Gravity Commons Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Beth Allison Barr: How Marriage Replaced Ordination as a Woman's Path to Ministry Sep 23, 2025

Show notes

As a pastor's wife for twenty-five years, Beth Allison Barr has lived with assumptions about what she should do and who she should be. We talked with her about her book Becoming the Pastor's Wife: How Marriage Replaced Ordination as a Woman's Path to Ministry, where she draws on that experience and her academic expertise to trace the history of the role of the pastor's wife, showing how it both helped and hurt women in conservative Protestant traditions. While they gained an important leadership role, it came at a deep cost: losing independent church leadership opportunities that existed throughout most of church history and strengthening a gender hierarchy that prioritized male careers.

Beth Allison Barr is the James Vardman Endowed Chair of History at Baylor University in Waco, TX, where she specializes in medieval history, women's history, and church history. She is the author of the USA Today bestseller, The Making of Biblical Womanhood, and her work has been featured by NPR and the New Yorker; in addition she's written for Christianity Today, the Washington Post, the Dallas Morning News, Sojourners, and Baptist News Global. Barr lives in Texas with her husband-- a Baptist pastor-- and their two children.

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Will Harrison Jr.: Disability Justice and Advocacy Sep 16, 2025

Show notes

We talked with Licensed Clinical Social Worker Will Harrison, Jr. about living with Moebius Syndrome, a rare disability that affects his facial expressions and speech, and about what he has learned at the intersection of disability, faith, and deconstruction. Will reflects on his upbringing in a Southern Baptist church, the challenges he faced in pursuing a career in youth ministry, and his eventual transition to social work. Will discusses the stark differences in how his disability was perceived in the church compared to the secular world, and how his faith journey has evolved. He emphasizes the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in both church and community settings and the transformative power of relationships across differences.

Will Harrison, Jr. is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. He is married with six kids. He enjoys hiking, reading, and coffee. Over the past few years Will has been working through what it looks like to be post-evangelical, navigating faith and reality.

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Regina Cates: A Call to Brave and Thoughtful Conversations Sep 09, 2025

Show notes

We talked with author and activist Regina Cates about how to have brave and thoughtful conversations about difficult topics like sexual abuse, racism, religious and political corruption, abortion, and sexual orientation. Her book The Real Conversation Jesus Wants Us to Have is part memoir, part social commentary, and part call to action, and it invites all people of good faith to more fully embody Jesus's message by taking up his call to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Regina V. Cates is an author, activist, podcaster, and founder of "Romancing Your Soul," an organization that helps people develop lives of love, compassion, and purpose. Her first internationally bestselling book, Lead with Your Heart, continues to be an inspiration to people who desire a more fulfilled life. You can connect with Regina at her website, reginavcates.com.

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Isaac Villegas: A Christian Vision for Immigrant Justice Sep 02, 2025

Show notes

We talked with pastor and author Isaac Villegas about his on-the-ground justice activism for immigrants. His book Migrant God: A Christian Vision for Immigrant Justicecuts a new path through worn-out talking points and bears witness to loving solidarity among Christians--both with and without US citizenship--and offers a theologically astute and politically rich vision of beloved community. You can connect with Isaac and his work on his website isaacvillegas.com.

Isaac Samuel Villegas served as the pastor of Chapel Hill Mennonite Fellowship for sixteen years and served on the governing board of the NC Council of Churches for over a decade. He writes regularly as a columnist for The Christian Century and Anabaptist World magazines, and his writing has also appeared in many other publications including Commonweal, Sojourners, and Faith & Leadership.

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Marc Alan Schelske: Journaling for Spiritual Growth, Part 2 Aug 26, 2025

Show notes

Marc Alan Schelske joins us once again to talk (once again) about journaling: what it is, why it works, and how to do it in a way that facilitates spiritual growth. Marc also shared personally and vulnerably about his own spiritual journey. No matter what your history is with journaling, Marc's method (outlined in his recently re-released book Journaling for Spiritual Growth: Six Weeks to Build a Habit that Fosters Spiritual and Emotional Maturity) is eminently practical and powerfully effective for fostering spiritual formation.

Marc Alan Schelske is a thinker and speaker who has served as a full-time pastor since 1995 and is currently the teaching elder of Bridge City Community Church in Portland, Oregon. He also hosts The Apprenticeship Way podcast and is the author of The Wisdom of Your Heart and Discovering Your Authentic Core Values, as well as the book we're talking about today: Journaling for Spiritual Growth. "In my writing, I focus on what it takes to nurture a healthy inner life, something found at the intersection of grace and growth," Marc says. "I write and speak to help people find belonging, redemption, and growth as they discover the life God has designed for them."

SHOW NOTES:

We lost Ben to an unstable internet connection shortly after starting this podcast recording. Please respect our privacy during this difficult time.

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Benjamin Perry: Why Weeping is an Essential Part of Being Human Aug 19, 2025

Show notes

We talked with Presbyterian minister and author Benjamin Perry about what happens to us when we cry... and when we don't. Weeping often opens a door to connection and transformation, but many of us have been taught to suppress our emotions and hide our tears. Benjamin's book Learning to Cry: Why Our Tears Matter is the result of an experiment he undertook: to cry every day.

Benjamin Perry is a Presbyterian minister and an award-winning writer whose work has appeared in outlets like The Washington Post, Slate, Sojouners, and Bustle. With a degree in psychology from SUNY Geneseo and an MDiv from Union Theological Seminary, Perry has worked as an organizer with the New York chapter of the Poor People's Campaign and as an editor at Time, Inc. Perry has appeared on MSNBC, Al Jazeera, and NY1, and is the editor of the Queer Faith photojournalism series. He and his spouse, Erin Mayer, live in Maine.

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Anger: the Good, the Bad, and the Complicated In-Between Aug 12, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of the Gravity Commons podcast, we explore the complexities of anger as an emotion, discussing its role in personal relationships, power dynamics, and social justice. We reflect on personal experiences with anger, the importance of navigating it with compassion, and the implications of policing anger in various contexts. Our conversation also touches on the privilege of being able to disengage from anger and the necessity of understanding its roots in injustice.

Connect with Gravity Commons:

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Join the Gravity Community to interact with other listeners, and get our list of curated links each week to all things edifying and interesting.

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Rick Pidcock: How Anger (Dys-)Functions in Christian Leadership Aug 05, 2025

Show notes

We talked with Rick Pidcock about the role of anger in an allegation of abuse he wrote about in a progressive Christian organization, the need for self-awareness and humility, how social location affects how anger works, and the need to reform harmful hierarchies.

Rick Pidcock writes for Baptist News Global. He has a master of arts degree in worship from Northern Seminary. He is also the host of the Baptist News Global podcast “Highest Power: Church + State.” And he is a stay-at-home dad.

Links to resources mentioned in this episode:

"Allegations against Tim Whitaker and The New Evangelicals show how hierarchy transfers to progressive ministries" by Rick Pidcock
"That time I got an angry call from the subject of an article about anger and abuse" by Rick Pidcock
"Comment from BNG’s editor on our coverage of The New Evangelicals" by Mark Wingfield
TNE Reckoning, a site advocating for accountability, where you can download the full GRACE report.
Exiles in Christendom - Rick's Substack newsletter
The Highest Power: Church and State - Rick's podcast

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Christy Penley: What to Do With Anger as a Disciple of Jesus Jul 29, 2025

Show notes

Anger is a wily beast: easily misused, often harmful, yet also sometimes holy and good. Over the coming weeks, we'll be examining anger and the cost and benefits of being more acquainted with our anger and the anger in the world. In this episode, Christy Penley talks us through how anger could be a flag that's waving itself as an opportunity to grow in greater intimacy with God.

Dr. Christy Penley is married to her husband Paul, a mom of 6, and pastor at Pulpit Rock Church in Colorado. She has spent her professional career teaching the Bible to kids, students and adults, and recently received a DMin from Denver Seminary. Christy is a facilitator for Gravity's Formation Course and offers one-on-one coaching for both pastors and lay people.

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Paul Penley: How Ancient Conversations Redefine Jesus' Message Jul 22, 2025

Show notes

We talked with Dr. Paul Penley (yes, Christy's husband!) about how we often misunderstand what Jesus meant because we don't realize that he was participating in and responding to ancient conversations we don't have immediate access to. Paul's book What Jesus Meant: How Ancient Conversations Redefine Jesus’ Message helps us understand that Jesus was not just making points; he was making counterpoints, and this makes all the difference for how we interpret his words.

Dr. Paul Penley is a New Testament scholar and former Bible professor at the college and seminary level. Paul writes books to share academic research insights which redefine our understanding of the Bible, but normally get lost in technical journals at graduate libraries. He loves seeing readers freed from the misdirection and disillusionment caused by bad Bible interpretation. Dr. Penley studied Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic on his journey to better understanding Scripture in undergraduate and post-graduate degrees. He studied biblical history on site in Israel, Egypt, Turkey and Greece and then picked up German and French while completing a Ph.D. from Trinity's Divinity School. He has presented his original biblical and historical research in college courses and national scholars' meetings, at Shabbat school and church retreats, at Bible conference centers and small groups.

Connect with Gravity Commons:

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Join the Gravity Community to interact with other listeners, and get our list of curated links each week to all things edifying and interesting.
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