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This past Sunday, Maddie preached about resisting the temptations of the “inner ring” by diving into the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the book of Daniel. She talked about how, in our daily lives, being prophetic often looks like deciding not to conform in little ways when conforming goes against our values.
Resisting the temptation to conform is hard because conforming is often how we’re taught to belong– and it’s natural to want to belong! The problems come when the desire to belong runs our life and leads us astray. We can only resist that temptation consistently when we deconstruct our desire to belong to the invisible inner circles all around us. In her sermon, Maddie talked about a CS Lewis essay and a VeggieTales episode. More on those below! The Inner Ring, by C.S. Lewis In 1944, C.S. Lewis gave a lecture called “The Inner Ring,” in which he reflected on a temptation he believed was present in nearly every area of human life: the desire to be part of an exclusive group. Lewis argued that many of the worst decisions people make are by the longing to belong to an “inner ring” — a circle of people who seem more important, influential, knowledgeable, or accepted than everyone else. Whether in schools, workplaces, churches, social circles, or politics, we often find ourselves tempted to compromise our values in order to gain admission to these invisible groups. Lewis warns that the inner ring is ultimately a trap. The moment we gain entry into one exclusive circle, another appears just beyond it, promising an even greater sense of belonging. The pursuit never ends. Instead of chasing acceptance from increasingly exclusive groups, Lewis encourages us to focus instead on forming genuine friendships, engaging meaningful work, and living out our values. You can read the lecture itself at the link, it’s not very long and full of good insights! VeggieTales Episode: Rack, Shack, and Benny On Sunday, we dove into the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the book of Daniel. This story takes place during the Babylonian exile, after the Israelites were conquered. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were taken from their homeland along with the other Israelites. But, unlike the other Israelites, they were specially chosen to serve in the court of the Babylonian king, where they had to constantly navigate the pressures to conform to practices that went against their beliefs. The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is about a time when the three Israelites stood up for their beliefs, refusing to worship a large golden statue. When the Babylonian king threw them in the furnace as punishment, God stayed with them and they miraculously survived. Maddie talked about the ways in which many of us are finding success in our own “exiles”-- how, like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, we’ve gained access to all kinds of inner rings. That sometimes makes it harder to resist the temptation to try to get access to inner rings that are even more exclusive. As Maddie mentioned on Sunday, there is a VeggieTales version of this story! In this episode, Bob the Tomato, Larry the Cucumber, and Junior Asparagus work in a chocolate factory and are pressured to worship a gigantic chocolate bunny. It’s a great episode, Maddie’s favorite, and a great way to introduce kids– and people of all ages– to ideas about resisting social pressure. The link takes you to a YouTube playlist version of the episode. For the official episode, you’ll need to unfortunately subscribe to PureFlix.
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 This past Sunday, Maddie preached about practicing the way of love when we mess up by looking at the Parable of the Prodigal Son. She talked about how challenging it can be to show love to others when we mess up because we're filled with shame. She then took a look at Henri Nouwen's best-selling book, "The Return of the Prodigal Son" and explored how Nouwen's journey with the Parable of the Prodigal Son might help us navigate situations where we mess up. Nouwen, over the course of his journey, realizes that he is both the younger son in the parable as well as the older son, but discovers that he is called to try, as best he can, to be the father. Similarly, when we mess up, it can help to remember that we are both the younger son in the parable, who God will always welcome home, as well as the older son, who needs to examine his own shame and resentment. Once we are secure in the knowledge of God's love and are able to take an honest inventory of what we might do better in the better, we can then try, like Nouwen, to be like the father in the story and extend God's grace to others who need it too. This week's resource of the week is the sequel to Nouwen's "Return of the Prodigal Son." In Home Tonight: Further Reflections on the Parable of the Prodigal Son, Nouwen revisits this beloved story through the lens of his own struggles with loneliness, resentment, depression, and belonging. Drawn from workshops and unpublished reflections written near the end of his life, the book is more personal and autobiographical than its predecessor. Rather than focusing primarily on Rembrandt's famous painting, Nouwen reflects on his own journey from the prestige of academia to life in the L'Arche community, and the painful realization that many of the elder brother's resentments lived within him as well. One of the book's central insights is that gratitude is the antidote to resentment. The elder brother becomes trapped in a world of comparison, fairness, and earning, while the father invites him into a world shaped by grace. Nouwen argues that true homecoming requires not only accepting God's unconditional love for ourselves, but also learning to celebrate that same love when it is extended to others. If Sunday's sermon resonated with you, Home Tonight offers a thoughtful companion for anyone learning how to move beyond shame, receive grace, and practice love after they've made a mistake. Last Sunday, as part of our sermon series "Practicing 'the Way' of Love," Pastor Alison spoke about the importance of embracing truth-telling as a spiritual practice. Alison said this: "In this moment, when we see dominant expressions of American Christianity moving further and further away from truth-telling, with little regard for who is harmed in the process, I believe that it is more important than ever that those of us who seek to embody a more liberative expression of Christianity intentionally choose do the opposite: that we hold firm to truth-telling as an essential spiritual practice. A commitment to truth has always been part of what it means to be a person of faith. We see this clearly in the prophets of the Hebrew Bible who were tasked with speaking truth to power. . . . Many of us are familiar with the witness of the Hebrew Bible prophets and also of various contemporary truth-tellers. These exemplary individuals absolutely deserve of our admiration. But it’s also worth noting that problems emerge when a commitment to truth is delegated to the select “courageous” few. You’ve probably seen this firsthand — whether it be in a family system, a workplace, a community, or a nation. When there isn’t a collective commitment to honesty, one or a few individuals must take on the burden of truth-telling for everyone. And are these individuals rewarded for doing so? Not usually. More often than not they are viewed as disloyal irritants, as the black sheep of the group. Sometimes they are viewed as a threat and find themselves pushed out, scapegoated, or even or martyred for their efforts like Jesus was. Perhaps you’ve found yourself in this position or taking on this role before, as the one who refused to follow the script, who, in order to maintain your own integrity, couldn’t help but speak the truth as you understood it. I can tell you from my own experiences — it doesn’t feel good to be this person, to take on this role. It is far more life-giving to be part of a system where commitment to the truth is shared among many. And this is actually what God invites us into. We see this in the claims that Jesus made about himself and about the Way of Love; in the wisdom of the early church leaders around what it looks like to grow in spiritual maturity; and in the movement of the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts." Alison made the case that anything that helps us to “belong to the truth” as Jesus put it (in John 18:37) — anything that helps us to be more present with reality, or to more fully embody authenticity, or to create something genuine — can be considered a truth-telling practice. To close the sermon Alison invited us to consider and reflect upon these two questions:
As you consider next steps around truth-telling in your own life, you may want to revisit some of the possible suggestions that Pastor Alison shared in her sermon. Perhaps you are being invited to lean into honesty with yourself around . . .
Perhaps you are being invited to lean into honesty with those around you by . . .
Perhaps you are being invited to lean into honesty in how you navigate and move through the public sphere by. . .
Perhaps we are all being invited to lean into honesty through creativity by . . .
Perhaps, as followers of Jesus, we are collectively being invited to lean into honesty by reclaiming and reimagining the Christian practices of confession and repentance . . .
Also, the quotes and resources included below may be helpful you as you explore truth-telling as a spiritual practice. Give them a look!
Cole Arthur Riley:
James Baldwin
bell hooks
"Truth and Reconciliation" by Desmond Tutu "Love Speaks the Truth" by Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis for the Center for Action and Contemplation "Why the Faithful Might Need a Complaints Department" by Kate Bowler "On Living with Regret" by Kate Bowler Last Sunday, Pastor Alison kicked off a new sermon series titled "Practicing 'the Way' of Love." More than being known for their beliefs, early Christians were known for their radically inclusive practices — practices that transformed their inner lives and also shaped how they showed up in the world. As a result, early followers of Jesus were often called “people of the Way” or people practicing “the Way.” This Way that they were referring to was the Way of Jesus — the Way of Unconditional Love. During this sermon series we are exploring together what it might look like for us to embrace the Way of Love in our lives today. How might Christian practices, broadly defined, help us to more fully experience and embody unconditional Agape love? During her sermon, Alison shared quotes from two books that may be helpful resources for you: A People's History of Christianity and Searching for Sunday. You can find information about them below and copies are available to borrow from the River's Lending Library! A People's History of Christianity: The Other Side of the Story About the book: For too long, the history of Christianity has been told as the triumph of orthodox doctrine imposed through power. Now, historian Diana Butler Bass sheds new light on the surprising ways that many Christians have refused to conform to a rigid church hierarchy and sought to recapture the radical implications of Jesus's life and message. About the author: Diana Butler Bass (Ph.D., Duke) is an award-winning author of eleven books, popular speaker, inspiring preacher, and one of America's most trusted commentators on religion and contemporary spirituality, especially where faith intersects with politics and culture. Her bylines include The New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN.com, Atlantic.com, USA Today, Huffington Post, Christian Century, and Sojourners. She has commented in the media widely including on CBS, CNN, PBS, NPR, CBC, FOX, Sirius XM, TIME, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Mother Jones, and in multiple global news outlets. Her website is dianabutlerbass.com and she can be followed on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. She writes a twice-weekly newsletter --The Cottage -- which can be found on Substack.
Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church About the book: Like millions of her millennial peers, Rachel Held Evans didn't want to go to church anymore. The hypocrisy, the politics, the gargantuan building budgets, the scandals—to her, it was beginning to feel like church culture was too far removed from Jesus. Yet, despite her cynicism and misgivings, something kept drawing Evans back to church. Evans found herself wanting to better understand the church and find her place within it, so she set out on a new adventure. Within the pages of Searching for Sunday, Evans catalogs her journey as she loves, leaves, and finds the church once again. Evans tells the story of her faith through the lens of seven sacraments of the Catholic church—baptism, confession, holy orders, communion, confirmation, the anointing of the sick, and marriage—to teach us the essential truths about what she's learned along the way, including:
About the author: Rachel Held Evans (1981–2019) was the New York Times bestselling author of Inspired, Searching for Sunday, A Year of Biblical Womanhood, and Faith Unraveled. Rachel’s words about faith, doubt, and life were featured not only on her own blog but also in numerous publications, including the Washington Post, The Guardian, and the Huffington Post. She appeared on NPR, BBC, the Today show, and The View. She served on President Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. She lived with her husband and two children in Dayton, Tennessee.
This past Sunday, Maddie preached on the book of Habakkuk, a prophet who asked God why bad things happened, wasn't satisfied with God's answer, and eventually found a way to keep going with God's help anyway.
In her sermon, Maddie brought up a couple of books, a poem, and a prayer: 1. Holy Resilience: The Bible's Traumatic Origins, by David Carr David Carr is a Hebrew Bible scholar (and he's the PhD advisor of Pastor Emeritus Caroline Park at Union Theological Seminary!) This takes a look at how the writers of the Hebrew Bible responded to the catastrophes and trauma that the Israelites faced by writing about God in ways that made sense to them. This helps explain why, in certain parts of the Hebrew Bible, God comes across as punishing or as not loving— this was how the writers of the Bible made sense of what was happening to them and what had happened to the Israelites throughout history. Similarly, we each go on our own journey where we make sense of how God moves in the world. While we believe that God is a God of love, there might be moments when we face our own catastrophes or trauma and when God might not make sense to us. In those moments, we get to write our story with God, accepting that we won't always understand why bad things happen, but knowing that God is with us always through it. Just like the people who came before us, we can draw on God for the strength to keep going. 2. Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved by Kate Bowler Kate Bowler is a scholar of Christian history at Duke Divinity School who learned that she had stage 4 cancer while studying prosperity gospel Christians. She writes in this book about how Christian truisms embraced by prosperity gospel Christians like "Everything Happens for a Reason" were harmful to her as she came to terms with her diagnosis and her own mortality. She considers the ways in which we might as Christians embrace not-knowing or not understanding the ways in which God works or why. And she explores how embracing not knowing might lead us to understand God as loving even in the midst of our own suffering. 3. The Watchpost (Habakkuk's Mantle), a poem by Walter Brueggemann As you go out into the world this week trying to find God in the midst of grappling with the world as it is, let me leave you with Hebrew Bible scholar Walter Brueggemann's poem he wrote about Habakkuk that helped him come to terms with the world's unfairness: The watchpost (Habakkuk’s mantle) The oracle speaks. Layers of whispers sound like sand poured through fingers. Prayer leaves a grit in my mouth. There is an urge from somewhere, and if I could only separate the grains, line them up on a piece of dark paper, a clearer picture would emerge: even a mere pause of violence, hatred, destruction, and greed. How long will I cry out and you will not answer? I will stand at my watchpost. Yet wisdom says that the rampart is not high but deep within, that in the cave of my heart the cliff rises where I can stand and see the work that soothes the struggle, the work of my own soul, the awareness of your desire and my own resistance. Someone let loose a lie that life would naturally improve, that somehow goodness would gather speed like water flowing downhill. But wholeness is a buried gem, excavated from a heart of stone. Each blow of the hammer on the rock inspires hope to sing in the veins: a desire to be free. The entrance to the cave is locked to all but me, and the One who dreams me is already within holding the key to open myself. For there is still a vision. 4. Habakkuk's Prayer And then the book of Habakkuk closes out with a prayer that the prophet speaks into the world, having come to terms with the fact that he won't ever fully understand why the world is the way it is and vowing to keeping crying out to God anyway. Here's that prayer in case it's helpful for you. O Lord, I have heard of your renown, and I stand in awe, O Lord, of your work. In our own time revive it; in our own time make it known; in wrath may you remember mercy. God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. The brightness was like the sun; rays came forth from his hand, where his power lay hidden. Before him went pestilence, and plague followed close behind. He stopped and shook the earth; he looked and made the nations tremble. The eternal mountains were shattered; along his ancient pathways the everlasting hills sank low. I saw the tents of Cushan under affliction; the tent curtains of the land of Midian trembled. Was your wrath against the rivers, O Lord, or your anger against the rivers or your rage against the sea, when you drove your horses, your chariots to victory? You brandished your naked bow; Sated were the arrows at your command. Selah You split the earth with rivers. The mountains saw you and writhed; a torrent of water swept by; the deep gave forth its voice. The sun raised high its hands; the moon stood still in its exalted place, at the light of your arrows speeding by, at the gleam of your flashing spear. In fury you marched on the earth; in anger you trampled nations. You came forth to save your people, to save your anointed. You crushed the head of the wicked house, laying it bare from foundation to roof. Selah You pierced with their own arrows the head of his warriors, who came like a whirlwind to scatter us, gloating as if ready to devour the poor who were in hiding. You trampled the sea with your horses, churning the mighty waters. I hear, and I tremble within; my lips quiver at the sound. Rottenness enters into my bones, and my steps tremble beneath me. I wait quietly for the day of calamity to come upon the people who attack us. Though the fig tree does not blossom and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold and there is no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer and makes me tread upon the heights. To the leader: with stringed instruments. This past Sunday, Maddie preached about Paul's Letter to Philemon.
So this week, we're offering a podcast interview with theologian Emerson Powery that dives into some of the nuances of that letter! This podcast conversation explores just how much complexity is packed into this short, personal text. The discussion unpacks the relationships between Paul (the letter writer), Philemon (the man the letter is addressed to) and Onesimus (the escaped slave who the letter is about), highlighting how the letter—though addressed to an individual— was likely read publicly and carries real social pressure. It wrestles with the central ambiguity of the letter: Paul clearly wants something from Philemon regarding Onesimus, but never states it outright, leaving interpreters to debate whether he is calling for freedom, better treatment, or something more subtle. The conversation also traces how Philemon has been used in American history on boht side of debates over slavery, revealing how context shapes interpretation, and ultimately suggests that while Paul's rhetoric is intentionally indirect, it gestures toward a reimagining of relationships grounded in love & shared identity in Christ.
In her sermon on Sunday, Pastor Alison spoke about "the ache of being human." Aching for something more seems to be hardwired into us as human beings. As a result, one way that we can understand spirituality is as the journey of learning how to direct, or to rightly orient, that ache. Two thinkers who have thought deeply about this topic are Father Ron Rolheiser and Kate Bowler, PhD.
Father Ron Rolheiser is a Roman Catholic priest and member of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. He is a lecturer and writer with a weekly column that is carried in more than 50 newspapers worldwide. He is the author of numerous books as well. He has been a priest for 28 years. Kate Bowler is an author and professor at Duke Divinity School. One of Bowler’s research topics was the American prosperity gospel — the belief that God guarantees health, wealth, and happiness. After writing a book on this topic, in a sort of tragic, ironic twist, Bowler was unexpectedly diagnosed with stage IV cancer at age 35. While she was in treatment and not expected to survive, Bowler wrote two memoirs about how her perspectives on life and faith had been fundamentally changed as a result of her diagnosis. Bowler discovered that “life is so beautiful and life is so hard. For everyone.” On an episode of Bowler's podcast "Everything Happens," Rolheiser and Bowler discuss their perspectives on the ache of being human. Here's a description of the episode: "There’s an ache at the center of being human. The kind that doesn’t go away with a fresh to-do list or a good night’s sleep. It’s the longing for more. The grief of what wasn’t. The quiet ache of ordinary life—school pickups, grocery runs, scan results, and the slow accumulation of things we didn’t choose. In this tender and deeply wise conversation, Kate Bowler speaks with Father Ron Rolheiser—beloved Roman Catholic priest, theologian, and bestselling author—about the ache that lives in all of us... and why it might be the most holy part of who we are. This episode is for anyone who feels a little restless, a little disappointed, or just plain tired—and is looking for a spirituality big enough to hold the beautiful, unfinished life they’re living. In this conversation, Kate and Ron discuss:
If, after listening to their conversation, you want to read more of their thoughts on this subject, you are invited to explore the links below: Father Ron Rolheiser Kate Bowler, PhD Alison ended her sermon by sharing the same prompt that Bowler offered to her readers: “What is one ache you’ve been minimizing or ignoring? How might it feel to name it without trying to fix it?” Alison encouraged us to start by naming the ache for ourselves. And, then, if we are feeling a little bit brave, to share it with someone else. That could be a member of the River staff or community, a friend, a therapist, or a trusted family member. As you share, try to remember that to ache is to be human.
In her sermon this past Sunday, Pastor Alison spoke about the difference between knowing God (experientially and relationally) and knowing about God (intellectually, in the abstract).
She said this: "As I’ve been reflecting, it has occurred to me that having just one word for 'know' in the American context both reflects and shapes how we understand faith, spiritual practice, and the Christian tradition. With just one word available to us, we sometimes flatten the concept of knowing, falling into the trap of emphasizing just one type, or certain types, of knowing over others. One way I see this play out is the tendency to equate knowing things about God with knowing God experientially. Both ways of knowing are important — and they help to reinforce each other — but we benefit from being clear about the difference between the two. Now, let me be clear, learning about God — say through studying the Bible, or discussing theology, or listening to sermons like this one, — is wonderful! But it’s often not the same thing as interacting with God relationally." Alison shared two frameworks that have helped her to know God more deeply: 1) Attention as Prayer 2) Recognizing the Voice of God
Attention as Prayer
God is everywhere. We can go nowhere apart from God. However, we can be more or less aware of God’s presence and more or less aligned with God’s love and priorities. Because of this reality, throughout history, artists and mystics have spoken about attention as a key component of spiritual practice. French mystic Simone Weil, who was born in 1909, spoke about attention like this: “Attention, taken to its highest degree, is the same thing as prayer. It presupposes faith and love. Absolutely unmixed attention is prayer.” “Prayer consists of attention. It is the orientation of all the attention of which the soul is capable towards God. The quality of attention counts for much in the quality of the prayer. Warmth of heart cannot make up for it.” English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning put it this way: "Earth's crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God; But only he who sees, takes off his shoes-- The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries, And daub their natural faces unaware" If we want to see the ways that Earth is crammed with heaven, the ways every common bush is afire with God, then we need to practice turning our attention to God. Alison spoke about the ways that this has been true for her in her own life, as well as the ways that practicing attention can be difficult in our world. She said: "Over the years I have found that I am most able to feel God’s presence when I give something my whole attention. When I connect to my body and my breath through deep breathing. When I set aside time to pray, meditate, or journal. When I walk through the tree-lined streets in my neighborhood. When I am fully present in conversation with another. When I am immersed in a work of visual art, dance, theatre, or music. When I minimize distractions and give these things my full attention I am much more able to sense God’s presence with me and to be responsive to the ways that God’s Spirit is moving and working within me and around me. But this is not easy to do. Our world and our technology reward short attention spans and multitasking. Cultivating the kind of deep, sustained attention needed to abide in God — requires that we be intentional about how we direct our time, energy, and focus. In the words of the song we sang together earlier — we need to become skilled at 'being where our feet are.' And like any other skill we can only become good at this through regular practice. For me, it has been helpful to plan ahead — picking a specific time or place when I want to practice directing my attention to God." If you are interested in practicing attention as prayer, we recommend taking a look at the four Daily Practices included in this year's 40 Days of Faith Guide. They are: 1) Looking Up and Down: This practice from Emily P. Freeman helps us to literally pay attention to where our feet are by taking two photos a day as a form of creative prayer. 2) Taking In the Good: This practice helps us to overcome our hardwired negativity bias by turning our attention to and internalizing positive experiences. 3) RAIN Feelings Check-In: This practice is a mindfulness-based technique that can help us to develop emotional awareness, grow in self-compassion, and build our capacity to process emotions (instead of avoiding, suppressing, becoming overwhelmed by, or responding reactively to them). 4) Embodied Prayers: This practice, from Dr. Hillary L. McBride, allows us to pray with our bodies, symbolically creating the kind of world that we want to inhabit and letting ourselves be changed into more whole versions of ourselves. We think these practices are great! But engaging attention as prayer can be even simpler if you’d like. It might look like quieting your mind, connecting to your breath, and praying, “Come, Holy Spirit.” Or, like being intentional about putting phones away at the dinner table. Or, like listening to music without doing anything else. Try some things out and see what works for you!
Recognizing the Voice of God
The second framework Alison spoke about was learning how to recognize the voice of God. Alison shared a personal story about how her life has been changed by learning to recognize God's voice. She also said this: "I’ve found that a key aspect of cultivating friendship with God has been both sharing my thoughts and feelings with God and, also, growing in my ability to perceive the ways that God is guiding me and speaking to me. Before I say more, I want to acknowledge that the practice of hearing God’s voice can be fraught for many — especially if you have had negative experiences in pentecostal or charismatic spaces. Please know that like with anything else at the River our approach to hearing God’s voice does not involve pressure or manipulation of any kind. And that we don’t think there is one 'right' way to hear from God that is more valuable than others. There are countless ways to hear from God — through journaling, prayer, reflection, meditation, and conversation; through words, images, stories, memories, songs, and scripture passages; by noticing our thoughts, feelings, emotions, and bodily sensations; by seeking God on our own and, also, in collaboration with others. And that’s by no means an exhaustive list! The method we use matters less than our end goal itself — the goal of knowing God more deeply." A key question that arises for many is: "How do we know something is the voice of God?" Alison shared a helpful essay from Richard Rohr on this topic. You can read it in full here. Some of Rohr's key points were that the voice of God:
If you are looking for support around learning how to recognize the voice of God, please do not hesitate to reach out to Alison to schedule pastoral counseling meeting. She would love to work with you! Additionally, some resources and practices you may want to explore on your own include: We hope these resources are helpful to you and we pray that in the year ahead, each of us, in our own unique ways, would grow in our ability to know and connect with God. This week in our Connection: The Heart and Art of Faith series, Maddie talked about curiosity—what it looks like to really notice another person, to ask one more question, and to move from surface-level interaction into deeper connection.
As we saw in the Song of Songs, love often begins with attention. The lovers in the poem slow down, delight in each other, and linger long enough to truly see one another. And that same posture—of curiosity, presence, and openness—is something we can begin to practice in our everyday relationships. So this week, instead of just one resource, we wanted to offer a few that can help you put curiosity into practice. 1. Watch: 10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation – Celeste Headlee This week’s sermon referenced a TED Talk by journalist Celeste Headlee, and it’s well worth watching in full. In this talk, Headlee offers simple but surprisingly challenging practices for better conversations:
What’s powerful about this talk is how practical it is. These aren’t abstract ideas—they’re small shifts you can try immediately in your next conversation. Try this: Before your next conversation, pick just one of her suggestions and focus on practicing it. 2. Read: Curious Minds: The Power of Connection – Dani Bassett & Perry Zurn In the sermon, Maddie also talked about how curiosity isn’t just a personality trait—it’s something built into us. It’s part of how we move toward one another. Bassett and Zurn describe curiosity not just as information-seeking, but as a force of connection—something that draws us out of ourselves and toward other people. They also name different “styles” of curiosity:
Reading even a short summary of their work can help you notice: What kind of curiosity comes most naturally to me? And how might I grow in other ways of being curious? 3. Practice: Three Questions to Go Deeper Sometimes the hardest part of curiosity is simply knowing what to ask. Here are three questions you can try this week—whether with a friend, coworker, or someone at church:
These kinds of questions open the door to stories, not just updates. Try this: Choose one person this week and ask one of these questions. Notice what happens. 4. Learn: More about Song of Songs! If you're interested in going deeper into the biblical text we covered this week, this article offers a more in depth examination of Song of Songs and the ways in which it's been read as a love poem throughout history. The poem invites us to reclaim attentive love as something to be proud of rather than something to be ashamed of. In her sermon this past Sunday, Pastor Alison mentioned a few resources that we want to share with you! The first was a video from The Bible Project that takes an in-depth look at the first creation narrative in Genesis 1. You can find it here! The second resource Alison mentioned was the book Original Blessing: Putting Sin in Its Rightful Place by Danielle Shroyer. We have a copy in the River's Lending Library that you are welcome to check out! About Original Blessing Of the worlds major religions, only Christianity holds to a doctrine of original sin. Ideas are powerful, and they shape who we are and who we become. The fact that many Christians believe there is something in human nature that is, and will always be, contrary to God, is not just a problem but a tragedy. So why do the doctrines assumptions of human nature so infiltrate our pulpits, sermons, and theological bookshelves? How is it so misconstrued in times of grief, pastoral care, and personal shame? How did we fall so far from Gods original blessing in the garden to this pervasive belief in humanitys innate inability to do good? In this book, Danielle Shroyer takes readers through an overview of the historical development of the doctrine, pointing out important missteps and overcalculations, and providing alternative ways to approach often-used Scriptures. Throughout, she brings the primary claims of original sin to their untenable (and unbiblical) conclusions. In Original Blessing, she shows not only how we got this doctrine wrong, but how we can put sin back in its rightful place: in a broader context of redemption and the blessing of humanitys creation in the image of God. About Danielle Shroyer Danielle Shroyer spent over a decade in pastoral leadership and was a founding member of the emerging church movement. She speaks often across the country on issues of theology, faith, culture, and story, and blogs at www.danielleshroyer.com. A graduate of Baylor University and an Princeton Theological Seminary, Danielle is the author of Original Blessing: Putting Sin in its Rightful Place, Where Jesus Prayed: Illuminations on the Lords Prayer in the Holy Land and The Boundary Breaking God: An Unfolding Story of Hope and Promise. 
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