Enjoy as they mostly talk about Rob Bell and his interview on MSNBC

As always we enjoy any support from comments, feedback, buying the book, The Hopeful Skeptic, or following us on twitter @nicholasfiedler and @nieuprovoker.

Also check out our in page player in the top left.

[Direct download for ep 177 - Nick and Josh Ramblecast, About Rob Bell]

Cliff has an interesting life that mixes ministry with the entertainment industry and his first novel puts one foot in each of those spheres. What I found most interesting about Cliff’s story is that he did not intend to write a novel and when it was all said and done, he did all the work and it took him ten years. I thought that was a powerful story for those of us anxious to get some thoughts on paper and get them out there.

Cliff gives some good advise for artists/writers and he talks about his novel.

[Direct link ep 175 - Cliff Shiepe talks about publishing and Cliff Falls]

For more information check out YTI and Almost Christian.

[Direct Download of ep 174 - Round Table with Kenda Creasy Dean and some Youth Ministers]

If you are interested in screening 17 Degrees, please contact Josh at: case [dot] joshua [at] gmail [dot] com

[Direct Link to ep 173 - Carlton Mackey and 17 Degrees Ain't Nothing]

They talk about the Proper 29 Project.

The project can be summed up in this bit from their web page:

Proper 29 Project has been set up to provide a forum for homiletic engagement with our moral culpability as Christians in the United States for civilian deaths and torture in Iraq and Afghanistan, and for witnessing to the gospel of Jesus Christ as we process the news that British, U.S., and Iraqi forces have killed over 66,000 civilians. We acknowledge and lament our corporate responsibility for these acts. Knowing that we all stand under God’s judgment, we hope to speak the truth without creating dichotomies which lessen our culpability.

Be sure to check out the site for the Proper 29 Project.

[Direct Download for ep 170 - Rev Dr. Amy Laura Hall and the Proper 29 Project]

I think you will enjoy this conversation.

Jim Wallis does the forward and says that the book,“is a story of how Adam and many of his cohorts are shaping the next strategies for faith-based social change; a theology for social justice; a spirituality for young activists; a handbook for those who want to experiment with activism and search out their own vocation in the world; and a strategy manual that draws lessons from past movements for change.”

His IVP author info is here, and book info is here.

[Direct Download for ep 169 - Adam Taylor, Mobilizing Hope]

This week Josh talks to Jeff Sharlett about the topic of two of Jeff’s books, christian fundamentalism inside our government. It is like a Dan Brown novel, but with historical accuracy.

To prepare for the episode read this Wiki Article on The Fellowship and C Street.

And after the interview I definitely suggest picking up both of Jeff’s books on the topic.

The Family
C Street

And check out his webpage as well as our favorite

[Direct link to ep 167 - Jeff Sharlet, The Family and C Street]

This week Nick talks to Matt Litton the author of The Mockingbird Parables. We celebrate 50 years of To Kill a Mocking Bird, and talk about his book and his thoughts of teaching this book to his students.

Here are some more thoughts from Matt:

Setting out to write TMP I had been caught up with the realization of religious language losing its power. I grew up in an evangelical, and noticed that some of the language of my own tribe or christian subculture had lost its meaning and effectiveness because I had heard it so many times. More pressing than my own disconnection was that fewer and fewer of my friends knew what in the world we church people were talking about! The disconnect of communication between Jesus followers and culture is sin on many levels -as our culture becomes less “christian” it looks more and more like we are communicating in code. Ours is the language of a ‘divine’ social club – which in many ways (that are mostly inadvertent on our part) – is compassion-less and selfish. Frederick Beuchner’s meditation on the power of “chanting” to help return meaning to words that have lost their flavor or power had me thinking a bit… in post-modern culture – finding fresh ways to tell our story is so incredibly essential.

I have more thoughts on parables and the great divide between the language of faith and popular culture’s ability to understand it. I think it is a great challenge in our quickly evolving culture. Parables are powerful because they are story, and we own story, we define ourselves by story. Business culture has locked into the power of story and have essentially begun using parables to sell us for several years now. It is an effective form of communication. Take for instance the AT&T commercial – with the man and woman missing each other on the train. It tells a modern and relevant story about the power of connection. The couple who might miss meeting will eventually have a child who will be President – but thank God for AT&T. It is essentially a parable teaching us about the importance of having that AT&T connection! We have a story about connection that is way more powerful than that one – and an obligation to share it!
As Jesus reminds us, stories have the power to stick with us, and the ability to lay dormant until we are ready to hear their message… think about that next time you go cell-phone shopping.

[Direct link to ep 166 - Matt Litton, The Mockingbird Parables]

For more information on these topics and for stuff mentioned in the intro, check out these links:

Koinonia Church

Seeking Sophia

Emergent Theological Conversation 2011

The Beatitudes Society

Big Tent Christianity

[Direct link to ep 165 - Kimberly Knight, Big Tent Christianity, the Inventive Age]

This week Nick talks to Jack Jenkins, from The Church is Alive.

Jack blogs personally here
He tweets @jackmjenkins

I have also included some of his mean harp playing below.

[Direct link to ep 164 - Jack Jenkins, The Church is Alive/Social Media/Obama]