Two Pastors' Podcast

Big news. Sad news? Honest news. And hopeful news. The two pastors have discerned that this particular iteration of their voices together has come to an end. Listen in on them as they meander, in their signature manner, through the process of saying 'no' to this and being open to what the next 'yes' is.

We replay our interview with “This Side of Eve”, the creators of the theme music we are gratefully using this season. John and Alyssa Creasy join the two pastors for a conversation about music, faith, Pittsburgh, organic farming, climate change, the environment, Black Lives Matters, and acceptance. We also feature excerpts of several songs from their newest album, "More to Come." Please explore the music of This Side of Eve (thissideofeve.com) further on iTunes, Spotify, and Bandcamp. John's pastoral work is with the Open Door Church (pghopendoor.net) and the Garfield Community Farm (garfieldfarm.com) in Pittsburgh, PA. 

This reposted episode first aired on 3/23/2018 but the topic of the two pastors' conversation is timeless. How can we tailor the life we are given so that we are living life that brings us joy, and not overfilling it with things we think we have to do?

In this repost from Jan. 18, 2019, the two pastors have a thoughtful conversation about the role of comedy in our lives. Comedy that pokes fun at real life provides a mirror for us to see what others see. But sometimes poking fun is just mean. What's the difference? Why do we need comedy? 

In this episode, which originally aired on May 7, 2021, the two pastors talk about how our personal space has changed as a result of the pandemic.

The two pastors talk about creating extra space in their schedule to “leave room for the Holy Spirit.” Although there are occasional references to events that occurred around the time this episode was originally published (Nov. 6, 2020—Friday after Election Day, 2020), the two pastors' message is as relevant today as it was then.

People were important to Jesus, so Jesus had a lot to say about  issues in public life that concerned them: money, politics, power, authority, and so on. In doing so, Jesus gave a "face" to faith. Listen as the two pastors talk about how these issues continued to be prominent throughout history, even to this day, and where the Church has been relative to these issues. This is a repost of an episode that was originally published on Feb. 5, 2021.

The two pastors give us a sign off until the fall. Both are wrapping up Summer 2021 with time off, hoping to be able to shut down and reboot. They hope you will do the same. See you after Labor Day!

The “golden rule” is universal in that every religion has its version of this statement, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” But there is a flaw in this if we only ever love others the way we wish to be loved. What if our “others” need to be loved differently than we need to be loved? Listen in as the two pastors kick around the “Five Love Languages” as a way to push the Golden Rule a bit further. 

Even though these two pastors seem to talk about anything and everything, there are a lot of things pastors withhold. So much of their lives is in a “fishbowl.” In this episode the two pastors talk about how they can be more honest about the deeper struggles they have, whether it be preaching on July 4 or how tired they feel in this post-pandemic time. 

Pastor Beth is in a sermon series on the “Fruit of the Holy Spirit”—human actions and attributes that reveal who God is in our world. Along the way, she's reading a book called "Neuroscience and the Fruit of the Spirit,” by Bryan Spoon, to inform her thinking. The two pastors talk about the Spirit living in our physical bodies and how we can make way for the Spirit to be known in our world.

Pastor Michael is using Pride Sunday (June 27, 2021) as a way to offer his congregation yet another lens through which to understand the Christian faith. Listen in as the two pastors kick around his text for Sunday worship and how this story of Jesus instructs our lives. 

The two pastors continue last week's conversation (Ep. 251) about play and the need to let go of expectations or pre-conceived notions in order to experience or envision something new. And as it should… the conversation lands on the imagination of the late Gene Roddenberry. 

Where are you needing to recalculate? Join the two pastors in this first of two conversations about the importance of play in personal, and organizational, development.

The two pastors start their conversation with the Christian doctrine of the Trinity but it quickly develops into a broader conversation about how we deal with “unknowns” in life.

So do you? Are there things that you cannot see and yet you believe in them? Let’s talk about it.

Pastors joke pretty regularly that each of them only preaches one sermon. It sounds different from Sunday to Sunday but essentially, we all have one thing, one idea we just keep kicking around. Here you have the answers from Pastors Michael and Beth as to their one sermon. We wonder what your one sermon is?

As we all recalculate life, the two pastors talk about how our personal space has changed as a result of the pandemic.

The two pastors reemerged from their post-Easter break. Why a break after Easter, you ask? In their meandering answer they talk about what it means for them to follow Jesus these next 50 days, the time between Easter and Pentecost.     We thank This Side of Eve (thissideofeve.com) for permission to use their song "Catching Up the Light", from their new album "More to Come," as our podcast theme song. 

Meet “This Side of Eve”, the makers of the music we are using in Season 6. John and Alyssa Creasy join the two pastors for a conversation about music, about Pittsburgh, about organic farming, about Black Lives Matters, and about acceptance. Listen in as we figure out how to let go of what was so that what will be can begin to take shape. We also feature excerpts of several songs from "This Side of Eve's newest album, "More to Come." We thank This Side of Eve (thissideofeve.com) for permission to use their song "Catching Up the Light", from their new album "More to Come," as our podcast theme song. 

Welcome to Season 6, where the two pastors are looking forward to a season of interviews and continued conversations (possibly longer than previous seasons) about how the world is “recalculating” as we emerge from a global pandemic. Last episode we heard about the “recalculating” Pastor Michael did in his understanding of faith. This week, Pastor Beth is on the hot seat about some recalculating that she has done in her vocation over the past few years. We thank This Side of Eve (thissideofeve.com) for permission to use their song "Catching Up the Light" as our podcast theme song. 

Happy Anniversary to the two pastors! As Pastors Michael and Beth enter into Season 6, they wanted to be intentional about this next year of conversations. Listen in on this new “lens” through which Season 6 will develop.

The two pastors continue their recording break this week, giving us an opportunity to revisit this interesting conversation the two pastors had with special guest, Pastor Anita Milne. She, along with four other contributors, created a website (www.4quartets4lent.org) to reflect on T.S. Eliot’s "Four Quartets" during Lent. Listen in on this interview about creating a spiritual reflection from reading literature. [This episode originally aired as Episode 107 on Feb. 23, 2018.]

The two pastors did not record a new episode this week, and this gives us an opportunity to revisit an episode from our archives. In this repost of Ep. 141, which aired on Oct. 19, 2018, the two pastors talk about what they were reading at the time, and how the books they were reading tied into what they were thinking about.

People were important to Jesus, so Jesus had a lot to say about  issues in public life that concerned them: money, politics, power, authority, and so on. In doing so, Jesus gave a "face" to faith. Listen as the two pastors talk about how these issues continued to be prominent throughout history, even to this day, and where the Church has been relative to these issues.

Pastor Beth gets to introduce Pastor Michael to a friend and colleague, Rev. Darci Jaret. Darci is an art minister, and has developed a Pastoral Care model that offers healing through creative narrative expression. The three pastors stumble onto how our interactions, the building of our relationships, make space for us to change and for our theology to expand. Come listen.   We apologize for occasional imperfections in this episode's sound quality, which may have been a result of unstable wifi during the recording of our video conference call.

Pastor Michael has moved from being Minister for Youth and Family to Acting Solo Pastor. The two pastors talk about how he’s doing with this change and what’s ahead for him.

It’s the new year and the two pastors are wondering if anyone is up to something about which they can say, “I’m not sure I know what I’m doing?”

The two pastors were so grateful to have one another to talk through the events of Wednesday, January 6, 2021, when a group of Trump supporters breached the US Capitol. What is our response to this public act of violence? How is the church to respond? What does a public Christian witness look like?

What’s next? The two pastors talk about the continual change that happens in life and how we can turn the page and walk toward the next season of life.

The year isn’t quite over yet. But so far, we’ve experienced tremendous losses individually and as a community. Have you spent time counting your losses? Why would we do that? Acknowledging loss is one of the first steps toward healing. Losses need to be taken seriously. What would it look like for us individually (or us as a larger community) to grieve what we have lost?

Today’s episode features one of those great meandering conversations of the two pastors. As we enter the season of Advent, they share some of their traditions that are working and aren’t working, and talk about how tradition brings us comfort.

We are headed into a darker winter and the two pastors, like everyone else in the service or people business, are feeling the ache around us. It’s a conversation that seems like one we’ve had already but one we’ve never had today. So let’s keep talking.

What is sharpening you these days? If we are loving each other right, the two pastors say we should be feeling some 'ouches.' Relationships take adjusting. So what is sharpening you these days?   Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens the wits of another. (Proverbs 27:17, NRSV)

The two pastors talk about having some extra space in their schedule to “leave room for the holy spirit”—especially in weeks like this one where wisdom is needed and often hard to find.

As voting finishes up this week, the two pastors talk about what drives our decisions, behaviors and choices. What does it look like for us to have love take the driver's seat?

So the pastors start talking about how Beth got mad at her dog, Sam. But as Michael and Beth are apt to do, they transition the conversation into how we move our anger or frustration toward compassion and reconciliation. Relationships are hard - with people and with puppies.

What starts as “what are you preaching?” turns into an exploration of “who we believe God to be” this side of the pandemic? The spiritual practices we once had often don’t work the same way anymore. How do we move forward with our changed selves and with God, whoever/whatever that is?

This week alone, sixty people died in New Jersey from the coronavirus. We would prefer to look away from suffering. And yet conversations about our vulnerability or the fragility of life are the richest conversations we can have with one another.

We have entered the season of Fall—starting anew in a radically different world: the fear, the tension, the discouragement, the grief. What is it that we want for one another? As pastors, Beth and Michael discuss what they want for us, “the called people of God.”     

Small talk. Do you like it? Hate it? Listen in on the two pastors as they talk about how they connect with others through fashion, hobbies and even conversation about the weather.   [Editor's note: Some imperfections in the original recording could not be corrected during production. We apologize for the reduced sound quality of today's episode.]

The two pastors are back from summer vacation and seriously, this episode includes everything—even the kitchen sink. Pastors Beth and Michael are just happy to invite you into a new conversation with the age-old calling to figure out how to love our neighbors.

In this reposted episode, the two pastors wonder if we have outsourced our relationship with God in such a way that pastors are doing a large part of the church's work. How can pastors better demonstrate to their congregations what it means to live the life of God, and help them grow in their spiritual lives?   [This is a repost of Episode 185 from 10/11/2019. The two pastors are currently taking a summer recording break. We are replaying several of the most downloaded episodes from the past year.]

In this reposted, "one-pastor" episode from Nov. 8, 2019, Pastor Michael reflects on a listener-submitted question, "Do we still find kindness in the world today?" Listen in as he touches on themes of kindness, grace, and love.    [This is a repost of Episode 189 from 11/8/2019. The two pastors are currently taking a summer recording break. We are replaying several of the most downloaded episodes from the past year.]

In this repost from Jan. 17, 2020, Pastor Michael is just coming off his first teaching gig. Listen in as the two pastors talk about different levels and styles of asking questions, listening and learning, and how they can allow us to take apart established structures ("deconstruction") and put them back together in different ways ("reconstruction"). Pastors Beth and Michael give examples in the context of teaching and church.   [This is a repost of Episode 196 from 1/17/2020. The two pastors are currently taking a summer recording break. We are replaying several of the most downloaded episodes from the past year.]  

Evangelism… do we even do that anymore? When, how, where and why ought we share the good news of our faith life or the importance of our community life?   [This is a repost of Episode 191 from 11/22/2019. The two pastors are currently taking a summer recording break. We are replaying several of the most downloaded episodes from the past year.]

Pastor Beth is at a church that holds two Bible studies each week. Listen to the two pastors talk about ways to engage with the Scriptures.   [This is a repost of Episode 190 from 11/15/2019. The two pastors are currently taking a summer recording break. We are replaying several of the most downloaded episodes from the past year.]

In this new reality of ours, how do we choose life now? In other words, how do we resist waiting until it’s “over” to resume life as we knew it? What things are giving you life now? Listen in as the two pastors share how they are living into this new season of life. 

The two pastors take a break from the COVID-19 conversation to wrestle with rough stories from the Bible. This week, listen in on what they think of Jacob.

Beth got a puppy. Michael is head over heels for this hummingbird. What does loving something as you love yourself entail? Listen in on creating a life of “we.”

For the most part, we have looked at the pandemic as an inconvenience, something that has interrupted our scheduled programming. What if we thought of this season as “fasting?” When we fast from food, we discover what we are truly hungry for. How might “fasting” help us to get in touch with what our spirits are truly hungry for?