Shows
Igniting ImaginationSpiritual Formation Everywhere You Look with Tim SoerensWe kick off Season 7 of the Igniting Imagination podcast in conversation with pastor and social entrepreneur Tim Soerens about the immense opportunity to reenergize the church today by daring to be “faithfully present” to what God imagines for us in our churches, our neighborhoods, and in our daily lives. The challenges the church faces today are very real, yet Tim shows us a path forward that blends an active spiritual journey with the material realities of daily life. Tim provides insights from his work as well as his experience as a dad with three children. In this conve...2022-11-1640 min
Igniting ImaginationThe Gifts of Wilderness with Bishop Gregory PalmerWe conclude our season on Jacob’s Bones (the core truths, values and practices to carry forward in the new church) in the wilderness where identity and purpose can become clear. Bishop Palmer reflects on the gifts of this wilderness time in the church and through his no-nonsense, compelling way, challenges the church to move beyond navel-gazing to face out to the world. This inspired and hope-filled conversation invites us to consider what it really means to be the church today. Bishop Palmer embodies the passion and possibility of the church’s bold witness for the present and future chur...2022-10-0557 min
Igniting ImaginationA Better Vision for Human Flourishing with Andy CrouchAndy Crouch believes that one of the biggest challenges of pastoral ministry right now is not being seduced by the false vision of human flourishing that our culture offers and that technology optimizes. “You’re not going to get to the Kingdom of God by providing these religious goods and services that your system has been set up to provide and that technology can help you optimize,” Crouch says. “You're only going to get there by finding ways to reinvest in small communities, small enough for people to actually be known and to actually encounter God together.” This conversation begins wit...2022-09-2857 min
Igniting ImaginationPeople, Places, and Processes for Healing with Jorge AcevedoGrace Church is the perfect name for the now large, multi-site, United Methodist congregation in Southwest Florida that Jorge Acevedo started two decades ago. “Help us be the church for people that nobody sees” has been the church’s focus and that is exactly the church they have become. Grace Church is taking the healing ministry of Jesus seriously by bringing together people, places, and processes that make it possible for those who are affected by addiction to heal–and Grace Church is leading the way as one of America’s most effective churches in recovery ministries. Jorge shares his own st...2022-09-2156 min
Igniting ImaginationThe Gravity of Joy with Angela Gorrell“America’s crisis of despair crashed into my life while I was getting paid to think about joy,” is how Dr. Angela Gorrell begins her book on joy and that is where we begin our conversation. What is authentic joy and how do you experience joy when there is so much to NOT be joyful about? One key, says Dr. Gorrell, is to recognize joy as a gift, like grace, and not something you can pursue like the “choose joy” coffee mugs and wall hangings imply. This episode includes a dynamic discussion between Lisa and Gil about the “we” and “I” cultur...2022-09-0752 min
Igniting ImaginationMethodist Hope for What Comes Next with Will WillimonWhat better way to start our season about the values the church must carry forward into the future than with the ‘gadfly of the church,’ Bishop Will Willimon! Co-host Gil Rendle points out that as the gadfly of the church, Will both loves and cares about the institution AND asks critically important questions that challenge the church to be better. You won’t want to miss this compelling story-packed episode that includes topics like how Jesus disrupts contented churches, why purpose is so important right now and Will’s advice to pastors in today’s context.
In this co...2022-09-0154 min
Igniting ImaginationSummer Soul Tending with Tod Bolsinger: Follow a Rule of LifeOur most-downloaded episode is back (!) for one big reason: this conversation remains incredibly relevant today. We are inviting you to listen again or for the first time to Tod Bolsinger because the way he talks about how to manage change, stress and resistance without burning out is as practical as it is inspiring. In this conversation, you’ll hear:
What’s the most important thing to hold on to in the face of change (05:54)
Tod’s response to a leader who said “I think I can lead change, I’m not sure I can survive it.” (07:21)
Who in histor...2022-08-1834 min
Igniting ImaginationSummer Soul Tending with Joe Stabile: Trust in God’s LeadJoe Stabile started centering prayer at age 14. If you’ve ever wondered how a lifetime of centering prayer shapes a person, listen to this conversation with Joe. Throughout his life, Joe has had a constant posture of discernment and a deep trust in where God is leading. Joe is so rooted in the Spirit; listening to him, being around him, is like jumping into a cold pool of water on a hot summer day. In this soul-refreshing conversation, you’ll hear:
Joe’s story of his life with God and his deep trust in God that has led...2022-08-1138 min
Igniting ImaginationSummer Soul Tending with Danielle Shroyer: Be a Soul NinjaDanielle Shroyer’s curiosity about the spiritual path took an unexpected turn in 2018. This founder of the emerging church movement and deeply faithful Christian leader took the path East, towards the wisdom and practices of the Eastern traditions. Her blog, Be a Soul Ninja, chronicles her experiences engaging in different Eastern religious thoughts and practices. So what does it mean to Be a Soul Ninja? In this conversation, we discuss:
Why Danielle is a ‘hot mess’ at meditating and still names meditation as the practice that has helped her to grow the most in her faith (6:30)
The dif...2022-07-2838 min
Igniting ImaginationLiving the Questions with Shannon HopkinsShannon Hopkins has been asking, “God, what is the church you are building today?” for decades–and she’s been living that question. Shannon’s pursuit of new forms of Christian community inspired her to move from Texas to London where she has continued to build an incredible network of friends and colleagues who are living the questions, too. Through her organization RootedGood, Shannon is bringing spiritual entrepreneurs and innovators together to support one another and discern what it means to do the Gospel-inspired work that transforms the world today. In this conversation, we get to ask the one who has be...2022-05-1949 min
Igniting ImaginationThe Parish is My World with Coté SoerensCoté Soerens has made her neighborhood in South Park, Seattle her world. She and her husband Tim moved their family into the under-resourced neighborhood with a deep desire to discover God’s dreams for the community and participate in helping those dreams come to fruition alongside their neighbors. Coté started a coffee shop, Resistencia Coffee, that has become a third space for neighbors to gather, to build relationships with one another and to discern next steps towards making their neighborhood thrive. When you listen to Coté tell her story and the story of South Park, you’ll hear how the Spi...2022-05-1249 min
Igniting ImaginationThe Soul of Reconciliation with David BaileyArrabon means “a foretaste of the kingdom.” This conversation with David Bailey is full of Arrabon! David describes the significance of the numbers 8 and 2008 in his life. From an early age, David saw the benefits and challenges of cultivating a diverse community where everyone can thrive. His passion for God and scripture, together with his love of music and vision for reconciled communities led him to start Arrabon. Arrabon, like David, takes the long view of reconciliation, walking alongside congregations and organizations to facilitate conversation and curriculum that leads to both healing and justice. Although this topic perhaps feels heav...2022-05-0547 min
Igniting ImaginationBrian McLaren on Becoming a New Kind of Christian and New Kind of ChurchIn these five episodes of Season 5, we’ll be meeting stunning spiritual entrepreneurs who are making a profound impact as they follow God’s call on their lives. They are the recipients of the 2022 Locke Innovative Leader Award.
To help us set the stage for these conversations, we begin with Brian McLaren! In book after book (his newest book Do I Stay Christian? comes out in May… we talk about it!), with startling clarity, he lays bare the deeply troubling and the fundamentally beautiful aspects of the church and what it means to be the Body of Christ...2022-04-2141 min
Igniting ImaginationProphetic Imagination in a Parking Lot with Mandy McDowIn our final episode for the season, Mandy McDow, pastor of Los Angeles First UMC, shares the story of LA First who razed their building in 2002. Yep. No building. That reality forces a posture of constant discernment: God, what is the difference you would have us make in this neighborhood in this season? Theirs is not a tidy, perfect story. It’s messy and real and very much in process. We hope it inspires you as it has us! Wow!
QUOTES
“That’s the first barrier for entry to understanding how God loves you. The way...2022-03-1733 min
Igniting ImaginationPower and Abundance with Mike Mather“What does ‘Distributing Power’ look like for a congregation?” is a frequent question we get about our fourth adaptive muscle. Now we can say: listen to this interview with Mike Mather! Mike helps us make the connection between distributing power and abundance.
When Mike and his congregation started actually living out their beliefs that everyone (both inside and outside of the church) has gifts, it changed their perspective–and their church–for the better. They began to look for the gifts their neighbors possessed instead of their needs. They shifted how they perceived their role in the community fr...2022-03-1044 min
Igniting ImaginationNurturing Thriving Communities with Adam Barlow-ThompsonAdam Barlow-Thompson, co-founder of The Neighboring Movement, wants us to meet our actual neighbors. While that may seem like a simple idea, research (and perhaps experience) shows us that few of us truly engage our neighbors. Adam invites us to move from the theoretical ‘love your neighbor’ to the literal: meet your neighbors in the eight houses or apartments around you and discover the gifts God has given them. Adam does not simply offer a rosy picture of neighboring. He relates a story of a neighbor who slammed the door on his colleague one day, and a year later embr...2022-03-0342 min
Igniting ImaginationThe Purpose of the Institutional Church with Gil RendleMost of us can readily identify with having a love-hate relationship with the Institution of the Church. Gil Rendle’s latest paper, Jacob’s Bones: On the Church’s Institutional Future, addresses our ambivalence head-on and offers a distinction that is a gamechanger. He states, “Institutions are not organizations that house values. Institutions are values and disciplines that need organizations to bring their gifts to the people.”
Listen to this week’s episode of Igniting Imagination as we dig deeper into this conversation with Gil. We hope it sparks a new imagination in you around the vital work of iden...2022-02-2438 min
Igniting ImaginationExpanding Imagination with Amy OdenThe fifth and final muscle the church needs to strengthen in order to be fit, agile, and ready for God’s now is Expanding Imagination. Dr. Amy Oden teaches theology, the history of Christianity and spiritual formation. Her ability to combine deep theological thought with spiritual practice and bring ancient wisdom to inform contemporary life is not just relevant…her work is truly revelatory for the church today.
In this conversation, Amy connects imagination with the life and ministry of Jesus and the work of the early church. She invites us to see curiosity as a spiritual prac...2021-12-1639 min
Igniting ImaginationDistributing Power with Joerg RiegerThe fourth of five muscles the church needs to strengthen in order to be fit, agile, and ready for God’s now is Distributing Power. Dr. Joerg Rieger is the Distinguished Professor of Theology and the Cal Turner Chancellor’s Chair of Wesleyan Studies at Vanderbilt University. He has spent the last two decades addressing the relation of theology and public life, reflecting on the misuse of power in religion, politics, and economics.
In this conversation, Joerg reminds us that distributed power is at the heart of Jesus’ ministry and the ministry of John Wesley and the people...2021-12-0939 min
Igniting ImaginationWalking Alongside Neighbors with Coté SoerensThe third of five muscles the church needs to strengthen in order to be fit, agile, and ready for God’s now is Walking Alongside or Neighboring. Coté Soerens is the owner and midwife of Resistencia Coffee shop in the South Park neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. She is also the co-founder of Cultivate South Park, a non-profit that lends infrastructure to neighborhood community development projects such as the Urban Fresh Food Collective, Reconnect South Park, and the South Park Arts and Culture Collective.
In this conversation, Coté beautifully and powerfully offers a picture of what it means to wa...2021-12-0243 min
Igniting ImaginationDiscerning Purpose with Susan BeaumontThe second of five muscles the church needs to strengthen in order to be fit, agile, and ready for God’s now is Discerning Purpose. Susan Beaumont is well known for her groundbreaking work in organizational leadership dynamics. She is a consultant, coach, author, spiritual director, and an ordained minister within the American Baptist Churches. She has worked with hundreds of congregations and denominational bodies across the United States and in Canada.
In this conversation with Lisa Greenwood, Susan reflects on the difference between discernment and decision-making. She offers practical wisdom for how pastors can beg...2021-11-1837 min
Igniting ImaginationThe Five Adaptive MusclesYou’re listening to Igniting Imagination, a podcast to spark the spirit within you from Wesleyan Investive and Texas Methodist Foundation. This season, we are sharing conversations about the five adaptive muscles the church must strengthen to be fit, agile, and ready for God’s now. For more information about these muscles, visit tmf-fdn.org/leadership-ministry.
TMF’s Leadership Ministry team had conversations with pastors, bishops, conference leaders, spiritual entrepreneurs and practitioners from various fields about the adaptive challenges the church is facing in the pandemic and post-pandemic world. Through these conversations, the team identified “Five Muscles” that congr...2021-11-0435 min
Igniting ImaginationSeason 3 TrailerYou’re listening to Igniting Imagination, a podcast to spark the spirit within you from Wesleyan Investive and Texas Methodist Foundation. This season, we are sharing conversations about the five adaptive muscles the church must strengthen to be fit, agile, and ready for God’s now. For more information about these muscles, visit tmf-fdn.org/leadership-ministry.
“God Has Work for Us To Do” music and lyrics by Mark Miller. Visit Mark’s website at markamillermusic.com or find him on YouTube at youtube.com/c/markismusic67.
2021-10-2901 min
Igniting ImaginationIntangible Currencies and Social Banking with DeAmon Harges, Locke Innovative Leader Award WinnerCo-hosts Lisa Greenwood and Casper ter Kuile talk with DeAmon Harges, 2021 Locke Innovative Leader Award Winner. DeAmon is the original “Roving Listener” who defined the role by his posture of curiosity and his passion for discovering the gifts and talents of the people in his community. He is also the founder of The Learning Tree, a non-profit that uses the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) approach with city governments and organizations to improve the quality of lives of people, communities, schools and businesses.
His approach has greatly influenced how congregations, non-profits, and local governments view their work. Instead of s...2021-06-1034 min
Igniting ImaginationComposting Religion with Jen Bailey, Locke Innovative Leader Award WinnerCo-hosts Lisa Greenwood and Casper ter Kuile talk with Rev. Jen Bailey, 2021 Locke Innovative Leader Award Winner, about her womanist-led Faith Matters Network, whose mission is to catalyze personal and social change by equipping community organizers, faith leaders, and activists with resources for connection, spiritual sustainability, and accompaniment. Jen, founder and executive director, discusses how the organization has focused on “healing the healers” of transformative social movements through a variety of programs.
Jen discusses the role partnerships play in innovation. She also explains the term “composting religion” as taking the best of the old to create something new that...2021-05-2038 min
Igniting ImaginationToday’s Spiritual Landscape with Casper ter Kuile and Tom LockeIgniting Imagination is a podcast to spark the spirit within you, from Wesleyan Investive and Texas Methodist Foundation. This season, we are sharing conversations with five spiritual entrepreneurs who were awarded the 2021 Tom Locke Innovative Leader Award from the Wesleyan Investive. These five spiritual entrepreneurs share their wisdom through stories and reflections that will encourage and challenge you and ultimately ignite your imagination as a leader.
Rev. Lisa Greenwood interviews her co-host for this season, Casper ter Kuile. Casper is the author of The Power of Ritual and the co-founder of Sacred Design Lab, a soul-centered research and...2021-05-1348 min