Presence Practice

Join us this week as we continue our series "ReConstruct" where we look at healthy ways to deal with doubts and deconstruction.  This week, we ask the tough question of "should I stay or should I go?" We see many on both sides pointing the finger of blame on the mass exodus of the church.  In this episode, we will look at what it can look to be in an imperfect church, and how we should engage with her.  As always, be sure to like and share this episode with anyone that could be helped.

Terms like #exvangelical, #deconstruction, and #freedomfromreligion are exploding on social media these days.  Many inside the church look with disgust at this phenomenon with some even suggesting it is an excuse for them to 'sin.'  But how should we really look at this?  This is a huge subject that will take more than an episode or two to address it thoroughly.  This series is for anyone who ever has had questions, doubts, or even cynicism at what the church has become.  We encourage you to listen with an open mind and share with anyone that you think could benefit. As always, thanks for listening and be sure to rate, review, and share this series!

The Metaverse has arrived, ready or not.  But how should ministry leaders and followers of Jesus approach this new era?  Join us as we host Roger Solema in a much needed conversation on how we can approach the metaverse with openness, but also with a thoughtful spirit.  In this episode, we look at whether churches should pursue "Virtual Reality" church services and what some of the benefits could be, as well as the darker side.  We end by looking at a familiar passage with a new lens that has incredible relevance to this nuanced subject.  As always, thanks for listening and we love to hear your feedback at presencepracticepodcast@gmail.com.  

Show Notes:

NY Times article: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/30/opinion/church-online-services-covid.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuomT1JKd6J17Vw1cRCfTTMQmqxCdw_PIxftm3iWka3DMDm0aiOMNAo6B_EGKbqp-fdAzmjOdQN5HPfo0SeZsz-RSJAlmTBeprt2EhJEBaW0TmL6EY1kXjdjLTKxqtnjjdHW4I-Nyg-TmtB_dPDO8RPHb1nY-IAYypI81cQ78xXAOwP2SRuEm39l4iOwzRcwvHUd2byGKuvfpAht1OszXLU2Pr1lrBJwKHG3bjtWe6LkfcQ5NCFKgTHx35Gg07dI0K8pAde-kbEZmIJyi9O1XXm94L46pBIkzRZzXl9hptr3Lrx-Kwamm1nADJBbLC5groFZNxXbMeao&smid=url-share

Bema podcast on Tower of Babel:  https://www.bemadiscipleship.com/6

Join us for a change of pace episode where we get to nerd out on philosophy with our friend, Blake Roeber.  Blake Roeber is a professor and philosopher at Notre Dame who specializes in formal and social epistemology.  Blake joins us to talk about his book on political humility and why our country is so polarized right now.  We also delve into the relationship between political bias and our theological views.  Blake has an amazing ability to communicate complex truths in a way that people will understand and appreciate.  

For additional resources, check out these:

Bishop, Bill (2009), The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America is Tearing us Apart (Boston: Houghton Mifflin). 

Kahan, Dan, Ellen Peters, Erica Cantrell Dawson, and Paul Slovic (2007), “Culture and Identity-Protective Cognition,” Journal of Emperical Legal Studies, Vol. 4, No. 3: pp. 465-505.  

——— (2011), “Cultural Cognition of Scientific Consensus,” Journal of Risk Research. Vol. 14: pp. 147-74.

——— (2012), “The Polarizing Impact of Science Literacy and Numeracy on Perceived Climate Change Risks” Nature, Climate Change, Vol. 2: pp. 732–35.

——— (2017), “Motivated Numeracy and Enlightened Self-Government,” Behavioural Public Policy, Vol 1, No. 1: pp. 54-86.

Putnam, Robert and David Campbell (2010), American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us (New York: Simon and Schuster)

Join us this week as we host Gabe Hart as he reacts to our "Science of Unforgiveness" episode.  In this episode, we dive deep into Gabe's story and have a real and raw conversation about forgiving ourselves to break unhealthy patterns. We hope you enjoy and, as always, be sure to like and share!

Join in this episode as Tim ruins your nativity set by giving us some context that often is ignored.  Over the years, our traditional Christmas story has been sanitized and robbed of much of its beauty.  If you feel beaten down and exhausted by the last 2 years, then this podcast is for you.  We hope you will enjoy this hopeful, grace-filled message from the Gospel of Matthew.  Thanks for listening and be sure to review and share our podcast!

Join us for part 2 of our conversation on polarization in our country.  In the second half of this conversation, we get into some practical ways that the church can be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.  We hope you find some tangible ways to build bridges with your 'other.' Thanks for subscribing and be sure to like and share!

David French's latest article speaks of how our country is more divided than ever, and it doesn't seem to be getting better.  Join us this week as we talk about the unhealthy results of this growing polarization and what we can do about it.  This was a longer conversation so we decided to break it up into 2 parts.  We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did!

For questions, comments, or concerns, email us at:  presencepracticepodcast@gmail.com

David French Article:  https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/a-whiff-of-civil-war-in-the-air?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=

Are you a parent that feels beat up by the pandemic?  We have a great episode where we look at some good news for exhausted parents that want to parent well, but feel depleted.  In this episode, we will specifically look at the idea of bonding and attachment, and how we can view in a healthy way.  We hope you will pass this along to any parent that might feel beat up as a result of a difficult season.  As always, thanks for listening and be sure to like, share, and review us!

Links for the show:

Article:  https://caringforkids.cps.ca/handouts/pregnancy-and-babies/attachment

Paula's blog/website:  http://www.tenderheartsppd.com

Questions/Comments:  Contact us at presencepracticepodcast@gmail.com

Tim and Paula's church in NJ:  www.pccsomerset.org

Is empathy really a sin like some are saying in the western church?  Join us this week as we dive into an interesting article by David French on this very topic.  We will look at the example of Jesus and see what it means for us and our own "self-righteousness."  Finally, we end this podcast with a meditation inviting the Spirit to speak to us personally on this topic.  We hope you enjoy this week's episode!

David French article:  https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/the-american-crisis-of-selective

Brent Brown video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Evwgu369Jw

Finally, if you have topics or suggestions, please email us at presencepracticepodcast@gmail.com

I'm so excited to host my friend and mentor, Mark McGrath, for this special episode called "The Thinking Chair."  Join us, as we have a conversation on what it means to lean into the Spirit of God and what the church in America could be, if we did this well.  Stay until the end for a great discipline that we can add to our practices of abiding in Christ.  We hope you are encouraged by this episode!

As always, if you have questions, comments, or ideas for future episodes, be sure and email us at presencepracticepodcast@gmail.com.

Thanks for listening!

Join us for our first episode of season 3 where we preview where we have been, where we are now, and some of what to expect going forward.  Lastly, we will take a few minutes to meditate on God's word together.

For questions, comments, or ideas for future episodes, email us at presencepracticepodcast@gmail.com