In this episode Rabbi Or Rose talks about Hebrew words, the meaning of the high holy days and what we can all learn from the Sabbath
Interviewer: Jen Fisher
ABOUT RABBI ROSE
Rabbi Or N. Rose is the Director of the Center for Global Judaism at Hebrew College. He also serves as Co-Director of CIRCLE: the Center for Inter-Religious & Community Leadership Education, a joint venture of Hebrew College and Andover Newton Theological School. Rabbi Rose is the co-editor of Jewish Mysticism and the Spiritual Life: Classical Texts, Contemporary Reflections (Jewish Lights), and the forthcoming My Neighbor's Faith: Stories of Inter-Religious Encounter, Growth, and Transformation (Orbis, Spring 2012).
In this episode Sarah E. Cannon, Brandan Robertson and Colby Martin talk about the "clobber" passages about homosexuality in the Bible and share their journeys to reading these Scriptures in a new light.
From Ferguson to New York to Germany, Lisa has been leading trainings and helping mobilize clergy and community leaders around shared values for the common good as Sojourners Chief Church Engagement Officer. Through preaching, writing, training, network development, and public witness Ms. Harper engages the church in the work of justice and peacemaking.
In this episode David talks about how his evangelical Christian faith fell apart and how he built his music career through intimate house shows. Warning:This episode contains some explicit language.
Interviewer: Jonathan Williams
ABOUT DAVID
David Bazan has never had the answers. His first two solo records, 2009’s Curse Your Branches and 2011’s Strange Negotiations lived inside questions. Questions of politics, of relationships, of addiction, and of God. For anyone looking to art to remove doubt, Bazan is not that refuge. With a catalogue that orbits the darkest corners of the human experience, his songs are the tiny pinprick of light, the first breath coming up for air, the rest stop on a trip with no destination.
In this episode Christine Moutier talks mental health, societal stigma, suicide prevention, and how to talk to people who we're worried about.
Interviewer: Jen Fisher
ABOUT CHRISTINE
Dr. Christine Moutier knows the impact of suicide firsthand. After losing colleagues to suicide, she dedicated herself to fighting this leading cause of death. As a leader in the field of suicide prevention, Dr. Moutier joined the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in 2013, and has revitalized AFSP’s Education team, re-launched its Loss & Healing department, and expanded AFSP’s support to include those with lived experience of suicide.
In this episode Amy Butler talks politics, social justice, gun violence, and what it is like to be the "first" woman leading an influential organization.
Interviewer: Ryan Phipps and Ben Grace
ABOUT AMY
Rev. Dr. Amy Butler, "Pastor Amy," is the 7th Senior Minister at The Riverside Church in New York City. She is the first woman to hold the position of Senior Minister since the church opened 84 years ago. Pastor Amy wonders aloud all the time about: faith, church, living in community, the deep meaning of life, and, everything else, too.
This episode is dedicated to the 15th anniversary of September 11, 2001. Nancy Carbone, founder and Executive Director of Friends of Firefighters, joins us to talk about the continuing impact of the terror attacks on the city, the firefighting force, and the healing art of listening.
Interviewer: Ben Grace
ABOUT FRIENDS OF FIREFIGHTERS
Friends of Firefighters is dedicated to addressing the physical, mental health, and wellness needs of New York City’s firefighters and their families. Their ongoing mission is to provide long-term support and services through confidential counseling, wellness services, and other assistance required by firefighters and their families.
In this episode Brian McLaren talks about his own spiritual migration from fundamentalism to a just and generous Christianity, and the four places we should see the transformative kingdom of God breaking in: people, planet, poverty, peace.
Interviewer: Jonathan Williams and Jen Fisher
ABOUT BRIAN
Brian D. McLaren is an author, speaker, activist, and a passionate advocate for "a new kind of Christianity" - just, generous, and working with people of all faiths for the common good. His brand new book "The Great Spiritual Migration" is released on September 20, 2016 and Brian is one of the keynote speakers for Forefront NYC's "Faith, Culture, Questions" fall series.
In this episode Kenneth Tanner talks about the power of Eucharist, church iconography and how the the humility and vulnerability of God should inform our worship of violence and gun culture.
Interviewer: Ben Grace
ABOUT KEN
The Rev. Kenneth Tanner is pastor of Church of the Holy Redeemer in Rochester Hills, Michigan, where he lives with his wife and seven children. He loves talking about Jesus, the best films of Woody Allen, and making salsa. His writing has appeared in Patheos, Huffington Post, Sojourners, Books & Culture, National Review, Christianity Today, Behemoth, and Real Clear Religion.
In this episode Jonathan Martin talks about his brand new book "How to Survive a Shipwreck", and dives deep into death, baptism, the South, and the power of failure.
Interviewer: Ben Grace
ABOUT JONATHAN
Jonathan Martin is a sacramental hillbilly Pentecostal mystic and the author of How to Survive a Shipwreck and Prototype. He is a product of the "Christ-haunted landscape" of the American south, sweaty revivals, and hip-hop.
In this episode Jacqui Lewis and Jim Kast Keat talk about the history of Middle Collegiate, social justice, an evolving faith and why it's important to let go of fear.
Interviewer: Jonathan Williams, Jen Fisher and Ben Grace
ABOUT MIDDLE COLLEGIATE
Middle Collegiate Church is a celebrating, culturally diverse, inclusive and growing community of faith where all people are welcomed just as they are as they come through the door.
Derek Flood is an artist, writer, and a longtime voice in the post-conservative evangelical movement, focusing on wrestling with questions of faith and doubt, violence in the Bible, relational theology, and understanding the cross from the perspective of grace and restorative justice.
In this episode Justin tells his story of growing up gay as a Southern Baptist kid and talks about the debates and diversity within the Gay Christian Network.
Interviewer: Jonathan Williams, Ryan Phipps, Travis Eades, Jen Fisher & Ben Grace
ABOUT JUSTIN
Justin Lee is the founder of the Gay Christian Network (GCN), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides resources and support to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Christians and the author of the book Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate
In this episode Ryan Meeks and David Lunsford of Eastlake Community Church in Seattle tell their story about becoming fully inclusive and talk about our relationship to our bodies, unhealthy habits of faith communities and how, for a time, the practice of their lives was better than their theology.
Interviewer: Ben Grace
ABOUT EASTLAKE
Eastlake is a church for the rest of us, an inclusive Christian community where faith is less about a story to be believed as it is a life to be lived. What we share is a growing awareness that life is gift and what we do with it matters!
In this episode Austin Channing Brown discusses racial justice, why the scripture can sometimes be complicit in racism, why the term "White Supremacy" might be more prevalent than we think and why there is hope for reconciliation between the majority and minority groups here in the US.
Interviewer: Jonathan Williams
ABOUT AUSTIN
Austin is a Resident Director and Multicultural Liaison for Calvin College by day and a writer by night. She is passionate about the work of racial justice and reconciliation, especially as modeled and led by women.
In this episode Audrey Assad talks about suffering, art, converting to Catholicism and her new record of hymns and original songs called "Inheritance".
Interviewer: Ben Grace
ABOUT AUDREY
Audrey Assad is the daughter of a Syrian refugee, an author, speaker, producer, and critically lauded songwriter and musician. She releases music she calls “soundtracks for prayer” on the label Fortunate Fall Records, which she co-owns with her husband.
To get more info about Audrey and hear her new record, visit audreyassad.com
In this episode Doug Pagitt talks about the history of church movements in the USA and why younger generations are looking for a just and generous expression of Christianity.
Interviewer: Jen Wills Fisher
ABOUT DOUG
Doug Pagitt is a pastor, author, speaker, Ultra-Marathoner, goodness conspirator and possibility evangelist.
In this special Holy Week episode the Forefront staff met to discuss our faith backgrounds and personal journeys in Holy Week. We also reflected on our last year of wrestling and growth, talking about how the liturgical calendar and the conversation around midrash has shaped us.
Interviewers: Jonathan Williams, Ryan Phipps, Travis Eades, Mira Joyner, Jen Wills Fisher, Marlee Walters, and Ben Grace
ABOUT FOREFRONT
Forefront Church is an interdenominational faith community dedicated to cultivating a just and generous expression of the Christian faith in New York and around the world.
To get more info about Forefront, visit our website, forefrontnyc.com
In this episode our friend Rabbi Dan returns to teach us how to use midrash to explore the meaning of Biblical texts. Listen in as members of our community learn to read midrash together and explore the theology of the Old Testament book of Job.
ABOUT RABBI DAN
Rabbi Daniel M. Bronstein, Ph.D., is a scholar and educator who teaches at Hunter College and the 92nd Street Y in New York City. His dissertation, "Torah in the Trenches," examines the rabbinical military chaplaincy during World War II. He lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., with his family.
To learn more from Rabbi Dan, read some blog posts here