The Hutchmoot Podcast

What if you were primarily know for for the most shameful thing about you? Most people, if they know anything about Van Gogh, know that he cut off his ear. What brought this visionary painter to such a place of despair and shame? And once we know the actual story of why he wounded himself in this way, what obligation do we have to steward his painful story well? This seminar digs into the circumstances surrounding Vincent’s beautiful and tragic final years, and examines how to care well for fellow sufferers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this session from 2021's Hutchmoot: Homebound, Mark Meynell looks at the long career of spy-novelist John le Carré and reflects on how our outlook as Christians ought to counteract the power of conspiracy theories. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Hutchmoot Podcast features some of our favorite sessions recorded at our annual conference which celebrates art, music, story, and faith in all their many intersections. Today, we're excited to share a session led by James Paul called “Imagining the New Creation” from 2021's Hutchmoot: Homebound. Many have a distorted view of what Christians believe about Heaven. In this session, James Paul discusses what the Bible actually teaches about the New Earth and helps us attune our desires to its coming. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're excited to share a session from Dr. Russell Moore called Faith, Fiction, and Christian Nationalism from 2021's Hutchmoot: Homebound. In this session, Dr. Moore looks to the works and wisdom of Wendell Berry to help us understand how best to approach our ideas of country and community without stumbling into idolatry. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's our pleasure to share a conversation about music between Ben Shive and Sara Groves called “A Mystery in the Making” from 2021's Hutchmoot: Homebound. In this session, Ben Shive and Sara Groves discuss the struggles, joys, and mysteries of their work from the perspective of both the artist's and the producer's side of the creative process. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's our pleasure to share a session led by Walter Wangerin, Jr. and Sara Danger called “Story & the Child's Imagination” from 2021's Hutchmoot: Homebound. In his final interview, Walter Wangerin, Jr. and Sara Danger discuss the challenges and nuances of writing stories for children, looking especially at the importance of heavy themes such as grief and death. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In his session "Shaping the World with Stories" from Hutchmoot: Homebound 2021, Sho Baraka discusses the shaping work of restoration and justice and the importance of the ways we portray God in the stories we tell. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're excited to share a session led by Andrew Peterson and Tim Mackie (of the Bible Project) called “The Trees at the Heart of Creation” from 2021's Hutchmoot: Homebound. In this session, Andrew and Tim discuss the prominence of trees in biblical narratives and how they help us unlock scripture in fresh, new ways. Watch the video of this conversation at RabbitRoom.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Hutchmoot Podcast features some of our favorite sessions recorded at our annual conference which celebrates art, music, story, and faith in all their many intersections. Today, it is our pleasure to share a session led by Lanier Ivester and Steve Guthrie called “The Indispensable Feast” from 2021's Hutchmoot: Homebound, in both video and audio form. Feasting is one of the foundations of human culture, both sociologically and theologically. In this session, Steve and Lanier lay groundwork both for understanding why we feast as well as providing practical advice for the occasion. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're pleased to share a session led by Malcolm Guite and Mark Meynell called “Poetry: Imagination's Wake-Up Call” from 2020's Hutchmoot: Homebound, in both video and audio form. Despite its detractors, poetry couldn't be more vital in our present age, since it is one of the most powerful means of reconciling our enlightenment-divorced reason and imagination. In conversation with Mark Meynell, the poet, priest, and scholar Malcolm Guite draws from Samuel Taylor Coleridge, C. S. Lewis, and others to make his case. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're pleased to share a session led by Buddy Greene and Odessa Settles called "Ain't Gonna Lay My Religion Down" from 2020's Hutchmoot: Homebound, in both video and audio form. Through stories and music, Buddy & Odessa discuss the difficulty of living in an unjust world and how our faith can act as an anchor. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrew Peterson & Lanier Ivester reflect on the deep relationships they have with their homes and the physical places of life and how our connection to and care for the earth functions as a vital investment in both the here-and-now and in the world yet to come. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Writer Heidi Johnston, poet Andrew Roycroft, and painter and sculptor Ross Wilson discuss art as the light and language of the eye, asking why poetic beauty and integrity matter and exploring the role of story in shaping our understanding of the Biblical narrative. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

J. R. R. Tolkien and G. K. Chesterton both make cases for the necessity of fantasy literature. In "Recovery, Escape, & Consolation: The Gifts of Fantasy," Jonathan & Helena discuss three of Tolkien’s primary arguments. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ruth Naomi Floyd explores how the blues were birthed from the African American Spirituals, which is the root of American music. This body of music is deeply Christian in its pursuit of justice, and its lament is the ache for human dignity and belonging. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It is our pleasure to share Dr. Russell Moore's session "Why We Need Fiction for Moral Formation" from 2020's Hutchmoot: Homebound. Dr. Moore explores the ways in which fiction and story are fundamental and indispensable building blocks in our our understanding of the world, ourselves, and God. P.S. In addition to Dr. Moore's session, this episode features Andrew Peterson's welcoming address as well as his performance of "Many Roads.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michelangelo's David is widely regarded as one of the most perfect works of art ever achieved. But the artist himself was neither the first nor the last to make his mark upon that famed piece of marble. In this episode, Russ Ramsey explores the story behind this magnificent sculpture and reveals how our longing to be in the presence of perfection can often weaken the very object we long to be near. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we're joined by legendary musicians Buddy Greene and Odessa Settles. As they tell their stories, they explore the ways in which we grow in our understanding of the world, of each other, and of God when music allows us to see the world through someone else's eyes. After all, none of us can see the whole picture alone, and the arts are a vital way in which we discover a fuller view of everything around us. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this conversation from Hutchmoot 2019, acclaimed jazz musician Ruth Naomi Floyd and author Mark Meynell use African American spirituals and the works of Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich to examine the power of music and its ability to carry us through the darkest of human experiences. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We are eager to share with you a wonderful session from Hutchmoot 2019, given by Jennifer Trafton and Kirstin Jeffrey Johnson on the compelling hospitality to be found in George MacDonald's life and work, his home as well as his books. This second part consists of Kirstin Jeffrey Johnson's portion of the session. Romans 12 calls for us to “practice hospitality,” or (as another translation puts it) to “be inventive in hospitality.” George MacDonald—forefather of the Inklings, author of The Light Princess, The Princess & the Goblin, At Back of the North Wind, and more—was renowned amongst his peers for how he imaginatively approached this calling in his household, in his companionship, in his conversation, and even in his books. We will look at some of the ways in which, as an author, teacher, and community-builder, MacDonald intentionally manifested hospitality, and how his understanding of hospitality was shaped by both family and mentors—a compelling legacy of influence inspiring communities such as the Inklings and The Rabbit Room. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We are eager to share with you a wonderful session from Hutchmoot 2019, given by Jennifer Trafton and Kirstin Jeffrey Johnson on the compelling hospitality to be found in George MacDonald's life and work, his home as well as his books. This first part consists of Jennifer Trafton's portion of the session. Romans 12 calls for us to “practice hospitality,” or (as another translation puts it) to “be inventive in hospitality.” George MacDonald—forefather of the Inklings, author of The Light Princess, The Princess & the Goblin, At Back of the North Wind, and more—was renowned amongst his peers for how he imaginatively approached this calling in his household, in his companionship, in his conversation, and even in his books. We will look at some of the ways in which, as an author, teacher, and community-builder, MacDonald intentionally manifested hospitality, and how his understanding of hospitality was shaped by both family and mentors—a compelling legacy of influence inspiring communities such as the Inklings and The Rabbit Room. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Only a very few novels come together in such a way as to perfectly capture the aspects of language, faith, adventure, beauty, and mystery that we love so much in the Rabbit Room, and Leif Enger is the rare author who has written more than one of them. Whether it's the miraculous tale of Peace Like a River, the conversational grace of So Brave, Young, and Handsome, or the high-flying kites of Virgil Wander, Leif is a teller of the kind of tales that we love to love. Here, in his 2013 Hutchmoot address, he reminds us that we’re all driven by a holy wind, and we’re at our best when we relax into its mystery, and sail a course full and by. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Even if you don’t know Phil Vischer, you almost certainly know his work, and his voice. Back in 1993 he introduced audiences to a cast of vegetables that would take the world by storm. VeggieTales was born and twenty-five year later, it’s still going strong. As the creator of Larry the Cucumber and Bob the Tomato, Phil has spent a lifetime teaching the Bible and having fun doing it. In this episode, he talks about the serious work of humor and the importance of being silly. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kevin Twit and Keith Getty have spent their careers studying and writing the songs of the Church, and in this episode they bring their decades of experience to Hutchmoot to discuss the history and necessity of the art of hymnody. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In our last episode, we heard Andrew Peterson talk about his love of ghost stories, and today one of my favorite people leads us a little further down that rabbit hole. Long-time Rabbit Room contributor Lanier Ivester is a deep wellspring of talent, insight, wisdom, and grace. She’s an author, a poet, an essayist, a bookbinder, a sailor, a keeper of bees and sheep, and, as you’ll hear, a lifelong chaser of the delightful shiver a great ghost story offers us. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is it that makes ghost stories so much fun? Is it just that they’re scary and suspenseful and make us jump? Or is something deeper going on? What if these eerie tales of things that go bump in the night are actually lifting the veil and shining light on something real and good and true about the world? In this episode, Andrew Peterson (singer-songwriter, author, and poet) investigates these questions and tries to get at the heart of why these stories fill us with such a delightful shiver. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the Hutchmoot Podcast we’re opening up the archives to share recordings of a variety of speakers and topics from years past. This first episode features someone who has been a part of the Rabbit Room since the very beginning, Russ Ramsey. Russ is a pastor in Nashville, Tennessee, an author of four fantastic books which you can find in the Rabbit Room Store, and as you’ll hear in the talk we’re about to play, he’s a remarkble essayist and a thoughtful appreciator of art, and in particlular, the art of Vincent Van Gogh. This session from Hutchmoot 2017 is called “The Striving Artist.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.