Betwixt Podcast: Grounded Conversations & Embodied practices for Spiritual Wayfinding

Latest Episodes:

13 Sex Trafficking (Part 2) Men Who Buy Sex: John School with Chris Stollar Jul 03, 2018

Show notes

Confession: This episode was difficult to produce. My desire for justice far outweighs my willingness to extend compassion toward men who solicit prostitutes and contribute to the horrific world of human trafficking. Yet, Chris Stollar presents us with a compelling challenge to hold both justice and mercy in tandem in the fight against sex trafficking. “We will never end trafficking unless we reach the men who are fueling the demand in the first place.” Chris Stollar is the Demand Reduction Coordinator for She Has A Name, an organization that fights human trafficking in Ohio. As a John School presenter, he seeks to reduce the demand for prostitution through working directly with men who have been caught trying to buy sex.Chris is the author of the Black Lens which is a dark literary thrilled that exposes the underbelly of sex trafficking in rural America. The novel is the 2016 Grand Prize winner in the Writer’s Digest Self-Published e-Book Awards and has recently been optioned by a production company to be turned into a film. Chris lives in Columbus, Ohio with his wife and two children. He serves as a lay pastor at Veritas Community Church.Listen in as Chris shares his personal experience in working with Johns and offers an invitation to consider and address the root causes that drive men to solicit.*Thanks to these artists for the use of their music: Coelum, Between Nothing and Everything, & Daedalus by Kai Engel. Special thanks to Ryvoli for the use of their song Roots.** Originally posted at MissioAlliance.org'r2up8tnv'

12 Sex Trafficking (Part 1) Women Who Sell Sex: CATCH Court with Hannah Estabrook Jun 19, 2018

Show notes

How do you treat women who sell sex?Hannah Estabrook, Coordinator of CATCH Court, is convinced that kindness helps prostitutes transform their lives from ones of dependency to freedom.During the two-year probationary program, CATCH women cultivate healthy new habits within the accountability of a small Ohio court community and walk the path toward healing from sexual trauma. "This is how you do church," says one pastor who brings parishioners to CATCH Court.How we treat women who experience sexual trauma makes all the difference in their path to recovery."To be in the courtroom and watch these women in handcuffs stand before the judge as he gives them the biggest smile, welcomes them with open arms and tells each on how much a part of the family they are, I watch their faces shift. I tell you what, when she hears that from the judge it changes everything."Hannah is an educator, TEDx speaker, and abolitionist working to end sex trafficking. She is a licensed counselor specializing in sexual abuse and the co-author of the book Beyond Desolate: Hope vs. Hate in the Rubble of Sexual Abuse. Hannah and her husband live in Franklinton, Ohio where she serves as a lay-leader of Franklinton Abbey, a missional church community in her neighborhood.Subscribe/Rate/Review Betwixt on iTunes!Learn more about the podcast at betwixtpodcast.com————–If you like this episode, you might want to check out:Larycia Hawkins on Stepping Out Onto the Bridge of SolidarityWalter Brueggemann on Failed White Domination

11 Jared Boyd: How Imaginative Prayer Helps Children Connect with God (& Parents) Jun 05, 2018

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Jared Boyd discovered that children's spiritual formation is rooted in the imagination. Imaginative Prayer helps children connect with God and helps parents to connect with their kids. Jared noticed that while most parents desire for their kids to learn to love God, it’s hard to have meaningful conversation with our kids about spiritual things and to facilitate real spiritual experiences.“When we lead our children through guided times of imaginative prayer, they can experience a connection with God that transcends mere Bible knowledge or doctrinal content. As you do so, you may find yourself connecting more closely with your child, and your own formation as a parent will deepen into greater awareness of God's work in your lives.”This episode explores how imaginative prayer can help parents and churches cultivate the work of spiritual formation in the lives of children. Because the imagination has been held with both awe and suspicion, we explore the history of imaginative prayer in the church and why it sometimes meets with resistance. Jared is a pastor and sits on the board of directors for Vineyard USA. He’s also a spiritual director, teacher, and founder of The Order of Sustainable Faith, a missional monastic order for the 21st Century. He is the author of Invitations & Commitments: A Rule of Life and his latest book, Imaginative Prayer. Jared and his wife Jaime have four daughters, and are planting Franklinton Abbey, a new faith community on the west side of Columbus, OH.

10 Embracing Your Daughter's Killer: The Freedom of Radical Forgiveness with Joel Kime May 21, 2018

Show notes

It’s often said “forgive and forget.” But what happens when two parties, offender and offended, come together and build a relationship in a space that never forgets?In this episode of the Betwixt Podcast, Joel Kime shares his story of great tragedy and how the practice of forgiveness transformed that tragedy into something no one expected. Through building relationship in the face of adversity, two communities–Amish and English– bonded in a normally forbidden way. Together, they accepted pain, experienced joy, and birthed the vitality of communitas in the wake of tragedy."Forgiveness is like keys in a jail. It frees you. It frees the person who has been wronged and the person who did the wrong. That's what the Amish did. They gave me the gift of freedom."Joel Kime is the pastor of Faith Church in Lancaster, PA. Joel and his wife Michelle have four children. The Kimes are passionate about God’s heart for the oppressed.*Originally posted at MissioAlliance.orgwww.betwixtpodcast.com'r2up8tnv'** Thanks to these Freesound.org contributors for the use of their audio:Omar Alvarado: Car AccidentRTB45: Amish Carriages at Night SmicksburgMrpeet: porsche 911 carrera s autobahnIberian_Runa: Car Breaking Skid 01Rutgermuller: Tires squeakingAcclivity: Amish Country**Thanks to www.Ryvoli.com for the use of their song Roots.

09 Larycia Hawkins on Stepping Out on the Bridge of Solidarity May 08, 2018

Show notes

"What does it mean to be an embodied question mark wherever you are on your journey?" This was the question Dr. Larycia Hawkins presented to her students at Wheaton College. "Our bodies do work for us." As a professor of political science, Dr. Hawkins wanted to teach her students that it's not enough to empathize with the hurting. True solidarity requires the use of our bodies to walk with those who are suffering. "Where Jesus went, societies and politics were changed–they were at least upset because his body was doing this incredible work of daring to see people in their misery." "Yeah, we’re political animals but our bodies are sites of political contestation. It’s not just a black woman’s body does work for her, all ofour bodies do this kind of speaking on our behalf."An embodied question mark is "always speaking the truth to power, always calling to task the powers that be in order to amplify–not speak for the voices of the most vulnerable and the oppressed–and to walk with them." Solidarity is like a bridge. It holds incredible tension yet it brings together what is and what ought to be.In this episode, Dr. Hawkins shares her story of liminality as she stepped out onto the bridge of solidarity in the midst of a theo-political storm.Dr. Larycia Hawkins is a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia. She was previously the founder of the Peace and Conflict Studies program and tenured professor at Wheaton College. Her work engages the intersections of race/ethnicity, religion, and politics. Dr. Hawkins’s research explores what it means to transcend theoretical solidarity with the oppressed and move to actual, embodied solidarity with the oppressed.Dr. Hawkins kicked up a storm of controversy when she wore a hijab in order to highlight the impact of Islamophobia on Muslim women. This act of embodied solidarity fueled the increasing theo-political debates within American evangelicalism and resulted in the loss of her tenured position at Wheaton. Her unique knowledge and experience have made her a sought after speaker and leader of interfaith dialogue.*Thanks to Borrtex for the use of their songs Faith and Perception, and to Ryvoli for the use of their song Roots.** Originally posted at MissioAlliance.org

08 Alice Fryling on Prayer as Liminal Space Apr 24, 2018

Show notes

Spiritual Director and Author Alice Fryling shares her joys, fears, and struggles with prayer. "I love living in liminal space because to me it’s such a hopeful place. It means that I am changing. I’m not who I was yesterday. I love that I can change. I would despair if I though I couldn’t change. Prayer is very much liminal space."Alice Fryling is a trained spiritual director and the author of nine books, including her most recent book Mirror for the Soul: A Christian Guide to the Enneagram and Seeking God Together: The Art of Spiritual Listening. Alice received her training in the Enneagram at Loyola University. She has been leading Enneagram workshops for fifteen years, teaching participants how to use the Enneagram to know God and themselves more deeply. Alice and her husband, Bob, have two married daughters and four grandchildren. https://www.alicefryling.com*Special thanks toThe Tudor Consort for the use of their song Terra Tremuit and Kai Engel for the use of the song Denouement.

07 Dominion with J Richard Middleton: Image of God & Feminine Experience Part 5 Apr 10, 2018

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Near the end of the twentieth century, the Functional View of the image of God emerged with virtual consensus among Old Testament scholars. The discovery of ancient texts which used “image of God” language in reference to kings and cult images led scholars to recast the imago Dei in terms of how a king or priest functions as a royal representation of God.The Functional View asserts that man was created to be God’s physical representation on earth and to function as his agent and vice-regent in exercising dominion. But what about women? Was Eve also made in the image of God or was she a derivation of the man from whom she was extracted? Did she also possess this royal dominion or was she created to submit under the authority of the man who acted alone as God’s royal representative? Betwixt explores the Functional view questions it raises about dominion, power, gender, ecology, and politics in conversation with Dr. J. Richard Middleton, author of "The Liberating Image: The Imago Dei in Genesis 1."** Originally posted at MissioAlliance.orgwww.betwixtpodcast.com'r2up8tnv'*Thank you to these freesound.org contributors:shoveling stones.wav by monotraumMud_squishing.mp3 by CormiIndian Contstruction Crew - Bhutan.wav by RTB45by Simsym23 - chisels-on-wood.aiffWater Swirl, Small » Water Swirl, Small, 12.wav by InspectorJ Breath Human Sci.wav by cidchiliCinematic Bass Boom by CosmicEmberstoilet scrub.wav by semccabdig.wav by maxthrower ** Originally posted at MissioAlliance.org

06 Gender Binary & Intersex with Megan DeFranza: Image of God & Feminine Experience Part 4 Feb 27, 2018

Show notes

Theologian Megan DeFranza is a bridge-builder in a war zone. As culture battles rage around issues of gender and sexuality, Megan assists Christian communities through controversial conversations related to sex, gender, and sexuality. Listen as Megan unpacks the Relational View of the imago Dei in Part 4 of the Betwixt Podcast series, "The Image of God & the Feminine Experience." Emerging from and in response to existential thought, modern Christianity recast the imago Dei as primarily relational in nature. Humans manifest the likeness of God when they are in relationship with both God and one another. Megan explores how the body, particularly sexuality and gender, became deeply significant within this framework. She affirms that all people are made in the image of God — male, female, and intersex – and in relationship with one another, we reveal the complexity and mystery of God."We were never meant to image God on our own.We are always called into communion – into union with God.And union with God is union with all of our siblings in Christ.”Tracing the roots of the Relational View, this episode pays particular attention to Karl Barth's gender binary ideology as essential to the image of God. Because God (plural) created male and female in his image, Barth argues that the unity in differentiation of the male/female relationship reveals the essence of the relationality of the Godhead. While many consider this a "win" for women, DeFranza raises the question: Does this view leave out people for whom those categories are not neat or clean or clear?“Intersex people are among the many whose voices have been silenced . . . Many don’t feel safe to admit they are intersex to begin with let alone do theological reflection.”Sex difference and theology is at the heart of Dr. Megan DeFranza's scholarship. She is visiting Researcher at Boston University’s School of Theology and a Research Associate with the Institute for the BioCultural Study of Religion’s Sex Differences Project. Megan is hard at work on the forthcoming documentary film Intersex & Faith which tells the extraordinary stories of five intersex people, allowing viewers to experience what it feels like to be invisible in our culture and subject to abuse and shame simply for being born different. Their stories also illuminate unique perspectives about gender, faith, and life; perspectives which are particularly timely for a culture conflicted by questions about sex and gender.*Special thanks to Ryvoli for sharing their music.Thank you to these freesound.org contributors:Heartbeatfee by LGBaby Coo by klankbeeldUnderwater Ambiance Lake by wjoojooFootsteps Heels Concrete by ecodios** Originally posted at MissioAlliance.orgwww.betwixtpodcast.com'r2up8tnv'

05 Passage to Manhood with Craig Glass Feb 13, 2018

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Has the erosion of rites of passage adversly impacted men in Western culture? Craig Glass thinks so. “The boys in the village must be initiatedor they will burn down the villagejust to feel the heat.” - Kenyan ProverbOur culture is desperate for men who leave a legacy of blessing rather than a wake of destruction. Looking back on his own life, Craig began to ask the questions: “Am I a man? What is a man anyway?” Recognizing the lack of initiation into adulthood in his own life and the men with whom he worked, Craig began a program which recast traditional practices into a modern rite of passage for fathers and sons in the mountains of Colorado. If you have a young man in your life, you won't want to miss this powerful episode.*Special thanks to Caleb Buck for sharing his Bar Mitzvah experience and to Mendy & Avi Piamenta for the use of their Bar Mitzvah Song.Music and arrangement for the song If by Deb Gregory is based on the Rudyard Kipling poem by the same name. www.betwixtpodcast.com 'r2up8tnv'

04 Image of God & the Feminine Experience Part 3: Are Women Rational? Let's Ask Google! Jan 30, 2018

Show notes

In Part 3 of The Image of God & the Feminine Experience, Philosopher Dr. Rachel Douchant leads us from Thomas Aquinas to the "Google Memo," teasing out how Enlightenment rationalism continues to impact women today.Rachel Douchant is Professor of Philosophy at Lindenwood University, Co-chair of the Lindenwood Honors College, and Director of the Liberty & Ethics Center. Her research interests include Hume’s classical liberalism, the Philosophy of Economics, and Aristotelian Virtue Theory.'r2up8tnv'

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