Gravity Leadership Podcast

In his book God Speaks Through Wombs: Poems on God’s Unexpected Coming, Drew Jackson explores the first eight chapters of Luke’s Gospel in a new poetic register. From the Magnificat (“That girl can sing! . . . She has a voice / That can shatter shackles”) to the baptism of Christ (“I stepped in / […] The post Drew Jackson: Recovering the Voices of the Marginalized Through Poetry appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

Wade Mullen shares how to identify and heal from abusive people and systems. Wade helps us get clarity on what abuse is, how to recognize it in our relationships and churches, and what we can do to heal and recover. Wade is a trustworthy voice and it was a joy to learn from him in […] The post Wade Mullen: Decoding the Hidden Tactics of Abusive People and Systems appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

Eric Minton joined us for our Gravity Commons Live conversation this past June. He’s an author, therapist, and ordained Baptist minister who has a unique perspective on our societies infatuation with happiness: What if there’s nothing wrong with us? What if anxiety and depression and listless spiritual life are actually telling us the truth about […] The post Eric Minton: What our Pain Reveals About the Anxious Pursuit of the Good Life appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

Today we finish our series on Ben and Matt’s book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy discuss how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their lives and leadership over the past several years. Today we talk about the […] The post Experimenting With Grace By Acting As If It’s True appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

We continue our series focused on Ben and Matt’s book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy discuss how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their lives and leadership over the past several years. Today we talk about Axiom […] The post Why Our Bodies Are Essential For Transformation in Grace appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

We continue our series focused on Ben and Matt’s book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy discuss how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their lives and leadership over the past several years. Today we talk about Axiom […] The post How God’s Love Recognizes and Reckons With Power Dynamics appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

We continue our series focused on Ben and Matt’s book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy discuss how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their lives and leadership over the past several years. Today we talk about Axiom […] The post Why it Matters That God Does the Same Work In Us and Through Us appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

We continue our series focused on Ben and Matt’s forthcoming book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy discuss how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their lives and leadership over the past several years. Today we talk about […] The post Does God Care About All of (Gestures Wildly) More Than We Do? appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

We continue our series focused on Ben and Matt’s forthcoming book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy discuss how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their lives and leadership over the past several years. Today we talk about […] The post How God Meets Us Right in the Middle of the Mess appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

We continue our series focused on Ben and Matt’s forthcoming book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy discuss how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their lives and leadership over the past several years. Today we talk about […] The post Why We Need a God Like Jesus appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

We continue our series focused on Ben and Matt’s forthcoming book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy discuss how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their lives and leadership over the past several years. Today we talk about […] The post What if God was Always Present and At Work? appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

We continue our series focused on Ben and Matt’s forthcoming book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy discuss how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their lives and leadership over the past several years. Today we talk about […] The post All You Need is Love: Reclaiming Love as the Center of Christian Faith appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

We start a new series today focused on Ben and Matt’s forthcoming book Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms for Cultivating a Robust Faith. Ben, Matt, Gino, and Christy will respond to each chapter over the next few weeks, discussing how they’ve practically worked out the principles and practices in the book in their […] The post Deconstructing Spiritual Practices, Embracing New Paradigms appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

We reconnected with our friend Kevin Sweeney to chat about his new book, The Making of a Mystic: My Journey With Mushrooms, My Life as a Pastor, and Why It’s Okay for Everyone to Relax. We talked about psychedelics, closing his church, learning to love and lead in the way of contemplation and mysticism. Kevin […] The post Kevin Sweeney: The Making of a Mystic appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

What was clear to the original readers of Scripture is not always clear to us. Because of the cultural distance between the biblical world and our contemporary setting, we often bring modern Western biases to the text. Ten years ago Brandon O’Brien co-wrote a book on this topic that we have recommended more than any […] The post Brandon O’Brien: How We Misread Scripture With Western Eyes appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

Nationally recognized speaker and church leader Jay Augustine joins us to offer a prophetic call to pastors, church leaders, and students to recover reconciliation as the heart of the church’s message to a divided world. Jay’s book Called to Reconciliation: How the Church Can Model Justice, Diversity, and Inclusion examines the intersection of the salvific, […] The post Jay Augustine: Modeling Justice, Diversity, and Inclusion as the Church appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

We talk with Gravity Leadership Community Liaison Gino Curcuruto about 5 important lessons he's learned in ministry so far. This is part of an ongoing series called "5 Things I've Learned." We want to hear from you! Let us know what you wish you knew when you started out in ministry. Email us at podcast@gravityleadership.com […] The post Gino Curcuruto: 5 Lessons I’ve Learned in 20 Years of Ministry appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

Women and men are designed to work together in fulfilling God’s mission on earth. Yet God’s original intent for equal partnership has been so distorted that churches and organizations continually struggle to foster healthy mixed-gender ministry collaboration. Is it even possible to return to the Genesis ideal of co-laborers in today’s contexts? Longtime ministry leader […] The post Rob Dixon: Women and Men Flourishing Together appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

Shane Blackshear had the privilege of forming a friendship with his long-time hero: civil rights leader and minister, John Perkins. Over a series of years John became a mentor, and they had numerous conversations as Shane wanted to know from John what leading a life faithful to Jesus Christ actually looked like. What followed was […] The post Shane Blackshear on John Perkins: Peacemaking and Transformation appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

We talk with Idelette McVicker about her journey out of whiteness and reckoning with her Apartheid past as an Afrikaner woman. In her book Recovering Racists: Dismantling White Supremacy and Reclaiming Our Humanity she shares 20 practices or “Stations of Liberation” that can help white people recover from the racism we have inherited, from acknowledgment […] The post Idelette McVicker: Reclaiming Our Humanity By Recovering From Racism appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

Dominique DuBois Gilliard is back to talk about how power works in systems and structures, and how we can leverage privilege in subversive ways on behalf the the marginalized and oppressed in faithfulness to Scripture. These are the themes of Dominique's new book Subversive Witness: Scripture’s Call to Leverage Privilege. This was a Gravity Commons […] The post Dominique Dubois Gilliard: Leveraging Privilege for Kingdom Justice appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

Dr. Christina Edmondson joins us to talk about how to faithfully oppose and resist the pernicious power of racism as Christians and churches. Her book (co-authored with Chad Brennan) is Faithful Antiracism: Moving Past Talk to Systemic Change (use promo code GL22 for 30% off and free shipping through May 3!). We talk about what […] The post Christina Edmondson: Practicing Faithful Antiracism For Systemic Change appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

David Ford joins us for a Gravity Commons LIVE discussion about his new commentary The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary. We explore the themes in John’s Gospel that make it a distinct witness among the Gospels in the New Testament, and through David’s exuberant engagement with this text, are invited into a fresh, profound […] The post David Ford: A Fresh Encounter with Jesus Through John’s Gospel appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

Instead of loving neighbors, strangers, and enemies, many Christians are taught to fear them. Author and speaker Catherine McNiel talks about her book Fearing Bravely: Risking Love for our Neighbors, Strangers, and Enemies, helping us see how love can drive out our fear, and reclaim the transformative power of love for the sake of our […] The post Catherine McNiel: Confessing our Fear and Loving our Enemies appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

Leadership coach and author Karen Hardwick shares seven practices for leaders to cultivate a deeper connection with themselves, their spiritual purpose, and others. Her book is The Connected Leader: 7 Strategies to Empower Your True Self and Others. You can connect with Karen on her website, on Instagram, and Linkedin. From our sponsor Check out our […] The post Karen J Hardwick: Becoming a Connected Leader appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

Many church leaders are facing a liminal moment, wrestling with how to navigate complex theological and cultural terrain and lead the church into a faithful witness of the Gospel in turbulent times. We talk with Seth Richardson, Director of our new initiative (Gravity Congregational Transformation), about how careful and hopeful noticing can shift our perspective […] The post How to Turn Church Challenges Into Transformational Opportunities appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

In divided times, how do we work for justice and make real peace? Melissa Florer-Bixler joins us to discuss her prophetic book, How to Have an Enemy: Righteous Anger and the Work of Peace to get at these very questions. Melissa draws from the Scriptures and her work among those contending for justice to give […] The post Melissa Florer-Bixler: How to Have An Enemy appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

“Phil from Philly” emailed us with a question about some of the specifics about what it looks like to love enemies. In this episode we reflect on his question, along with issues of power, abuse, conflict, justice, and love. Show notes / links: Join us for an Enneagram Transformation Workshop in Fredericktown, Missouri on March […] The post On Loving Enemies: A Question From a Listener appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

*CONTENT WARNING*: domestic abuse, pornography, rape. Sheila Gregoire and Sarah McDugal discuss some of the harmful myths about sex and marriage that are perpetuated by Christians, especially those under the moniker “purity culture,” and ways toward a more healthy and holistic view of bodies, sex. and marriage. This was a liberating Gravity Commons LIVE conversation […] The post Sheila Gregoire & Sarah McDugal: The Harm that Purity Culture Causes appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

We talk with Gravity Leadership Podcast co-founder Ben Sternke about 5 important things he’s learned in ministry so far. This is part of an ongoing series called "5 Things I've Learned." We want to hear from you! Let us know what you wish you knew when you started out in ministry. Email us at podcast@gravityleadership.com […] The post Ben Sternke: 5 Lessons I’ve Learned in 20 Years of Ministry appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

We talk with Gravity Leadership Podcast co-host Christy Penley about 5 important things she’s learned in ministry so far. This is part of an ongoing series called "5 Things I've Learned." Two things are fun about this conversation: 1) Christy actually shares 6 things instead of 5, which is very on-brand for her, and 2) […] The post Christy Penley: 5 Lessons I’ve Learned in 20 Years of Ministry appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

Many have listened with great interest to the Christianity Today podcast The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill,exposing the leadership abuses of Mark Driscoll and the fallout among the members of his church. On this episode we will take a closer look at how the podcast itself functions in the same cultural and theological world […] The post What’s Missing From the Rise and Fall of Mars Hill Podcast? appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

Allyson McKinney Timm and Meghan Tschanz (from Justice Revival) join us to discuss the ongoing struggle for women to have constitutionally protected equality, and why this is a fundamentally Christian concern. Justice Revival provides churches and seminaries with innovative, quality education that explores the importance of human rights to a Christian understanding of justice. Links: […] The post Allyson McKinney Timm & Meghan Tschanz: Christian Advocacy for Women’s Rights appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

In our first Gravity Commons LIVE conversation (with our Gravity Commons community), we talked with David Gushee about his upcoming book Introducing Christian Ethics: Core Convictions for Christians Today. David has taken his many years of teaching and experience to offer a fresh vision of the Christian moral life for today’s turbulent world. This unique […] The post David Gushee: Christian Ethics in a Pluralistic World appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

Author and communicator Carlene Hill Byron helps us understand the mounting dilemmas that pastors and churches face around mental health, and how the church can become a healing community for its members in pain. Her book is Not Quite Fine: Mental Health, Faith, and Showing Up for One Another. Carlene Hill Byron is a fundraiser […] The post Carlene Hill Byron: Covid, Mental Health, Faith, and Community appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

Leading activist and author Lisa Sharon Harper spent three decades researching ten generations of her family history through DNA research, oral histories, interviews and genealogy, and in her new book, Fortune: How Race Broke My Family and the World--and How to Repair It All, Harper draws on her lifelong journey to know her family's history […] The post Lisa Sharon Harper: How Racism Broke the World, and How to Repair It appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

Clinical psychologist Rod Wilson explains how three “sacred sayings” can transform our leadership and the world. In his book Thank you. I’m Sorry. Tell Me More, he offers three practices--gratitude, remorse, and care--as pathways to real human communication, connection, and reconciliation, and provides a practical, inclusive, and relationally-focused resource for those want to become better […] The post Rod Wilson: 3 Leadership Sayings that Can Change the World appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

Tara Beth Leach joined us to talk about her new book, Radiant Church: Restoring the Credibility of Our Witness. Tara Beth also shared about her tumultuous personal and professional life over the last two years. Tara Beth Leach is a pastor, preacher of the Word, and writer. She speaks widely at conferences, retreats, and universities […] The post Tara Beth Leach: Restoring the Credibility of the Church’s Witness appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

Gravity Co-founder Matt Tebbe shared his most crucial learnings in his first 20 years of ministry. This is the first of an ongoing series we’re starting called “5 Things I’ve Learned.” We want to hear from you! Let us know what you wish you knew when you started out in ministry. Email us at podcast@gravityleadership.com […] The post Matt Tebbe: 5 Things I’ve Learned in 20 Years of Ministry appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

We talked with Curt Thompson about his new book The Soul of Desire: Discovering the Neuroscience of Longing, Beauty, and Community, which suggests that underneath all our longings is the desire to be seen and known. Curt integrates interpersonal neurobiology, Christian spirituality, and theology to help us reckon with what it means to be human, […] The post Curt Thompson: How Naming Desire Leads to Transformation appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

Many of us have a complicated relationship with our body. Some of us feel ashamed of our bodies. Some of our bodies are riddled with stress, pain, and trauma. Racism, sexism, ableism, ageism, etc. have told some of us that we don’t have the right kind of body. Psychologist and researcher Hillary McBride join us […] The post Hillary McBride: Learning to Listen to the Wisdom of Your Body appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

Prolific New Testament scholar Craig Keener joins us to talk about modern miracles. Through numerous stories, his new book, Miracles Today: The Supernatural Work of God in the Modern World, demonstrates the miraculous works of God, which have been part of the experience of the church around the world since Christianity began, continue into the […] The post Craig Keener: God’s Supernatural Work in the World Today appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

What is the role of emotions in Christian discipleship? Many of us have learned to mistrust or ignore our emotions, but this creates a constricted and rigid spirituality. Becky Castle Miller helps us understand what emotions are and aren’t, how Jesus embodies human emotion, and why naming and working with our emotions is central to […] The post Becky Castle Miller on the Role of Emotions in Christian Discipleship appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

Contemplative prayer is nice, sure, but is it really necessary? Pastor AJ Sherrill thinks so (we do, too). In his new book Being with God: The Absurdity, Necessity, and Neurology of Contemplative Prayer, AJ shows us how contemplative prayer is crucial not only for spiritual growth in the modern world, but also contributes to our […] The post AJ Sherrill on the Necessity and Neurology of Contemplative Prayer appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

What do you do when it seems like everybody else is getting their dreams and you’re not? Heather Thompson Day helps us know what we can do to shape ourselves while waiting, so we are ready when it’s our turn. We had a fun, wide-ranging conversation with Heather about the themes from her new book […] The post Heather Day: What to Do When It’s Not Your Turn appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

Dr. Angie Ward joins us to discuss her new project, When the Universe Cracks: Living as God’s People in Times of Crisis. We chatted about the need in our present cultural moment to navigate crisis faithfully, and how to draw on our Scriptures, tradition, and church history to do so. Dr. Angie Ward brings three […] The post Dr. Angie Ward: Living as God’s People in Times of Crisis appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

Meghan Tschanz talks with us about her journey of befriending oppressed and exploited women across the globe, and how she noticed a connection between the worst kinds of abuse of women and the systems her childhood church had taught. (Trigger warning: sexual assault.) Meghan’s book Women Rising: Learning to Listen, Reclaiming Our Voice is her […] The post Meghan Tschanz: Resisting Oppression By Listening to Women appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

Many LGBTQ people face overwhelming challenges in navigating faith, gender, and sexuality. Author and speaker Bridget Eileen Rivera joins us to talk about the harm and pain that LGBTQ Christians have experienced in the church, and how churches can develop a better pastoral approach. Bridget’s book is Heavy Burdens: Seven Ways LGBTQ Christians Experience Harm […] The post Bridget Eileen Rivera: How the Church Harms LGBTQ Christians appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

What if some of our greatest theologians aren’t normally recognized as theologians at all? Second-generation Cuban American Kat Armas joins us to talk about how marginalized and overlooked voices–mothers, grandmothers, sisters, and daughters–have more to teach us about following God than we realize. Kat’s book is Abuelita Faith: What Women on the Margins Teach Us […] The post Kat Armas: What Women on the Margins Teach Us About Faith appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

Nearly everyone knows someone on the autism spectrum, yet most of what people think they know about autism is wrong. Author, poet, and professor Daniel Bowman Jr. joins us for a conversation on how autism and other neurodiversities interact with our faith and relationships, and how neurodiversity can be received as a gift to ourselves […] The post Daniel Bowman Jr. on Autism, Faith, and the Gifts of Neurodiversity appeared first on Gravity Leadership.

Bethany Dearborn Hiser joins us to talk about the importance of soul care for pastors, therapists, chaplains, and others who work closely with the suffering of others, how soul care is different from “pampering” yourself (which often requires affluence), and how to pay closer attention to the health of our souls as we seek to […] The post Bethany Dearborn Hiser: Soul Care For Wounded Healers appeared first on Gravity Leadership.