24 Nov
I’m sharing a story that I’ve carried with me for 30 years. It’s about the time I barred the doors of the Old North Church on Boston’s historic Freedom Trail.
I stood in the doorway and declared the church closed. I was just being silly, but my dad let me know that “welcome” in the church is serious.
You can hear the story and what I’ve learned from it over at Life & Liberty:
>>>Click here to listen to my unexpected lesson from the Freedom Trail.<<<
15 Nov
In my last post I mentioned my friend Sarah Bessey and her new book, called Jesus Feminist. I recently had the opportunity to interview Sarah about the book for Life & Liberty!
>>>Click here to listen to the interview.<<<
Sarah Bessey, author of Jesus Feminist
I’ve known Sarah Bessey for more than a decade, since before either of us had kids, before she had her blog and waaaay before she signed a two-book deal with Howard Books. But a decade is a long time and now here we are with her having just released Jesus
Feminist, her first book.
As an old friend I am super excited for Sarah getting a book published. And as a woman of God, I resonate with the particulars of this book. I read an e-version of the book from Net Galley and was moved deeply by the beautiful vision that Sarah casts for the mutuality that is possible among God’s people.
Sarah coined the term “Jesus Feminist” and it boils down to the idea that being a follower of Jesus has led to an understanding that women are people too. My own study of scripture affirms this conviction as Jesus and the gospels routinely lift up women.
I credit Sarah with helping me see feminism in a positive light. You can read more about why I identify as a “Jesus feminist” in my previous post titled, I’m a Jesus Feminist Because I Don’t Have to Be One.
Sarah lives in Canada (her homeland) with her husband Brian and their three “tinies.” She’s a non-denominational charismatic and just overflows with the love of Jesus in every aspect of her life.
Sarah calls herself “a liberal to the conservative and a conservative to the liberal” and she often takes what she refers to as “the third way” on difficult issues. Her writing–on her blog (sarahbessey.com) and in the book–is both poetic and prophetic.
It’s an excellent book and I highly recommend it for anyone who cares about the church and the movement of God in our world. This book would also be ideal for a group study or a retreat. Click the book cover to learn more about the book and to order yours from the Life & Liberty Amazon store.
27 Oct
My son came home from our church’s harvest festival with a “WWJD?” pencil. These initials stand for the question “What would Jesus do?” In my latest podcast at Life & Liberty I explore the fad prompted by this question and weigh the merits of asking it. I also created a handy “infographic” as a visual companion to the audio message.
>>>Click here for access to the audio and visual of my musings on the topic of “WWJD?”<<<
If you can’t click the link above, you can copy and paste this link to your browser:
http://www.davidhousholder.com/wwjd-revisited-02454-life-liberty/
15 Oct
On Friday, October 4, I had the opportunity to interview Mary DeMuth, in-person, about her new book, The Wall Around Your Heart: How Jesus Heals You When Others Hurt You. That interview is online now over at Life & Liberty with David Housholder where I am a regular contributor to the podcast/online magazine.
>>>Click here to listen to the interview and to find out more about Mary’s book.<<<
>>>Click here to read my formal review of The Wall Around Your Heart.<<<
Keep reading to find out more about how I got the opportunity to interview Mary and what it is like seeing her in-person. Stay tuned for Friday’s blog post where I will tell you more about my personal impressions of the book.
When I picture meeting someone I admire, I usually think of myself as really small and the person I admire as larger-than-life. I know I shouldn’t think that way, but my brain just does it without asking my permission.
I’ve been reading Mary’s blog: Your Life Uncaged for a while now and I resonate with her message so much about the freedom we can have through Jesus. Many times when I read her posts I feel like she is speaking right into my life, giving me hope and encouraging me to “live free.”
Since I admire Mary so much and her influence on me has been so huge, I expected meeting her to feel a bit intimidating.
But despite the fact that Mary DeMuth is a published author(!), an international speaker(!), and several inches taller than I am, I don’t feel small or intimidated around her at all.
I’ve seen her twice now. When we first met over the summer she immediately spoke with me as though I was a real person of value, not just some silly fan. She asked me about podcasting–something I had done exactly once for Life & Liberty at that point. But she had never done any podcasting, so she wanted to know what it was like!
It was at the first encounter with Mary that I learned about The Wall Around Your Heart and the upcoming opportunity to be on her launch team for it. When the opportunity came to apply for the launch team, I filled out my application right away. Then I tried to put it out of my mind as I did not take for granted that I would be chosen.
But one week later–on a day when I really needed some good news–I received the e-mail that I had been selected to be on the launch team!
Mary then posted a notice to everyone on the launch team inviting our ideas about how to get the word out about the book. She said no idea was too crazy.
Since she had taken particular interest in my podcasting, and since Life & Liberty has a way bigger reach than my personal blog, I pitched her the idea about bringing her on the podcast for an interview.
Mary loved the idea of coming on the podcast!
So then I just had to clear it with David Housholder–you know, the guy in charge of the podcast. He was cool with it, but if I was serious about doing interviews, then he said I really needed to get a Tascam. It’s “state of the art,” he said.
So, I got my Tascam and started practicing with it so I would be ready for the interview with Mary.
When I confirmed the interview with Mary over e-mail, she reiterated her interest in learning from moi about podcasting!
Our second meeting was the day of the interview and, once again, she put me at ease and treated me with respect. It felt like I was just hanging out with an old friend. I actually kind-of forgot to be all fanatical around her. I was just myself.
When we sat down for the interview I showed her how to adjust the levels on the Tascam to make sure that especially loud vocalizations would not sound distorted. It was really affirming to get to share some of my own “expert” knowledge with someone I appreciate so much.
From now on, I have a new standard for what it means to spend time with someone I admire. Mary has changed that for me. In addition to having a message that I resonate with, and writing and speaking credentials that I only wish I had, she is also kind and affirming to others–and that is truly admirable.
I hope you will click over and listen to the interview I had with Mary. I think this book is really important and will be sharing more about why think so on Friday.
What about you? Have you ever met someone you admired? What was it like for you?
24 Sep
My latest audio recording is up at Life & Liberty now! This one is really outside the box, but anything influenced by a Bon Jovi song and author Kenneth E. Bailey has to be good, right?
>>>Please click to listen to my modern parable about “Losing a Day’s Wage”<<<
To listen to my previous audio recordings, you can visit my Life & Liberty archives for a list of all my work there. While you’re there, check out some of the work from the other contributors. If you like what you see and hear, I hope you’ll consider subscribing to Life & Liberty to make sure you don’t miss anything.
Jennifer Clark Tinker 