The question “What do you do?” or “What do you do for a living?” it’s not so much a question about work as it is a way to figure out who someone is; a question of identity. And that relationship between who I am and what I do can be tricky,… even confusing. Too closely … Read More
Politics
@ Sea Podcast #15: Michael Wear Returns
My guest on this episode of the podcast is actually my first 2-time guest, Michael Wear. During season 1, Michael shared his unique angle on not just the idea of politics, but the human practice of politics. As someone who has lived and worked in Washington DC with the women and men who often end … Read More
@ Sea Podcast #11: Audrey Assad
The line between what is sacred and what some may call “secular” or “profane” is a famously difficult line to navigate. Volumes have been written and argued over regarding where that line is, how to recognize it and how to communicate that line to others. My guest on episode 11 is songwriter and advocate, Audrey Assad. Her work … Read More
@ Sea Podcast #10: David Dark
My guest on Episode 10 of the @ Sea Podcast is author David Dark. I call him an “author,” perhaps because that’s what he may be best known for. But David is also a professor at Bellmont University in Tennessee, a huge music nerd, a collector of insights and wisdom and a kind of translator … Read More
Politics and Spiritual Formation
In all honesty, I don’t care much about President Donald Trump, The GOP, the DNC,… For me, politics is a matter of spiritual formation. Certainly, it matters to some degree what you and I believe to be true in the political realm. But those beliefs and perspectives take root in our souls; and our souls … Read More
Don’t Quit.
My religious tradition uses the word “evil” or “darkness.” Steven Pressfield calls it “Resistance.” And while there are volumes written about it, the one thing I’ve come to know/believe about evil/darkness/Resistance is that it plays the long game. More than anything else, darkness or evil counts on you and I quitting at some point. So don’t. Getting … Read More
Leftists, Right-Wingers and the Human Space Between
Treating someone like they’re the physical (or digital) embodiment of a political platform is an absolute farce. Want to know about someone’s political mindset? Ask her questions like she’s a whole person. Critique him like he’s a person. Just don’t ask someone to personally answer for, apologize for or justify your limited interpretation of a … Read More
White Supremacy and Me
White supremacy is rarely direct. That’s part of why so few of us believe we have any kind of relationship to it. But bad ideas, like all ideas, evolve and adapt over time. Good and bad ideas, if they evolve to become part of our regular living, tend to become “invisible” or “baked in,” so … Read More
Media Bias, Hatred and Empathy
The media is biased. Now, let’s put aside the more nuanced reality that there is no “Media” in the sense that there is no singular, monolithic “MediaBeast” that can effectively, collectively or helpfully be critiqued. Let’s agree that there are, instead, thousands (maybe tens of thousands?) of news outlets and platforms, each rooted in and sifting information through its … Read More
@ Sea Podcast #8: Katelyn Beaty
My guest on episode 8 is author and journalist Katelyn Beaty. Christianity Today made Katelyn the first female managing editor in the magazine’s 60-year history. She also happened to be the youngest managing editor during that same time span. Earlier this year, she released her first book, Entitled “A Woman’s Place: A Christian Vision for … Read More