookshop.org/a/99933/9780883449479]?, Watershed Discipleship, and with his partner, Elaine Enns, Healing Haunted Histories [https://bookshop.org/a/99933/9781725255357]. In all of them he has continued to mix deep reading of scripture with a call for equality. This is true once again in his latest book, Healing Affluenza and Resisting Plutocracy: Luke’s Jesus and Sabbath Economics [https://bookshop.org/a/99933/9798889834366]which was just released from Fortress Press. I am glad to consider Ched a friend, so it was good to talk with him about his new book, and hear his challenging message of discipleship in this time This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thewaywepractice.substack.com/subscribe [https://thewaywepractice.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

The Practice of Reading Hard Things

Reading is a practice, one that is increasingly threatened in a world of reels, and AI summaries. To help recover the difficult and joyous work of deep reading, I talked with my friend, Jason Baxter. Jason is the Director for the Center for Beauty and Culture [https://www.benedictine.edu/academics/centers/beauty-culture] at Benedictine College, and the author of several books including The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis [https://bookshop.org/a/99933/9781514001646] and a new translation of Dante’s [https://angelicopress.com/products/the-divine-comedy-inferno]Inferno [https://angelicopress.com/products/the-divine-comedy-inferno]. Jason is a scholar who engages not only the mind but also the heart. That comes out clearly in his latest book, Why Literature Still Matters [https://cassiodoruspress.com/product/why-literature-still-matters-2nd-edition/], which has been described as The Abolition of Man for our times, refering to C.S. Lewis’s classic defence of the humanities. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Jason about reading, doing hard things, and learning to inhabit the language of other times. You can find out more about Jason’s work at his website, jasonmbaxter.com [https://www.jasonmbaxter.com/], and at his Substack newsletter, Beauty Matters [https://open.substack.com/pub/jasonmbaxter]. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thewaywepractice.substack.com/subscribe [https://thewaywepractice.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Transformational Faith with Jonathan R. Bailey

My guest today is Jonathan Bailey. Jonathan, as you’ll find out, is a careful and wise guide to the practice of the spiritual disciplines. He writes about those disciplines at The Inward Odyssey [https://www.jonathanrbailey.com/], his newsletter on Substack, where he draws on the wisdom of the past as a guide to the journeys of the present. Jonathan also serves on the board of Renovare [https://renovare.org/], where he teaches at Renovare’s Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation [https://renovare.org/institute/overview]. On top of all of that, Jonathan co-founded Dwell [https://dwellapp.io/], an app that serves as a tool for listening to scripture. In our conversation, Jonathan shares his own journey from a transactional faith to a transformational one. Rooted in his own experience, Bailey offers practical insights into living out the spiritual life through a Rule of Life, the Disciplines of the Mount, and the Three Fold Way. Not a subscriber? Sign-up for interviews, reflections, and resources for the Way. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thewaywepractice.substack.com/subscribe [https://thewaywepractice.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Recovering Personhood with Andy Crouch

In my continuing explorations of the book of Romans, I couldn’t help thinking about Andy Crouch’s important book, The Life We’re Looking For: Reclaiming Relationship in a Technological World [https://andy-crouch.com/#section-top]. It is a wise and insightful exploration of our device driven culture, but I was surprised in reading it, to find a thread on Romans and Paul’s revolutionary insights into personhood. It shouldn’t have been a surprise, because as you’ll hear in my interview, Crouch is a writer who is able to bring scripture and theology to bare on the practical concerns of every day life. Andy’s bio is too long and accomplished to simply read of as a list, so I’ll point you to his website, andy-crouch.com [https://andy-crouch.com/]. I hope enjoy this conversation on Romans, personhood, and the way Empire and its technologies transform our relationships. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thewaywepractice.substack.com/subscribe [https://thewaywepractice.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

When the Margins Become the Center

This is my fourth and final conversation on the Gospel of Mark with the Rev. Dr. Joshua Daniel. In this episode we dig into everything from blaspheming the Holy Spirit to the new family Jesus is making. To read along, look at Mark, chapter 3 [https://bible.oremus.org/?ql=578577346]. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thewaywepractice.substack.com/subscribe [https://thewaywepractice.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]