The Eternal Current with Aaron Niequist

SEASON TWO - EPISODE 29: THE ETERNAL CURRENT WITH AARON NIEQUIST

What if the faith isn’t simply believing things about God, but practicing the way of God? 

What if faith isn’t knowing things about the Divine, but experiencing the Divine all around you? 

That’s what Aaron Niequist and I talk about in this episode. 

Aaron is a liturgist, writer, and pastor. He’s worked as a worship leader at Willow Creek Church and Mars Hill Bible Church. He’s also the creator of A New Liturgy, which is a collection of modern liturgical worship recordings as well as The Practice, which is a formational ecumencial practiced-based community at Willow.

He’s the author of the book The Eternal Current: How a Practice-Based Faith Can Save Us from Drowning and host of the Eternal Current Podcast.

I think wherever you find yourself on the spiritual journey, you’ll connect with much of what Aaron speaks about in this interview.

Aaron reminds us that faith isn’t something we have to believe; it’s not simply a bunch of doctrines we have to believe is right or true. Instead, it is learning the ways of the Divine; ways that we can experience God all around; ways that allow us to enter into the flow, or eternal current, that is happening everywhere.

To learn more about Aaron, be sure to visit his website. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

As you experience a practice-based faith and learn to swim in the eternal current of the Divine, may you have peace, may you have calm, and may you have happiness.

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Spiritual Wandering with Traci Rhoades

SEASON TWO - EPISODE 26: SPIRITUAL WANDERING WITH TRACI RHOADES

In a time when so many Christians debate and argue, fight and exclude, Traci Rhoades is a loving voice of unity encouraging each of us to deeply love the Church instead of divide over our beliefs about the church.

In this episode of the podcast, Traci shares how she, as a small-town southern baptist, discovered and fell in love with liturgy, prayer beads, silence, the book of common prayer, and the broad church experiences of other traditions. She moved from not simply loving her particular faith tradition and church experience, but loving the Great Tradition, the historic church experience.

What I enjoyed about this conversation is that Traci and I share the belief that the church, as flawed and messed up as she is, continues to be a way for us to encounter and experience the Divine.

In all her wonders, the church has a way, a mystical and mysterious way, of drawing us nearer to the Divine. 

When we move away from arguing that our tradition is right while others traditions are wrong we can actually find the church to be a beautiful diamond; a treasure that we can cherish.

Traci just released a book called, Not All Who (Spiritually) Wander Are Lost. If you’re like me, a bit of a church mutt, not sure where you land or what church is your style, this might be a great resource for you. 

If you want more information on Traci, you can check out her website and blog. Also, be sure to connect with her on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest.

As you spiritually wander, trying to find hope in the Church and discover the Divine, may you have peace, may you have calm, and may you have happiness.

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Reconnect with Ed Cyzewski

SEASON TWO - EPISODE 25: RECONNECT WITH ED CYZEWSKI

Is it possible to be less anxious?

Can social media be a tool we use rather than a tool that uses us?

How can prayer calm our minds and help us discover the Love of the Divine?

These are just some of the topics I address in this episode with Ed Cysewski.

Ed is a writer, editor, and author of multiple books. He blogs a lot on prayer and writing. 

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Two of his books we talk about in this episode are: Flee, Be Silent, Pray: Ancient Prayers for Anxious Christians and Reconnect: Spiritual Restoration from Digital Distraction. Both of these are great resources for those individuals who grew up in an evangelical world, are searching for spiritual practices that can enable them to encounter God, and for practical advice on how to disconnect from the distractions of our digital devices and discover spiritual renewal.

You can follow Ed on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Be sure to subscribe to Ed’s newsletter to receive free content. If you like this episode, be sure to SHARE it and REVIEW it on Apple Podcasts.

As you seek to reconnect with the Divine by protecting your time, maintaining one-on-one interactions, and finding silence in your day….may you have peace, may you have calm, may you have happiness. 

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Contemplative Listening with Megan Westra

SEASON TWO - EPISODE 21: CONTEMPLATIVE LISTENING WITH MEGAN WESTRA

On this episode of the podcast, I have the privilege of interviewing Megan Westra.

Megan is a pastor in Milwaukee, WI, author of the soon-to-be-released book, Born Again and Again: Jesus’ Call to Radical Transformation, host of the Podluck Podcast, and is an advocate for the marginalized, voiceless, and those who need hope. I stumbled upon Megan’s work thanks to Twitter and have been following her and her work for a while. 

Her personal faith journey has led her from very conservative southern baptist routes to a contemplative faith that leads to action and equity. And in this episode we touch on centering prayer, lectio divina, and silence as ways to encounter God in fresh ways. 

One of the greatest insights I gained from this conversation was from a brief comment Megan made about finding God in the silence.

Now, I’ve often heard that in silence, we can hear the still small voice of the Divine. There are ancient scriptures that speak to this point. However, what Megan states in this episode is that in the silence God is.

So, silence and stillness does not necessarily mean the absence of God.

Nor does silence and stillness mean we can maybe, just maybe, hear the still small voice of God.

But it means that in the silence and stillness God is.

I don’t know about you, but that is refreshingly good news to me. It’s great to reminded that silence and stillness are not a barrier to encountering God, but are ways to encountering God.

Therefore, stillness, silence, and contemplative practices are a way to complete reorient our lives to encounter God in all places and at all times.

If you enjoy this episode, please be sure to rate and review this podcast on Apple Podcasts as it enables more people to see the podcast. As always, this podcast was recorded and edited on Monocan Land. 

As you discover the richness of lectio divina, journey to a faith that takes you places you never thought imaginable, and discover the Divine within the silence and stillness, may you have peace, may you have calm, may you have happiness.

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