Stay ConnectedBecoming Church is where we explore how the message and movement of Jesus isn’t just about becoming Christians, it’s about becoming The Church the world needs.
Hosted by Kristin Mockler Young, this podcast dives into the surprising ways faith shapes, and is shaped by, our real lives: family, politics, justice, culture, and beyond.
Copyright: © 2022
Lovely Palm had never left the country. Then she went to Uganda and found her sons and daughters. While her story is full of surprises and beautiful moments, there have also been some really devastating ones, which she shares with us in this episode. Lovelyn’s story is inspiring even if it doesn’t look like yours. Our hope is that it will help you see where God is present in yours, especially when it feels like He isn’t.
Lovelyn also educates us on the adoption system, how to talk to blended families, and things to consider when going to a developing country for adoption, travel or a mission trip.
If you need to talk to someone about a traumatic experience, here’s a list of national helplines that are available 24/7.
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Donate to Shine Village to help good parents keep their kids. Find additional resources by topic here as well as our Amazon Resource List where you can snag your next read.
Enjoying Becoming Church? Find past episodes here and leave a review on Apple podcasts! We strive for 5 stars and genuinely appreciate your feedback.
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Tag us when you share the show!
Lovelyn on IG: @letlovegrow
Kristin on IG: @kristinmockleryoung
Mosaic on IG: @MosaicCLT
#becomingchurchpodcast #becomingchurch
Follow @kristinmockleryoung and @mosaicclt on Instagram.
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
Preorder Kristin’s book “The Other Side of Certainty: How to Follow Jesus When Easy Answers No Longer Work” on Amazon or Bookshop.org or read Chapter One to see if it's right for you!
If you already ordered The Other Side of Certainty, enter your order # for your pre-order bonuses!
Hospitality is not a gift that only certain people were given. Gentle hospitality is more about the way you live, which can be as simple as showing kindness to a stranger or taking care of the people around your table.
Liz Bell Young has a gorgeous book, “Let There Be Havens: An Invitation to Gentle Hospitality” that will show you how to find the things that wake up your soul…and then gift those same experiences to others.
Liz has the gift of seeing life through the lens of optimism while still looking the real world square into the face. This interview will help you exhale and find some peace even in the midst of a cluttered kitchen.
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READ:
Grab a copy of Liz’s book Let There Be Havens from our Becoming Church Resource List. It would also make a great gift hostess or housewarming gift!
Read Liz’s other beautiful words in the Magnolia Journal or Haven Magazine.
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HANG OUT WITH US:
Liz on IG: @lizbellyoung
Kristin on IG: @kristinmockleryoung
Mosaic on IG: @MosaicCLT
#becomingchurchpodcast
Follow @kristinmockleryoung and @mosaicclt on Instagram.
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
Preorder Kristin’s book “The Other Side of Certainty: How to Follow Jesus When Easy Answers No Longer Work” on Amazon or Bookshop.org or read Chapter One to see if it's right for you!
If you already ordered The Other Side of Certainty, enter your order # for your pre-order bonuses!
Did you memorize Bible verses as a child for stickers, gold stars or chintzy prizes? Did you star as the lead role in a play or musical about Jesus? Did growing up in the church maybe accidentally teach you that God doesn’t need you to prove your worthiness or value…but He maybe wants you to?
Kim Stuart’s book Star for Jesus (And Other Jobs I Quit): Rediscovering the Grace that Sets Us Free will break the chains of religion and help you live in the free, undeserving grace of God that even the best of us can’t earn - because we really don’t have to.
This episode will teach you about doinks, use both hairspray and junior high dances as faith analogies, and will hopefully make you laugh until you cry (or cry until you laugh) just like the words in Kim’s book.
You get a gold star just for showing up, so all you have to do now is sit back and listen.
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READ:
If you like this episode, you’ll love Kim’s book Star for Jesus and Other Jobs I Quit. You can find it on our Book List along with other books from previous guests.
LISTEN:
To get the insider understanding on Nick Conolly and Mary Van Geffen (both mentioned in this episode), click their names to listen to their interviews on this podcast.
WATCH:
If you’re intrigued by the idea that it’s not our job to save everyone, watch Kristin’s message: Hate the Sin, Love the Sinner. (Don’t worry, it’s not what you fear it is.)
HANG OUT WITH US:
Kimberly on IG: @kimberly.stuart.writes
Kristin on IG: @kristinmockleryoung
Mosaic on IG: @MosaicCLT
#becomingchurchpodcast
Follow @kristinmockleryoung and @mosaicclt on Instagram.
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
Preorder Kristin’s book “The Other Side of Certainty: How to Follow Jesus When Easy Answers No Longer Work” on Amazon or Bookshop.org or read Chapter One to see if it's right for you!
If you already ordered The Other Side of Certainty, enter your order # for your pre-order bonuses!
Whether you’re a worship leader or you make a joyful noise with your praise, award winning songwriter and producer KJ Scriven says there’s a place for your voice.
In this episode, KJ and Kristin scrutinize the ego of worship leaders, discuss how much lyrics matter and whether or not you should keep singing songs from churches that have gone through scandal.
BONUS: This interview took place on Juneteenth, and there’s a separate conversation available only on YouTube with KJ Scriven. You can find “Should Christians Celebrate Juneteenth,” and this entire conversation, on the MosaicChurchCLT page.
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Dig deeper into these scriptures:
Matthew 4
Ephesians 5
Revelation 4
Colossians 3
Nehemiah 10
Mark 1
Romans 10
Acts 2
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Hang out with us!
KJ on IG: @kjscriven
Kristin on IG: @kristinmockleryoung
Follow @kristinmockleryoung and @mosaicclt on Instagram.
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
Preorder Kristin’s book “The Other Side of Certainty: How to Follow Jesus When Easy Answers No Longer Work” on Amazon or Bookshop.org or read Chapter One to see if it's right for you!
If you already ordered The Other Side of Certainty, enter your order # for your pre-order bonuses!
With her appeal and humor spanning the range of middle school to middle age, everyone will feel seen in this episode with Jami Nato. She pulls no punches and covers it all from perimenopause to spooning with Jesus to her relationship with the fundamental church. You will laugh, you will cry and you might leave with emotional whiplash, but you will certainly not be bored.
As you listen, think about a woman in your life who’s just trying to “fake it til you make it” as she tries to discover her purpose. Then send her this episode so can hear from God through Jami’s words on self-compassion, taking up space and living freely without hiding.
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Grab Jami’s book This Must Be the Place: Following the Breadcrumbs of your Past to Discover your Purpose Today and other books mentioned on the Becoming Church resource list!
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Find more resources at BecomingChurch.tv and leave a review of the show!
For more Behind the Scenes, connect with Kristin on Instagram at @kristinmockleryoung and tag us when you share the show #becomingchurchpodcast
Follow @kristinmockleryoung and @mosaicclt on Instagram.
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
Preorder Kristin’s book “The Other Side of Certainty: How to Follow Jesus When Easy Answers No Longer Work” on Amazon or Bookshop.org or read Chapter One to see if it's right for you!
If you already ordered The Other Side of Certainty, enter your order # for your pre-order bonuses!
Pick a recent news headline and the chances are, you have feelings about it. There’s someone in your life that you’re struggling to love through disagreement. You’re about ready to quit on social media altogether because every post feels like a landmine.
Ashlee Eiland recognizes all of the tension and complexity that’s wrapped around politics, theology and current events of today’s world. But when it’s easier to turn a blind eye or disassociate, Ashlee wants to call out your God given voice and teach you how to use it.
This conversation pulls some practical tips from her book, Say Good, as Ashlee and Kristin talk about the power of words, and when and how to use them.
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READ:
Say Good by Ashley Eiland
The Becoming Church list of resources
WATCH:
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SCRIPTURE TO EXPLORE:
Ephesians 3
Isaiah 58
John 17
2 Timothy 1
Ezekiel 37
Ephesians 4
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HANG OUT WITH US:
Ashley on IG: @ashlee_eiland
Kristin on IG: @kristinmockleryoung
Mosaic on IG: @MosaicCLT
#becomingchurchpodcast
Follow @kristinmockleryoung and @mosaicclt on Instagram.
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
Preorder Kristin’s book “The Other Side of Certainty: How to Follow Jesus When Easy Answers No Longer Work” on Amazon or Bookshop.org or read Chapter One to see if it's right for you!
If you already ordered The Other Side of Certainty, enter your order # for your pre-order bonuses!
People can change, even the difficult ones. This is a fundamental belief of Shannan Martin, mostly because of the changes she’s seen in her own life. She went from a teen with the burden to “save the poor” to a candidate for City Council, actively creating change for her own neighbors to enrich the community she lives in.
Author of Start with Hello and The Ministry of Ordinary Spaces, Shannan Martin has lived experience that changed the black and white, fundamental way she viewed people. In this conversation, she’ll teach us how to do the same so we can lean in to proximity instead of pushing away or being afraid of people who might influence us for the worse.
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READ:
Start with Hello by Shannon Martin
The Ministry of Ordinary Spaces by Shannan Martin
I Think You’re Wrong but I’m Listening by Sarah Stewart Holland Beth Silvers
All Things Reconsidered: How Rethinking What We Know Helps Us Know What We Believe
WATCH:
LISTEN:
Church and State: A Healthy Partnership with Rich Villodas
Learning Immigration Laws with Bri Strensrud
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HANG OUT WITH US:
Shannan on IG: @shannanwrites
Kristin on IG: @kristinmockleryoung
Mosaic on IG: @MosaicCLT
#becomingchurchpodcast
Follow @kristinmockleryoung and @mosaicclt on Instagram.
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
Preorder Kristin’s book “The Other Side of Certainty: How to Follow Jesus When Easy Answers No Longer Work” on Amazon or Bookshop.org or read Chapter One to see if it's right for you!
If you already ordered The Other Side of Certainty, enter your order # for your pre-order bonuses!
Humor and loss can coexist and Molly Stillman’s life shows us how in her memoir If I Don’t Laugh, I’ll Cry. After losing her mother, then squandering the quarter of a million dollar inheritance, life continued to bring experiences that made her both laugh and cry.
This episode explores how to have joy in the midst of grief, what God’s sense of humor is like, how to navigate complicated family relationships and how to focus on the people who choose to be in your life when others choose to walk away.
Content warning: As Molly shares her experiences, there is brief mention of death, depression, miscarriage - and vomit - but it’s also a really great conversation filled with hope, laughter and how to find joy in the midst of all of it.
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READ:
If I Don’t Laugh, I’ll Cry by Molly Stillman
Tired of Being Tired by Jess Connolly
WATCH:
Kristin’s message on being an axolotl
LISTEN:
Breathing through Grief with Dorina Lazo Gilmore Young
The Bible is Funny with Anthony Ramos
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SCRIPTURE TO EXPLORE:
Judges 3 (King Ehud’s violent bathroom break)
Proverbs 17:22
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HANG OUT WITH US:
Molly on IG: @stillbeingmolly
Kristin on IG: @kristinmockleryoung
Mosaic on IG: @MosaicCLT
#becomingchurchpodcast #becomingchurch
Follow @kristinmockleryoung and @mosaicclt on Instagram.
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
Preorder Kristin’s book “The Other Side of Certainty: How to Follow Jesus When Easy Answers No Longer Work” on Amazon or Bookshop.org or read Chapter One to see if it's right for you!
If you already ordered The Other Side of Certainty, enter your order # for your pre-order bonuses!
There are easy conversations. Then there are conversations you never thought you could have due to a lack of knowledge, information or understanding. Bri Strensrud is a human dignity advocate who helps Christians detangle immigration and refugee issues from politically partisan, dehumanizing narratives.
If you have a heart to help marginalized people but don’t know where to start in actively making a difference, this episode will meet you right at the intersection of fear and conviction with grace and compassion. Bri will help you better understand immigration as a human dignity issue and how you can seek out a holistic biblical perspective to know how God wants you to think about migrants.
Her book, Start with Welcome, is full of information and stories to bend your heart toward the marginalized people in your community as well as educational, practical things you can do to use your voice to make a difference.
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LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE:
Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes
Sign up for a Borderland Immersion Trip
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SCRIPTURE TO EXPLORE:
Luke 10:29-37
Romans 15:7
1 Corinthians 13
John 5
John 15
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HANG OUT WITH US:
Bri on IG: @bri.stenz
Kristin on IG: @kristinmockleryoung
Mosaic on IG: @MosaicCLT
#becomingchurchpodcast
Follow @kristinmockleryoung and @mosaicclt on Instagram.
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
Preorder Kristin’s book “The Other Side of Certainty: How to Follow Jesus When Easy Answers No Longer Work” on Amazon or Bookshop.org or read Chapter One to see if it's right for you!
If you already ordered The Other Side of Certainty, enter your order # for your pre-order bonuses!
Diversity leads to disagreement, which leads to division. This is why it’s so much easier to go through life with people who look like, think like, vote like and believe like you do. But Pastor and author Rich Villodas challenges us to lean in to discomfort instead of letting fear keep us isolated.
Whether your conversations of tension happen in your family or your church, whether your conflict revolves around race, politics, social justice or sexuality, this conversation between 3 pastors leading diverse, multiethnic churches, will provide you with practical ways to stay engaged. Through curiosity, you can move away from emotional reactivity into conversations that protect your relationships with people you don’t agree with.
Share this episode with someone who believes a little bit differently than you as an invitation to a healthier, stronger relationship.
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LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE:
When Naeem showed up to chat with Marty Solomon
Pre-Order Rich’s new book: The Narrow Path
Rich’s past books in our library
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RELATED RESOURCES:
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SCRIPTURE TO EXPLORE:
Colossians 1:17
Psalm 139
1 Corinthians 12:27
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HANG OUT WITH US:
Rich on IG: @richvillodas
Kristin on IG: @kristinmockleryoung
Mosaic on IG: @MosaicCLT
#becomingchurchpodcast
Follow @kristinmockleryoung and @mosaicclt on Instagram.
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
Preorder Kristin’s book “The Other Side of Certainty: How to Follow Jesus When Easy Answers No Longer Work” on Amazon or Bookshop.org or read Chapter One to see if it's right for you!
If you already ordered The Other Side of Certainty, enter your order # for your pre-order bonuses!
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