Failing Boldly

I first recorded a podcast with mathematician & musician Eugenia Cheng in 2018 after reading her book "How to Bake Pi." I loved our conversation and so was delighted when she reached out to me last fall about possibly recording another podcast, this time on a different topic. Eugenia had recently made the decision to discontinue trying to conceive a child after several painful attempts and miscarriages. In her looking for attempt to look for resources to help her through this experience, she was frustrated that this issue wasn't talked about more and felt led to share openly about her own experience. I'm grateful for Eugenia's openness, vulnerability honesty in talking about this difficult subject. To learn more about Eugenia, you can go to her website.

My guest this episode is Benjamin Saulsberry, the Public Engagement and Museum Education Director of the Emmett Till Interpretive Center in Sumner, Mississippi. The story of Emmett Till's lynching and murder has long had a haunting effect on me, partially because I Iive about a mile north of the church where his funeral was held in 1955 and I went on a personal pilgrimage a few years ago where I walked 13 miles from that church to his grave site in suburban Chicago. A story about Till's death was published in The Atlantic last summer and it was there I learned about the Till Center. Benjamin was kind enough to speak with me about the center and its goals for racial reconciliation and justice. ABC is running a mini-series this week called “Women of the Movement” that is based on Till and his mother Mamie Till-Mobley and I thought it was a good time to air this podcast now.

One of the benefits of doing a podcast is it gives me the opportunity to reach out to people whose work I've long admired and see if there's any chance they'd like to talk to me. It's always a joyful surprise when many of them say yes. That was the case when I heard from Kathleen Norris and when she agreed to this conversation. I was greatly formed in my early days of ministry by her books, “The Cloister Walk” and “Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith,” and she's written numerous other poems and books, as well, including “Acedia & Me: A Marriage, Monks, and A Writer's Life,” which we talk about in this episode. Kathleen recently wrote an article in The Christian Century entitled "We have to be willing to begin again: This is true of failures in writing, in faith, in life itself.” She writes about failure in this article and that, of course, inspired me to reach out. You can learn more about Kathleen on her Facebook page and subscribe to her e-newsletter at Soul Telegram. To learn more about my ministry and back episodes of this podcast, you can go to my web site. Thanks again for listening.

My guest this week is Tyler Sit, the founding pastor of New City Church in Minneapolis, a community that describes itself as focuses on environmental justice and radical inclusion as a queer and people of color affirming place of worship. Tyler recently wrote a book called “Staying Awake: The Gospel for Changemakers” which gives an overview of some of the core spiritual practices at New City. It can be a bit of a challenge to find communities that fully embrace practices like centering marginalized voices and prayer and worship and church planting, but this book does so in ways that are engaging for both newcomers to Christianity and those who have been Christians their whole lives. This was a rich conversation and Tyler's ministry gives me hope for what the church can be. You can learn more about Tyler at his web site and also on Instagram @tylersit and on Facebook.  

My guest for this episode is Dr. Wil Gafney. Dr. Gafney is Professor of Hebrew Bible at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas. She is the author of several books including Womanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to Women of the Torah and of the Throne. She is also an Episcopal priest. We talked about a lot about biblical interpretation, including womanist biblical interpretation. For those who aren’t familiar with the word womanist, it was coined by the author Alice Walker and briefly means a black feminist or feminist of color but you can read her full definition here. This video about womanism is also helpful. This was a rich conversation and if you’ve ever felt like you’ve “failed” at reading the Bible, I hope you find it helpful. You can learn more about Dr Gafney at her web site and also on social media where she is active on Twitter @wilgafney. To learn more about my ministry and listen back episodes of this podcast, you can go to my web site.  

Jan Richardson is an artist, writer, and United Methodist pastor and has traveled widely as a retreat leader and conference speaker. Jan has written many books, including her most recent one, Sparrow: A Book of Life and Death and Life in which she shares in vulnerable and beautiful ways about the ache of grief and loss after the sudden death of her husband in 2013. We reflect on the nature of grief, how many people feel like they get grief “wrong” and also how failure is integrated into the creative process. You can learn more about Jan at her web site and also on social media where she is on Instagram and on Facebook. 

My guest for this podcast is Eboo Patel. Eboo is the founder of IFYC, Interfaith Youth Core, and is now a national figure in developing interfaith conversations and relationships. Named by U.S. News & World Report as one of America’s Best Leaders of 2009, Eboo served on President Obama’s Inaugural Faith Council and is the author of several books, including "Acts of Faith: The Story of An American Muslim, in the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation" and "Out of Many Faiths: Religious Diversity and the American Promise." We talked about the state of interfaith relations in today’s society, the importance of connecting with young people, and where he finds hope. You can learn more about IFYC at ifyc.org and you can follow Eboo on Twitter @EbooPatel.

My guest for this episode is Sheldrick Holmes. I don’t know about you, but it seems like every day I read about one of my favorite restaurants or businesses having to close because of the pandemic. It made me curious about how does a restaurant actually make ends meet in times like this? So I reached out to one of my new favorite coffee places in my neighborhood, The Grail Café, which opened just two months before the pandemic hit. They’ve hung in there and I reached out to the owner, Sheldrick Holmes, to share part of his story. You can learn more about the Grail at www.thegrailcafe.com or on Instagram @thegrail.cafe.

My guest this week is church planter and pastor Kevin Makins. Kevin is the founder of Eucharist Church in Hamilton, Ontario, and he recently wrote the book, “Why Would Anyone Go to Church?” The book is a very honest look at how his church came to be and his own personal joys and struggles in that process. We also do some reflections on the state of the church in Canada. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @kevinmakins.

I’m continuing this little mini-series about journalism as I talk to free-lance journalist, Derrick Clifton. Derrick is a journalist focused on the intersections of identity, culture and social justice issues. Their work has appeared at NBC News Digital, Vice, The Triibe and various other news and culture outlets. They were most recently the communications manager for ProPublica Illinois, the first regional newsroom operation of ProPublica.   Derrick has some engaging and honest things to say about the state of journalism today and their own experience of being a black queer journalist. You can follow Derrick on Twitter and Instagram @DerrickClifton.

A common topic for conversation these days centers around what information we’re receiving and whether we can trust that information. Because I have a little background in journalism, information sharing has always been of interest to me so I’m doing three episodes in a row dedicated to this topic. First up is a conversation with Charles Whitaker, the dean of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Before joining the Medill faculty, Charles was a senior editor at Ebony magazine and also worked as a reporter for the Miami Herald and the Louisville (Ky.) Times, He has received commendations for his work from a number of journalism societies, including the National Association of Black Journalists, Society of Professional Journalists and National Education Writers Association. We had a wide-ranging conversation about the state of journalism today and some of the challenges that journalists—especially journalists of color—face in this new media landscape.

The Democratic National Convention is happening right now so I thought it might be a good time to share the conversation I had in January 2019 conversation with then-mayoral candidate (and now Chicago mayor) Lori Lightfoot.

Normally right now, many of us would be glued to the TV watching the Summer Olympics, but, of course, it has become one of the many unfortunate pandemic postponements this year. Since 1960, the Paralympics have also been held the same year as the Olympics and they too have been postponed. Today I talk with one of the athletes who would have competed in this year’s competition, Susannah Scaroni.   Susannah is a wheelchair racer with an emphasis on the marathon. She competed in the 2012 and 2016 paralympics and has been one of the world’s elite marathoners for almost 10 years. In this conversation, we talk about her disappointment in not competing in this year’s games, misconceptions about para-athletes and keys to her resilience.   You can follow Susannah on Twitter @KenyanScaroni and Instagram @suscaroni.

My guest this week is Denise Pope. Denise is a Senior Lecturer at the Stanford University Graduate School of Education and the author of “Doing School”: How We Are Creating a Generation of Stressed Out, Materialistic, and Miseducated Students. She’s also the co-founder of Challenge Success, an organization that partners with schools, families, and communities to embrace a broad definition of success and to implement research-based strategies that promote student well-being and engagement with learning.   With many conversations happening about how schools will be educating their students this fall, Denise offers some fresh perspectives on how we should be preparing our children for their futures.   To find out more about Denise and Challenge Success, you can go to their web site or on Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter. 

My guest for this this week's episode is Leslie Jordan. Between 2009 and 2018, Leslie was a part of the Grammy-nominated Christian music group, All Sons & Daughters. Now, she lives in the Nashville area with her family and is releasing solo music and overseeing, The Fold, a non-profit that creates spaces and opportunities for songwriters and artists to collaborate and find their voices. We had a wide-ranging conversation on her own faith life and how it’s changed over the years, her experiences of being in the Christian music industry, and what the songwriting process is like for her. Plus, a Failing Boldly first! Leslie sings her latest song, “Home.” You can follow Leslie on Twitter and Instagram @itslesliejordan.

My guest this week is David Bailey. David is the founder of Arrabon, an organization that helps Christian leaders and communities engage in the work of reconciliation and culture creation, especially racial reconciliation. Out of this work has come two additional musical ministries called Urban Doxology and The Porter’s Gate worship project. I reached out to David several weeks ago and was so pleased when he accepted and it so happened that we scheduled our conversation for last Wednesday in the midst of the overwhelming responses to George Floyd’s murder. David reflected on all of this in addition to the challenge off multi-cultural ministry, racial reconciliation and the importance of cultural artifacts. You can follow David on Twitter @davidmbailey.

My guest this week is Caitlin Kirby. Caitlyn will start soon as a science literacy researcher at the University of Nebraska, but the reason she was brought to my attention is because, of all things, something she wore. When Caitlyn defended her Ph.D. dissertation, she wore a skirt made out of rejection letters and emails that she had received during her graduate studies. Of course, I had to ask her about how rejection and failure played into this decision. You can follow Caitlyn on Twitter @kirbycai. You can see the skirt from this article in the Lansing State Journal.  

The episode this week is a rebroadcast of my conversation with Rutha Mae Harris. Ms. Harris is a retired teacher who lives in Albany, Georgia, but she’s perhaps more widely known as one of the original Freedom Singers, a group of activitists and musicians who worked with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in the early 1960s. The group traveled across the country raising money and awareness for SNCC and their work during the Civil Rights Movement and also providing inspiration for all who would listen. The pinnacle of her work with the Freedom Singers was to sing at the March on Washington, which happened 55 years ago today. Ms. Harris shared many inspirational stories of her work with SNCC and her memories of that day in this conversation and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

My guest this week is author and activist Shane Claiborne. Shane has been one of the most notable Christian social justice advocates for the last two decades and is the author of several books including his first, “The Irresistible Revolution” and his latest “Beating Guns: Hope for People who are weary of violence.” We talked about how he’s adjusting to living during this pandemic, the span of his career, why he still has hope. To find out more about Shane and his ministry, you can go to his web site or to Red Letter Christians. You can follow him on Twitter @ShaneClairborne.

My guest this week is Trey Hall, Director of Evangelism and Growth for the British Methodist Church and the other co-founder of Urban Village Church. Urban Village celebrates its 10th birthday on March 28 and so I thought it would be fun to have Trey on not only to share about his own personal story and journey but for us to do a little reminiscing about the last 10 years. All this, plus Trey talks about his current position and the state of the church in Great Britain.    To find that web site that Trey mentioned, go here and you can go here, which will take you directly to the Evangelism and Growth section and that includes a nice video of Trey.

My guest this week is Lyz Lenz, author of the book, “God Land: A Story of Faith, Loss, and Renewal in Middle America.” Liz is a journalist who writes for the Cedar Rapids Gazette. In “God Land,” she reports on the state of the church in the Midwest, while also integrating her own experiences of faith, marriage and divorce. She writes with bracing candor and honesty, but does so in a way that bespeaks her commitment to a life of faith. We talk about all of this in this conversation. To learn more about Lyz and her writings you can go to her web site.

The episode this week is a rebroadcast of my conversation with Lisa Sharon Harper. Lisa is a prolific speaker, writer and activist and is the founder and president of FreedomRoad.us, a consulting group dedicated to shrinking the narrative gap in our nation by convening forums and experiences that bring commonalities toward a just world. She's the author of several books, including The Very Good Gospel, recognized as the "2016 Book of the Year" by Englewood Review of Books, explores God’s intent for the wholeness of all relationships in light of today’s headlines. This was a very open and honest conversation and Lisa shares her thoughts on numerous topics including the nature of shalom, her growing up in the conservative evangelical world, the 2016 election. I think I can safely say that when you’re done listening, you won’t ask yourself, what does Lisa really think?

My guest this week is Tim Hillegonds, author of a new memoir, “The Distance Between.” Tim’s memoir is an open and bracingly honest look at his life as a young man who battled various demons, including addiction, volatile relationships, and jail time. Tim leaves no stone unturned in exploring why he did what he did and he does so in gripping prose. We talk about the book and where he is today. To learn more about Tim and his writings you can go to his website and follow him on Twitter (@TimHillegonds) and Instagram (tim_hillegonds).

My guest this week is Susanna Kass, one of the co-creators of the children’s game, The Epic Fail Game. Susanna lives in Sydney, Australia, and is, in her own words a "reforming helicopter-parent with a few decades of professional experience in cultural psychology and design.” The game is a set of 30 activity cards and a mindset theory book designed to change the way the whole family thinks about failing. Susanna talks about how the game came about, their experience of putting the game on Kickstarter, and what it means to help your children fail well. To learn more about The Epic Fail Game, you can go to their web site and look for them on Instagram and Facebook at theepicfailgame.

My guest this week is the founder of the Chicago Eco House, Quilen Blackwell. I read an article about Quilen in the Chicago Tribune in early November and was moved by his dedication to using sustainability to alleviate poverty, his commitment to the south and west sides of Chicago, and his passion for integrating his faith into all of his work. To learn more about Chicago Eco House, you can go to their web site or go to the Chicago Eco House Facebook page.

This is a rebroadcast of a conversation I had with Fr. James Martin in 2017. Fr. Martin is a Jesuit priest, editor at large of America magazine, and bestselling author of such books as  Jesus: A Pilgrimage and The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything. He has appeared on many major radio and television networks, ranging from NPR’s Fresh Air to Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report. Before entering the Jesuits in 1988, Father Martin graduated from the Wharton School of Business and worked for General Electric for six years. In 2017, Pope Francis appointed him to be a Consultor for the Vatican's Secretariat for Communication. In this episode, we talk about his latest book calling for the Catholic church to be more welcoming of LGBTQ Catholics, how he responds to those who criticize his writings, and what spiritual practices keep him grounded. I hope you enjoy it.

My guest this week is the renowned writer on faith and religion, Barbara Brown Taylor. I’ve read and been influenced by many of Barbara’s books so was excited when she agreed to be on this podcast. We focused our conversation on two of her books, her latest, Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others and the book she wrote in 2006, Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith. She shared insights into her teaching and writing career, failure and resilience, and also answered the question, if you could give a TED talk about anything other than religion and faith, what would it be? I hope you enjoy it. To learn more about her books and research, you can go to her web site barbarabrowntaylor.com or her Facebook page.

My guest this week is Tod Bolsinger, author of the book, “Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Unchartered Territory.” "Canoeing" has done the rare thing of becoming a popular book in both conservative and progressive church circles. By combining research in systems theory and adaptive leadership and using the compelling metaphor of the Lewis and Clark expedition, Bolsinger’s book has provided a very helpful guide for church leaders trying to navigate rapid change in the 21st century. We talk about all these things in this engaging conversation. To learn more about Tod's books and research, you can go here. You can also follow him on twitter, @todbol.

My guest this week is Diana Graber, author of the book, “Raising Humans in a Digital World.” Many of us have a love-hate relationship with technology and this is especially true for parents as they try to maneuver their way through a field that seems to change every day. Diana and I had a very helpful conversation about what all of us can do to use the tool of technology wisely, both as parents and as consumers. I hope you enjoy it. To learn more about Diana's books or read her columns, you can go to one of her web sites, dianagraber.com or cyberwise.org. You can also follow her on twitter, @dianagraber.

My guest this week is Amy Dickinson, perhaps best known as the writer of the popular advice column “Ask Amy,” which is carried in over 150 newspapers and read by an estimated 22 million readers daily. In addition to her work as a writer, you may have also heard Amy on the NPR Quiz Show “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me.” All of these experiences made for a fascinating conversation as Amy talks about juggling life as an advice columnist and her own experiences with parenthood and marriage. We also talk about her life of faith as Amy is a member of a United Methodist Church in her hometown in Freeville, New York. I’ve enjoyed all my Failing Boldly conversations but this was certainly one of my favorites. To learn more about her books or read her columns, you can go to her web site, amydickinson.com and also follow her on twitter, @askingamy.

My guest this week is Rev. Vance Rains. In these days of grieving and reflecting after the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, Vance’s experiences are sadly timely. He was the pastor of First Church in Coral Springs, Florida, a community next to Parkland, Florida where the Stoneman Douglas High School shootings took place in 2018. Just this past July, he started as pastor of First United Methodist in Orlando, a church just down the street from Pulse, the nightclub where 49 people were killed by a shooting in 2016. Vance shares his own experiences from the Stoneman Douglas shootings and where we are as a country today. One note that we had this conversation before the El Paso and Dayton shootings. I hope these conversations are helpful for you. To learn more about Vance, you can go to his web site.

My guest this week is Greg Borzo, author of the book “Lost Restaurants of Chicago.” Greg is a Chicago-area writer and the author of several books focused on our great city. Lost Restaurants revisits many of Chicago’s restaurants that helped create so many memories. In this episode, not only do we talk about the book, but we explore the restaurant business in general and talk about what helps an eatery succeed or fail.

My guest this week is Rev. Bromleigh McCleneghan, author of the book "Good Christian Sex: Why Chastity Isn’t the Only Option—And Other Things the Bible Says About Sex." Bromleigh is a United Methodist pastor currently serving at a United Church of Christ church in the Chicago area. I’ve admired her writing for some time and so was grateful for this conversation. We explored the reasons for and reactions to this book where she does some deep reflection on topics that some say should never be talked about: faith and sex. To learn more about her writings and ministry, you can go to her web site, www.bromleighm.com.

My guest this week is Dr. Reggie Williams, associate professor of Christian Ethics at McCormick Theological Seminary. I recently read Dr. Williams’ book "Bonhoeffer’s Black Jesus: Harlem Renaissance Theology and an Ethic of Resistance" and was moved by its look at Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his time in the United States in 1930, specifically his time in Harlem at Abyssinian Baptist Church. April 9, 1945, was the date that Bonhoeffer was killed in a German concentration camp and so I thought it was a good time to speak to Dr. Williams about one of the 20th century’s most famous theologians and dissidents. You can find Dr. Williams on Twitter @reglwill.

My guest this week is Jeremy Smith, United Methodist pastor and creator of the blog, Hacking Christianity. Jeremy is the pastor of First United Methodist Church in Seattle but his wider audience knows him as the prolific writer of blog posts on Hacking Christianity, a site where Jeremy engages others in conversations about faith using the lenses of progressive theology, technology, and geek culture. He’s also one of the top go-to sites when folks want to read thought-provoking reflections on the state of The United Methodist Church. In addition to talking about how geek culture and Christianity come together, we also talk about the recent General Conference in the UMC and whether there’s hope for the UMC’s future. You can follow Jeremy on Twitter @umjeremy.

My guest this week is a Chicago TV icon, Steve Baskerville. For nearly 30 years, Steve was the WBBM’s primary weathercaster until his retirement at the end of 2017. During his career, he won 11 regional Emmys in addition to several other awards. Before coming to Chicago, he was the weather anchor with CBS Morning News, where he was first African-American weather anchor on a network newscast  What happens when a weather anchor’s forecast goes wrong? Steve shares lots of great stories from his years in broadcasting in this wonderfully engaging conversation.