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06/22/08 -
Everybody seems to have their own definition for spirituality. But one
definition that doesn't work well for those steeped in a biblical tradition is
that which treats all things spiritual as inward and invisible.
Rodney Clapp
out
to reclaim an important place for a more physical spirituality that refuses to
ignore the body. In all of its messiness and confusion, the body can be a home
through which the Lord of creation, incarnation, and resurrection goes to work.
Clapp is author of the book, Tortured Wonders: Christian Spirituality for
People, Not Angels.
06/15/08 -
Dr.
Timothy Johnson, longtime
medical editor for ABC news, is not afraid to ask the big questions
of religion and science. As both minister and physician, he is
intrigued by the interplay of two worlds that many people find
hopelessly at odds. He brings his incisive mind and spiritual
vitality to a conversation about the “hows” of science and the
“whys” of faith. (Encore show from 2/18/07)
06/08/08 -
Christian faith that does not grow in an
individual is not a living faith. Such lifeless or immature
faith is certainly not a resource to rely on in the crises of
life. This edition of Grace Matters explores the necessity of
growing and nurturing the seeds of God’s Word that get planted
in our lives. Host Peter Marty explores the strange phenomenon
of growing many dimensions in our lives as we age, but leaving
our faith presuppositions and knowledge at the third grade
level.
Jeremy Langford,
a communicator for the Jesuit community in Chicago, is guest on
the program.
06/01/08 -
The most extensive preaching we have from the lips of Jesus is recorded in
Matthew’s Gospel account, “The Sermon on the Mount.” Jesus opens this sermon not
with command but with blessing. These blessings reveal some of the major themes
that dot the ministry of Jesus. They propose that we turn our lives upside and
inside out to catch the splendor of God.
Martha Stortz,
professor of historical theology and ethics at Pacific Lutheran Theological
Seminary, helps us navigate these blessings, or beatitudes of Jesus.
05/25/08
-
Stephen Prothero has conducted
an interesting study of religious literacy in America. What he
has found is that while many people have a deep faith and a gut
sense of spirituality, their Biblical and religious knowledge is
very scant. In other words, their faith is formed more on
feeling and sentiment than accurate knowledge of valued sources.
Prothero is chair of the religion department at Boston
University and author of the book Religious Literacy.
05/18/08
- According to Holy Scripture, God built rhythm into the
universe. Work and rest were meant to be fair players with one
another. Something happened to this rhythm along the way,
however. Rest got bumped to the periphery and work assumed
center stage. Author and minister
Wayne Muller reflects on how
effectively we keep – and do not keep – the Sabbath commandment.
Host Peter Marty looks at the distinctive rhythm of the
Christian life.
05/11/08
-
Jules and Gedeon
are a pair of French-born brothers who enjoy working together. They also happen
to be award-winning filmmakers. Not only did they produce the acclaimed
documentary “9/11,” containing the only known footage of the first plane
striking the first tower of the World Trade Center, they followed that up with a
documentary on faith, entitled: “In God’s Name.” This edition of Grace Matters
explores the place of terror in American public and private life, and the role
of the Christian faith as a response.
05/04/08
-
Otolaryngology is an important word, but a mouthful to
pronounce. It happens to be shorthand for that branch of medicine that deals
with ear, nose, and throat.
Dr. Bruce Campbell,
head and neck surgeon at the Medical College of Wisconsin, “sees
it all” on the cancer ward where he works and in the classrooms
where he teaches. Campbell practices a particular kind of
medicine that includes a thoughtful inclusion of his own
personal faith. His patients are the direct beneficiaries.
04/27/08
-
Hospital chaplaincy is calm and even in character, though
occasionally high adrenaline in crisis moments. But what is a
hospital like at nighttime, besides just nurses waking patients
up for “checking vitals” when they don’t want to be awakened?
And specifically, what does a hospital chaplain see happen at a
children’s hospital at night? Host Peter W. Marty asks these
sorts of questions of
Rev. Stacey Jutila,
a hospital chaplain in the Chicago area. Jutila brings valuable
perspective to the conversation of illness and wellness, and an
important reminder about the place of play in children’s lives.
04/20/08
-
We live in a day when individuals from all walks of life are
trying to make sense of the intersection between religion and
politics. Most of us know we are not enamored with the extremes,
where strident know-it-alls dominate the airwaves, but what is
the middle ground? Or better said, how can people of faith think
deeply about the moral and justice issues of the day? New York
Times best-selling author, and faith-based activist
Jim
Wallis is as poised as anyone to speak about this topic. He
is encouraged by a new movement emerging among America’s
religious faithful.
04/13/08
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All of us want to live
lives of meaning. No person seeks to drift through life with a
purposelessness. Yet some individuals have the gift of thinking
with clarity on matters of the heart. Some know exactly how to
put their faith into words. These are people, by and large, who
live and speak with depth, heft and gravity.
Bob Abernethy is the
executive editor and host of the PBS program "Religion and
Ethics NewsWeekly." He joins the program to discuss why lives of
meaning matter so much to him.
04/06/08
-
Few subjects are more urgent than the crisis of our planet. The
stresses we put on the natural resources of planet earth, not to
mention the air we breathe and the water we drink, are growing
each day. Our personal behaviors and global economies are all
contributing to the crisis.
Bill McKibben, author and
writer-in-residence at Middlebury College in Vermont, is one of
nation’s most articulate spokespersons on the environment,
climate change and the need for all people to live more lightly.
His personal faith powers much of his message.
03/30/08
-
Joy Newcom is the mother of
two boys, one of whom was born with multiple birth defects. That
birth and that child has ended up transforming her life. Much of
it has been an involuntary transformation, taking her places she
never asked to go. But every step of the way, joy keeps giving
shape to the transformation. It’s a hard but beautiful story of
God working steadfastly with us through the circumstances of our
lives.
03/23/08
-
In this special Easter Sunday meditation, program host
Peter W. Marty
ponders the Easter story from St. Mark's Gospel. He takes a
candid look at the Christian life lived in light of the
resurrection. If Jesus has been raised from the dead, there is
no such thing as a standstill Christian. Believing people must
be on the move, open to new possibilities. They cannot park
their faith in contentment with the past, or in coziness with
the present. Living the Christian life well is all about trying
to keep up with the risen Christ, who keeps showing up several
steps ahead of us.
03/16/08
-
Program host Peter
W. Marty takes you from a street
fair in Palm Springs, California to the dusty road in Jerusalem
where Jesus made his final and triumphant entry prior to his death.
Along the way, he stops to contemplate the silence of Jesus and what
Jesus was willing to absorb. Reconciliation becomes the focus of
Jesus' ministry in those final days, as he demonstrates that being
in a relationship is much more important than being right.
03/9/08
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God built risk into the universe. It is all over creation. It is
part and parcel of the Christian life as well. There is no
indication that Jesus of Nazareth promoted a safe life as the
highest priority. In fact, his definition of discipleship
encourages us to take paths that nobody may have ever walked
before. Poet Luci Shaw
understands life to be full of adventure and risk, with her own
personal life as evidence. She joins the program to help
distinguish faith from fear, and both from fanaticism.
03/2/08
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Racism can be a tough thing to get our hands around, especially when
the majority white culture struggles to even recognize the many
unspoken privileges it enjoys. What does it mean to be born into
privilege – not economic wealth, but all of the other perks and
comforts that go with unseen advantages of being born white?
Tim Wise,
an author and anti-racism activist has a sharp mind for thinking
creatively about this question. Host Peter Marty reflects on a
Biblical word about our tendency to draw distinctions between
people.
02/24/08
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Have you ever felt over-committed, over-scheduled, over-ambitious,
over-eager or over-programmed? Most of us have been there sometime
in the last week, or the last year. We "try to do it all" and find
that strategy to come up short. In this program, host Peter W. Marty
speaks to the limits that God puts upon our lives, not as drawbacks
or defects, but as reminders of our mortality and finitude. These
limits also happen to afford us an opportunity to draw closer to
God. His conversation partner is
Carmen Richards,
national president of Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America.
02/17/08
-
Peter Gomes, Professor of
Christian Morals at Harvard University and pastor of the Memorial
Church there, is often referred to as one of America's great
preachers. In part, this acclaim is due to Gomes' witty use of
words, his clever cultural insights, and his deep belief that
Christians need transformation in Christ, not conformity to the
world. If you have not thought about the transformation of your own
spiritual life in a while, and what it would mean to put your life
through a major overhaul, this program will get your creative juices
flowing.
02/10/08
-
Eugene Peterson
returns for the second part of a two-part series. Here he discusses
the Bible and our use of it. Nobody would seem better poised and
more suited to converse about the place of Scripture in our lives
than this prolific author and Bible translator. Peterson unwraps the
drawbacks to our owning of Bibles, our over-study of Scripture, and
our reading (instead of speaking) the Word. He speaks, however, with
nothing less than a passionate love for Scripture and the difference
it makes in our lives.
02/03/08
-
It can be a joy to hear
someone who writes extensively and well actually talk about the
words that comprise his or her writing. That is the privilege of
this edition of Grace
Matters.
Eugene Peterson, who
translated the entire Bible into the contemporary translation,
The Message, speaks to different words in the Christian
vocabulary. He talks candidly about the power and gift of some
words, and the detriment and misuse of others.
01/27/08
-
Immaculée Ilibagiza returns for the second of a two-part
series on the tragedy of the Rwandan genocide of 1994. She is the
author of the book, Left to Tell, a gripping narrative of the ordeal
that left her family and most of her village dead. In this broadcast
Immaculée relives the jail encounter that brought her face-to-face
with the killer who stabbed her parents and brother to death. This
woman of faith will reawaken the power of forgiveness for all who
are seeking a new way of life.
01/20/08
-
Immaculée
Ilibagiza is an amazing woman.
She narrowly escaped death in the Rwandan genocide of 1994 by hiding
in the bathroom of her pastor’s house for 91 consecutive days. In
this compelling interview, the first in a two-part series, Immaculée
gives an inside look at the faith that carried her through a
horrific ordeal. She discusses the mystery of hatred and the
necessity of Christian hope.
01/13/08
-
Jim Autry
is a former Fortune 500 business executive, a leadership consultant,
poet and author. But he is something else too. He is the loving
father of an autistic son. Raising this son has caused Autry to read
the healing miracles of Jesus in a way that might surprise many
conventional or orthodox Christians. If you are wondering whether or
not to believe in miracles, and whether they might be pointing to
something larger, this program is for you.
01/06/08
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One of the favorite questions many Christians love to ask is,
“Who is saved? Is She? Is He? Am I?” The question grows in interest
when people who do not profess Jesus Christ are included in the
question.
Philip Gulley, a popular author and Quaker
minister, has some very important things to say about who gets
saved. If grace is true, as a concept, a word, and as the defining
characteristic of God, reasons Gulley, then it must be true for ALL
people.
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12/30/07
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For this end-of-the-year program, host Peter W. Marty focuses on the
new beginnings that comes to our lives when grace is bestowed on us.
Enjoy a New Year interview with guest,
Jerry Evenrud. Evenrud is a
retired church musician who travels with an extensive art collection
of images from the Prodigal Son story in Luke’s Gospel. With the
recent publication of a new full-color book with these images from
around the world, a book titled "And Grace Will Lead Me Home,"
Evenrud explores the inexhaustible riches of this story which none
of us can escape appreciating.
11/25/07 -
In a first-ever call-in program to
Grace Matters,
host
Peter W. Marty
and program producer
Susan Greeley
visit about the necessity of grace in a hurting world. They share
conversation about the important role this listener-supported
program plays in the lives of people across America. Listeners are
invited to tune in with their hearts and to call in with their
prayers and supportive gifts on this special Thanksgiving weekend
program.
11/18/07 -
Frankness of speech, spoken in love, is one of many components that
can allow for true friendship to flourish. In this second of a
two-part series, host Peter W. Marty explores the topic of
friendship, following more conversation with the three women of
The Faith Club, Ranya, Suzanne and Priscilla visit about their
experience of wrestling with, and growing from, stimulating
inter-faith discussions they cultivated in their lives. Lifelong
friendship among them became one of the lasting benefits of these
candid conversations.
11/11/07 -
For all the religiosity in America, it is a surprisingly ignorant
republic when it comes to understanding religion. Faithful people
are quickly at home with the precepts and convictions of their own
tradition, but little else. Three women, calling themselves
The Faith Club, set about to change this. Meeting in each other’s homes on a weekly basis for several years, Ranya
Idliby (a Palestinian-born Muslim), Suzanne Oliver (an
Episcopal Christian), and Priscilla Warner (a Reform Jew) covered
all sorts of topics, including the limitations of merely tolerating
one another.
11/04/07 -
Parenting adolescents is becoming a more challenging task with every
generation – or so it seems. Cultural and technological forces are
complicating every parent’s assignment of raising wholesome kids who
live meaningful lives, but mistakes and misperceptions of parents
are not helping the picture.
Chap Clark, professor of youth,
family and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary, has some very
astute insights about parenting and kids. His ultimate goal is for
every teenager to receive enough guidance and encouragement to know
how extraordinary the love of God is.
10/28/07 -
Among the top tier of
scientists in the world, there is
Francis Collins. Longtime
director of the human genome project that has mapped over 3
billion letters of the human genetic code, Collins is an
articulate spokesperson for the glories of science. But he is
also a person of deep faith who is not shy to speak about the
place of God in biological science. Repudiating both
anti-scientific thinking and shallow spirituality, Collins
offers a clear-headed way for understanding the beauty of how
science enhances one's reading of the Bible.
10/21/07 -
One would not expect a prominent CEO of a global firm to weigh in on the
importance of mealtime and talk around the dinner table, but
Doris Christopher
is not your average corporate leader. Founder of the kitchen tools company
Pampered Chef, Christopher maintains a rigorous schedule and a high demand for
excellence. In the midst of it all, she has never forgotten the place of the
Lord in her everyday life, or the value of mealtime as a focal point for our
existence.
10/14/07 -
Life is difficult. Being human is hazardous to your health. Christianity is no
ticket to a "Get Out of Jail Free" card. So what do we make of the hazards of
living and of suffering? How do we live creatively within the constrictions of
human suffering?
Dave Dravecky, former all-star pitcher in the major leagues, is
as well positioned as anyone to speak powerfully on how to give birth to hope in
adverse times. After an encounter with cancer at the peak of his career, he lost
his throwing arm and shoulder to amputation, but Dravecky gained a whole new
world of faith through the experience.
10/07/07 -
Discipleship is either a meaningful word to help center a life or a
"churchy" word that is tired and overused. In this program, host Peter W. Marty
explores the meaning of discipleship with
Sarah Henrich. Professor Henrich, who
teaches New Testament at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minn., has authored a new
book on great themes in the Bible. Her rich insights on discipleship, and
Peter's five keys for making it a part of everyday life, add up to a memorable
program for all Christian people and all those exploring the Christian way.
9/30/07 -
David Hilfiker did what many people think about, but never have
the courage to do. He and his family left comfortable living in
a rural community to begin a new life among some of America’s
poorest people in an urban ghetto. Few upper-middle class people
understand the plight of the poor quite like this physician. He
contends that the only way to really know what it means to be
poor, and to quit treating “the poor” like a category, is to
look them in the eye and get to know them.
9/23/07 -
If Christians are not careful, we have a dangerous tendency to
view the Bible as an exclusively Christian book. Where this
perspective exists, we do a serious disservice to both the
Jewishness of Jesus and the Jewish roots of our own faith.
Wayne-Daniel Berard,
professor and author, who was born of a Jewish parent and
adopted by a Catholic family, practices his faith today as a
Christian and a Jew. He calls on Christians to explore “with
open heart and mind” the Jewishness, not only of Jesus, but of
themselves.
9/16/07
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Those who follow the tennis world closely know the name
Andrea
Jaeger. In the mid-1980s she was playing number two in the world
on the women’s pro circuit. That was young Andrea. Following a
career ending injury as a teenager, she engaged in a serious
refocus of her life. Today, she is an Anglican Dominican sister
who devotes everything she is to kids who live with
life-threatening diseases. It’s quite a life, mixing tears,
laughter and a whole lot of fulfillment.
9/9/07
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If you are tired of trying to make sense of why certain
expressions of religion irritate you so thoroughly, you need to
meet
Eboo Patel. Chances are good that what is bothering, or
even infuriating you, is what Patel calls “religious
totalitarianism.” Or it could be your own mistaken assumption
that no one knows the truth unless they know your version of it. Eboo Patel is an articulate man of faith who is founder and
executive director of Interfaith Youth Core – an organization
devoted to advancing religious understanding and respect.
9/2/07
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We often speak of rituals as being boring, dull, or even dead.
The word ritual is laden with many negative connotations in
peoples’ minds. But rituals can drive life. They can even
restore life. The
Rev. Janet Peterman believes so
thoroughly in their power that she has authored a book of sacred
rituals for special moments and crises in life. It’s not your
average compilation of friendly rituals for easy times, but it
is what you or a friend may wish to know about for that trying
time that can befall any one of us.
8/26/07
- The whole world over seems to
know the name Todd Beamer and his now famous words “Let’s roll.” He spoke these
words during an extended phone conversation on 9/11, the day Flight 93 went
down. Few people know the person who answered that call.
Lisa Jefferson
is her name. Her life stands as a testimony of great faith and true
responsibility in a time of crisis.
(Originally broadcast September 10, 2006)
8/19/07
-
What do we do when God does not seem to answer our prayers and our
Christian faith doesn’t seem to “work?” Where is God when the cry of
our hearts hears little more than silence?
Gerald
Sittser, professor of religion at
Whitworth College, brings incredible hope and insight to these
questions. His responses carry enormous weight, born as they are out
of great personal suffering.
(Originally
broadcast July 23, 2006)
8/12/07
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What happens when you dress
yourself in love can make the difference between a hopeful day and a
woeful day. For nationally acclaimed coach
Joe Ehrmann,
love lived in the right way is exactly what young adolescent males
need more than anything else. Meet this ex-NFL great who has a
definition of success like you’ve never heard before. (Originally broadcast May
7, 2006)
8/05/07
-
Money is a worry, a blessing, and a necessity. But it can also
become a god. This may be why the scriptures record one sixth of
Jesus’ words as related to money or wealth. Popular radio talk show
host and author
Dave Ramsey spends his every
day thinking about our use and misuse of money. We’ll tap into his
wisdom.
(Originally
broadcast February 19, 2006)
7/29/07
- There is evil in this world, and if it doesn’t hurt or kill, it certainly
seeks to dominate and destroy. Evil does not merely reside in other people; it
cuts through the heart of every human being. Sometimes it overshadows the
astonishing goodness in this world that we must always seek to prize.
Lt. Col. Eric Olsen, a
military chaplain, joins the program to discuss his tour of duty in Iraq and
what it means to minister to young soldiers.
7/22/07
-
There is nobody quite like
Ken Medema. This composer and pianist, blind
since birth, has a passion for God and people that oozes from his music. He
fills the big stage and yet transforms the individual heart every time he
performs. It all happens through an improvisational style and zest that is truly
unique. Grace permeates the faith and music of Ken Medema in a way that is
changing the lives of all who hear him.
7/15/07
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Growing up on the streets of
Chicago’s South Side can make for a rough life. The pressures of gang life,
conformity to crime, and drug abuse are more than most suburbanites know much
about.
Simba Circle
is an ecumenical ministry devoted to helping young African-American males live
the life God created them to live, not the hell they see many of their peers
experiencing. The Simba ministry works through the faith of adult mentors,
spirited rituals, and the woods and meadows of an Iowa camp to make a difference
in these endangered lives.
7/8/07
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There is a crisis in the African-American family that will take significant
effort to undo. It is a crisis of commitment with many features, a good number
of them stretching all the way back to the days of slavery.
Robert Franklin, social
ethics professor, news commentator and college president, is as well-equipped as
anyone to speak with hope about what is needed to reverse negative social
trends. His words challenge all of us to rethink where our families are healthy
and where they need strengthening.
7/1/07
- Bob Seiple has spent his life working to improve the lives of others around the
world. Former president of World Vision, Inc. and one-time U.S. ambassador, this
global educator now heads up an organization committed to expanding religious
freedom in every country. Our task as Americans, he argues, is to model
religious freedom by engaging spiritual humility on a national level, and by
delighting in thoughtful forms of religious expression that may not be our own.
6/24/07
- Nourishing one’s soul
is like nourishing one’s body except that the protein content is a
little different. The protein for nourishing one’s soul comes from
spiritual food – food that comes in the form of attentiveness,
gratitude, simplicity, prayer, mystery, and more.
Judith Valente, an
on-air correspondent for the PBS-TV program "Religion and Ethics
Newsweekly," finds spiritual food grows best in the garden of sacred
poetry. She is co-author of the book "Twenty Poems to Nourish Your
Soul."
6/17/07
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Most people both inside
and outside of Christianity are acquainted with the great commandment to love
God with all of our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbor as
ourselves. But how many really live the balance of this creed – the priority of
both of its dimensions – in a daily way?
Scot McKnight,
author of the book "The Jesus Creed," describes how significant these words were
to Jesus of Nazareth, and how important they deserve to be for shaping our daily
lives.
6/10/07
- Former Heisman trophy
winner and NFL quarterback Danny Wuerffel
knows a lot about acclaim. He couldn’t take to
the field without tens of thousands of fans letting him know their appreciation.
But Wuerffel, who currently directs a ministry for inner city youth, knows that
fame doesn’t add up to much when compared with the truly significant things to
which we could be devoting our lives. His definition of success will have all of
us rethinking our callings in life.
6/3/07
- Listening can be hard work, but it is also very
important behavior. Among other things, listening well frees us from the inner
need always to feel we need to make our presence known. In the world of music, a
listening ear allows us to be receivers, and to walk into brand new worlds.
Emily Saliers, lead singer with the
Indigo Girls, and her father, Don Saliers,
a church musician and professor of Christian worship, know that being changed by
music is like being changed by grace – both require receptive ears and hearts.
5/27/07 -
In a day when many people don’t know how to make sense of Saturday
night folk, pop, or rock music alongside of Sunday morning sacred
music, it helps to hear how one family weaves the two realms
together. Both secular and sacred music can have a meaningful place
in our lives. One doesn’t have to love one genre of music and hate
the other.
Emily Saliers,
lead singer with the Indigo Girls, and her father,
Don Saliers,
a church musician and professor of Christian worship, do a masterful
job of connecting music and spirituality.
5/20/07 -
Rob Owen
is the president of the National Association of Television Critics,
a group of journalists who regularly size up the state of television
programming, from the appropriateness of individual show ratings to
awards for those shows deemed excellent. Owen also sees his fair
share of celebrity gossip and celebrity worship. In a world where
most of us have a tendency to want to associate with others whose
lives appear more exciting and glamorous than our own, celebrity
worship has its limits. Life in Christ has its reasons why. That’s
all in this edition of Grace Matters.
5/13/07 -
The best way to get to know other people is to meet them where they
live their lives. We know this to be true from our local experience.
Rick Steves,
popular travel host for Public Television, reminds us that it is
also true globally. Inspired by the personal belief that “this
planet is full of equally precious people,” Steves knows well how to
connect his two vocations of being a Christian believer and a travel
teacher. It’s a winning combination, as you’ll discover from his
passion for being a thoughtful traveler.
5/6/07 -
Have you ever wondered about the really complex question: “Why is it
that the United States is both the most religious nation in the
Western World and yet the most violent?” This edition of Grace
Matters takes on the topic of our easy drift toward accepting lethal
violence as a way of life. It is both a personal and national
dilemma.
Philip Wogaman,
ethicist and pastor to the Clinton family during their White House
years, is guest on the program.
4/29/07
-
Sara Spoonheim
has an exciting job. She partners with Christian, Jewish, and Muslim
congregations to look at ways for these faith communities to be
responsive stewards of God’s magnificent creation. Combining her own
vital faith and passion for life with a commitment to caring for
this fragile planet, Spoonheim outlines the beauty of devoting
ourselves to the concerns of ecology, justice, and the good life for
all.
4/22/07 (Part II)
- Award-winning author
Philip Yancey returns to take a close-up look at the shape of
prayer. If you have ever wondered what difference prayer can make in
your life, this program is for you. Yancey covers the whole terrain
of prayer, tackling some of the biggest questions surrounding its
mystery. With program host Peter W. Marty, he explores the
importance of relationship and why a meaningful prayer life will
never evolve without some genuine hunger on our part to be in God’s
close company.
4/15/07 (Part I)
- Philip
Yancey, popular author and
reliable spiritual guide, remains the “go to” person for any
memorable discussion on the amazing character of grace. With his
candor as a journalist and his honesty as a Christian pilgrim,
Yancey outlines both the reliability and the unpredictability of
grace. He walks listeners through a love we had not counted on and a
kindness we may not think we deserve.
3/25/07
- The fitness craze that is
sweeping the country offers more benefit than just simply lowering
weight, feeling energetic, and reducing the risk of diseases like
diabetes and coronary blockage. As far as
Murray Finck is
concerned, a discipline of fitness can bring great spiritual blessing as
well. This Evangelical Lutheran Church in America bishop cares about
stretching the mind, body and spirit in ways that give serious attention
to prayer.
3/18/07
- Mother Teresa is credited with saying, “It is a very great poverty to
decide that children must die so that we might live as we wish.”
Bill Davis
has taken the striking power of this statement, posted it on his office
wall, and decided it is the perfect inspiration to stop letting poor
kids go without health care. He left his surgical practice almost 20
years ago to serve low-income people, and has never looked back. It’s a
compelling story of faith ordering one’s deepest commitments.
3/11/07
- The Bible does not say much
about building houses, but it has many things to say about what makes
for a home.
Elizabeth Hausler
is well qualified to speak about
building houses. She is the founder and director of Build Change, an
organization devoted to building earthquake-resistant homes, but she is
also well attuned to the requirements for making a home, working hand in
hand with the people of Banda Aceh, Indonesia, who dream of a new life.
3/4/07
- It has been said before that, “If I am
hungry, this is a physical problem. But if my neighbor is hungry, that
is a spiritual problem.” The spiritual problem of people who live with
insufficient food, or who are food insecure, has reached staggering
proportions.
Knute Ogren is a young church worker and musician
who decided to record a couple of CDs and donate all of the proceeds to
fight global hunger. Like so many others, his contribution is (on its
way to) making a significant impact.
2/25/07 - People may joke frequently about church
potluck suppers. But in one congregation,
a few shared meals became the
testing ground for an entire cookbook of recipes from the Bible.
Anthony Chiffolo and
Rayner “Rusty” Hesse put their biblical
research and culinary wizardry to work for creating this imaginative
resource. They join the program to help uncover the significance of
hospitality in ancient times and its place around our tables today.
Great food for thought!
2/18/07 -
Dr. Timothy Johnson, longtime
medical editor for ABC news, is not afraid to ask the big questions of
religion and science. As both minister and physician, he is intrigued by
the interplay of two worlds that many people find hopelessly at odds. He
brings his incisive mind and spiritual vitality to a conversation about
the “hows” of science and the “whys” of faith.
2/11/07 -
Some people run out of creativity in their’80s as their bodies naturally
wear down and their spirits fight to keep up. But not
Mary Oyer.
This retired professor of music and song leader in the Mennonite Church
has a passion for music from around the world, just as she has an
undying love for teaching. Put it all together and she will tell you
what it adds up to: A very fulfilling life.
2/4/07 -
Are you living your own life or
the fragments of someone else’s life? At times we follow the
temptation to try and assume a different character than the one God
most wants us to be. But digging beneath all external appearances,
there is a hidden wholeness in each of our lives, planted there by
God. Author, speaker, and popular retreat leader
Parker
Palmer
has spent his life tracking the fingerprints
of God on the human soul and retrieving the hidden wholeness we all
are after.
1/28/07 - There are plenty of fairness gaps in the United States system of justice,
but nothing like those in countries that detain and imprison people
for merely speaking their mind. John Kamm, executive director of the
Dui Hua Foundation, has made a life out of working to free Chinese
dissidents who disappear from the public eye. His efforts have been
both courageous and successful. They remind us in a pointed way of
the biblical mandate to pursue justice for others.
1/21/07 -
When our bodies get sick, more than pain, disease, or symptoms are
involved. Our whole person gets dragged into the illness. Our hopes,
dreams, and character strengths and weaknesses become part of the
picture. Professor and author Arthur Frank speaks as eloquently as
anyone on the difference between treatment and care, illness and
disease, and fighting and struggling. Here’s a front line look at
illness being part of who we are.
1/14/07
-
Sexual and domestic violence are epidemic in American culture.
Surprising to many people, however, is the role that Christianity
plays in hiding the crisis through silence, or in perpetuating the
crisis through a misuse of the Bible.
Marie Fortune, founder and
senior analyst at the Faith Trust Institute, talks about societal
discomfort in addressing this violence. Host Peter Marty looks into
one of the more difficult biblical passages involving domination and
subjugation.
1/7/07
-
Anxiety over scarcity is the prevailing creed in American life, even
though many Americans have blessing and abundance beyond measure.
Gifted teacher and author Walter Brueggemann takes an inside look at
why we behave so anxiously, and why it runs counter to everything
God desires or offers. You’ll hear his ideas for taking a generous
God much more seriously than we often do.
12/31/06
-
Not every treasure can be stored in a box. Not everything of value
can be itemized in a legal document. Pastor, educator, and author
Herbert Brokering outlines how he intends to distribute his lifelong
wealth to those whom he loves. His list of “wealth” will surprise
even experts who spend their life coaching others on how to leave a
legacy of true worth.
12/24/06
-
In the cold rain and snow on Christmas night 1914, the unimaginable
happened in the trenches of World War I. Young German, French,
British, and Belgian soldiers spontaneously threw down their arms
and came together across the front lines to exchange gifts, sing
carols, eat, drink, and even play soccer. Renowned historian
Stanley
Weintraub shares a vivid picture of how this forgotten moment in
military history proved to be one of the most beautiful Christmas
stories of all times.
11/26/06 -
Mary Nelson knows a whole lot about
community organizing and neighborhood revitalizing. For most of her
adult life, she has led the powerful Bethel New Life ministry on
Chicago’s west side. Through her work, she has seen the deadly
nature of the gap between rich and poor wreak havoc. Jesus tells a
story about this gap one day. It’s a story that includes all of our
names.
11/19/06 -
Author and pastor
Ted Loder cares a great
deal about how we fashion our prayer lives. He has written several
books on prayer that are as poetic as they are prayerful. This
program’s reflection speaks to the joy contained in one of Loder’s
prayers of thanksgiving, in a week when Americans are remembering
what it means to live thankfully.
11/12/06
- In this second of a two-part series,
featuring conversation with missionary and ex-hostage
Gracia Burnham, the subject of forgiveness takes center stage. How do
you forgive an enemy who has done unspeakable things? Gracia Burnham
is author of several books that address her enslavement in a
Philippine jungle, including her latest, To Fly Again: Surviving
the Tailspins of Life.
11/05/06
- In the first of a two-part series,
missionary Gracia Burnham describes the horror of being a
hostage of the Abu Sayyaf in the Philippine jungle for more than a
year. But more importantly, she details the Christian hope that kept
her going, even after her husband was killed. Gracia Burnham is
author of the New York Times bestseller: In the Presence
of My Enemies.
10/29/06
- If we knew how to approach God, love God,
and serve God all by ourselves, there would be no need for
companionship on our spiritual journey. But finding our way is a
holy enterprise that deserves greater perspective than just our own.
The Rev. David Miller, Dean of the Chapel at the Lutheran School of
Theology at Chicago, and Director of Spiritual Formation, is in the
business of guiding others toward rich spiritual journeys.
10/22/06
- Retired Chaplain of Yale University and Lutheran pastor
John Vannorsdall has spent his life shaping sentences into
rich meaning. His goal has always been to work the power of God into
peoples’ lives. Today we learn Rev. Vannorsdall’s definitions of
some key words in the Christian vocabulary.
10/15/06 - American
Greg Mortenson
isn’t afraid of anything. For 13 years now, this husband and young
father has spent half of every year living with Islamic mullahs,
village chieftains, and Shiite clerics, in remote Pakistan and
Afghanistan. What’s he doing in the mountains where the Taliban
dwell? He’s building a better future for children living there, one
school at a time.
10/08/06 -
The Rev. Heidi Neumark, author of
Breathing Space: A Spiritual Journey in the South Bronx, has many
more wild experiences in her 19-year ministry in the South Bronx
than can fit between the two covers of a book. Her joy in the Lord,
and her deep love of people will breathe new life into all who hear
her story.
10/01/06 -
Don Samuels
A Minneapolis city councilman, Don knows that
biblically, politically, and humanely, racism is no way to live. Don
will share his own unique way of responding to the crises of
division and hatred.
09/24/06
-
Mary Ann Brussat,
journalist and author of a number of books, including the work titled:
Spiritual Literacy, has devoted her energies for three decades to identifying
and reviewing resources for people on spiritual journeys.
09/10/06
- Lisa
Jefferson is the GTE Airfone Supervisor who took the call from
Todd Beamer, a passenger who lost his life on United Flight #93.
That call impacted Jefferson in ways she could never have
expected but learned to embrace as her calling from God.
09/03/06
- Father Arturo Bañuelas, a Catholic priest serving in the
border town of El Paso, Texas, joins us for a conversation about the
human dimensions of immigration and the plight of those who suffer most.
(Encore Month)
08/27/06 -
Karin Gunderson is a harpist with a heavenly touch.
Her concert stage is the nearest hospice center. Explore God’s grace
in her as she helps others die well.
08/20/06 -
Leslie Hunter,
a man of enormous faith who reaches inner city
Chicago youth through spell-binding poetry, creative group time, and
his own supply of God’s overflowing grace.
08/13/06 -
Lynn
Pauley, mother of five adopted
inner-city children.
07/30/06 -
Gary Harbaugh helps us make sense of how God’s will goes to work in these
times of devastation when we’re – frankly – overwhelmed.
07/23/06 -
Gerald Sittser, professor of religion at Whitworth College
who specializes in the history of Christianity and American
religion, though his most popular courses are Introduction to the
Christian Faith and Christian Spirituality.
07/16/06 -
Curt Riess, a honey entrepreneur
who has extensive knowledge of the honey
industry and a strong Christian faith that offers a perfect
opportunity for re-examining the sweetness of grace, as we know it from
the Bible.
07/09/06 -
Kathy Holmgren, wife of Seattle Seahawks
football coach Mike Holmgren, understands these internal and external
dimensions of life extraordinarily well.
07/02/06 -
Andy Tecson, a composer and jazz saxophonist, describes
his special love for bringing jazz worship into the life of the church.
06/25/06 -
Dan Lehmann, editor of
The Lutheran magazine, and Peter Marty explore six features
of churches that delight in living under a large canopy of grace and
common purpose.
06/18/06
- Senator George McGovern,
a Representative and a Senator from South Dakota, shares his dream
for ending this sorry state of affairs.
06/11/06
-
Mark Hoffman, the Associate Professor of Biblical
Studies. His
parish and academic positions reflect his commitment to expressing how
Scripture is not simply a resource for scholarly reflection but a life
source for Christians and for the Church.
06/04/06 -
Barbara Rossing, a
professor of New Testament at the Lutheran School of Theology at
Chicago explores the subject of her work
on rapture, and some of the dangers that accompany popular books that
merge fiction with questionable biblical interpretation.
05/28/06 -
Joe Holt, Director of
Executive Ethics at Notre Dame University looks at becoming the moral
and ethical characters we all want to be.
05/21/06 -
Esther Prabhakar, a woman full of
grace and faith who has an extraordinary prayer life and ministry,
organized around a beautiful concept of prayer journaling.
05/14/06 -
Dick Hardel, an absolute “pro”
when it comes to underscoring the importance of living with a
passionate faith. Hear how his words are full of grace and
responsibility in a time when parents and grandparents need to think
deeply about what they’re passing along to the next generation.
05/07/06 -
Joe Ehrmann, an ex-professional football player, named Man of the Year while playing
for the Baltimore Colts. During his football career, Rev. Ehrmann
matriculated at Dallas Theological Seminary and Westminster
Theological Seminary, and was ordained in 1985.
04/30/06 - Kay
Fennell a woman who, with her husband, feeds hungry people on
Chicago’s Lower Wacker Drive.
04/23/06
- Weston Noble,
an internationally known conductor and
clinician who has served as a guest conductor for more that 775 music
festivals in the United States and abroad.On the program, he explores the joy of
leading a college choir for nearly six decades.
02/26/06 -
Phil Thompson, who takes a piece of raw stainless steel and makes the
scriptures come alive through it.
02/19/06 -
Dave Ramsey, a
popular radio talk show host and author.
02/12/06 -
Andy Krey, the Executive
Secretary of the Lutheran Association for Maritime Ministry, ministers
in coastal ports to seafarers from around the world.
02/05/06 -
Peter Mayer, a
talented musician who plays lead guitar for the Jimmy Buffett band,
and who understands the noun of being Christian.
01/22/06 -
Martin Doblmeier,
the President and founder of Journey Films, combines a lifelong
interest in religion with a passion for journalism.
01/15/06 -
Bob
Erickson is Professor and Chair of the History Department at
Pacific Lutheran University who knows the distinction between his Lord
and his country.
01/08/06 -
Tom Holmes, Director,
Samaritan House, helps homeless people thrive in a home filled with
love.
01/01/06 -
David Briggs is a
religion reporter for The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer who has reported on
issues of faith and ethics since 1985.
12/25/05 - Chaplain Jeanne Olsen
who knows the importance of ministry that is all wrapped up in a care
for others. She doesn’t lead an abstract ministry, precisely because
her Lord is not an abstract Lord.
11/20/05 -
Mary Fuller who
makes crèches out of bread.
11/13/05 -
Joe Holt, a business consultant and teacher of ethics and faith in the
workplace, has a different idea. Listen in for fresh insights on
abundance and abundant life.
11/06/05 -
Karin Gunderson is a harpist with a heavenly touch.
Her concert stage is the nearest hospice center. Explore God’s grace
in her as she helps others die well.
10/30/05 -
Bill Russell, church historian who will walk us through the ritual
and value in Luther’s daily prayer routine.
10/23/05 -
Art
Simon, founder of Bread for the World, reflects on Jesus’ prayer in
light of his own struggle to pray it meaningfully and honestly.
10/16/05 -
Wyvetta Bullock, an
ELCA Pastor who currently serves as Executive for Leadership
Development in the Office of the Presiding Bishop, takes a look at the
gift of forgiveness.
10/09/05 -
Rick Rouse, the Executive
Director for Church Relations and Continuing Theological Education at
Pacific Lutheran University and a pastor who went after the arsonist
who burned his Lutheran Church to the ground.
10/02/05 -
Sue Gundy, a heavy equipment
operator in the taconite mines of Northeastern Minnesota, who makes
plenty of time for faith and family beside her 12-hour shifts.
09/25/05 -
Bob Molsberry,
author of Blindsided by Grace has a nightmare to tell that
turns out to be real. Hit by an errant truck while bike riding one
fine spring day, his life has never been the same since entering a
wheelchair. Be prepared to discover extraordinary grace hidden in an ordinary
man doing his ordinary best to live with circumstances he never asked
for.
09/18/05 -
Steve Siler is committed to aiding
people in their recovery and healing from devastating experiences.
Through his incredible gift of music, he can send the most broken
human moments straight into the lap of God.
09/11/05 -
Pastor Ann Tiemeyer,
the Director at Koinonia – a Lutheran Outdoor Ministry for the past
3 ½ years, develops post-September 11th ministries to the larger New
York City area on behalf of Koinonia.
09/04/05 -
Leslie Hunter,
a man of enormous faith who reaches inner city
Chicago youth through spell-binding poetry, creative group time, and
his own supply of God’s overflowing grace.
08/28/05 -
Mark Moller-Gunderson
is a pastor on
Sunday mornings and doubles as a fire department captain and a member
of his town’s rescue squad.
08/21/05 -
Gene Hay, a worker at a farm with
recovering drug and alcohol addicts and really loves people.
08/14/05 - Gary Harbaugh helps us make sense of how God’s will goes to work in these
times of devastation when we’re – frankly – overwhelmed.
08/07/05 - Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America,
Mark Hanson,
brings all kind of clarity to the matter as he steeps his own ministry
and leadership in a Word that possesses us.
07/31/05 -
M. Alexandra George,
a leader of The Zoom House in Minneapolis, where families and
individuals with limited opportunities make something beautiful out of
broken dreams.
07/24/05 - The Rev. Elizabeth G. Maxwell, Associate
Rector of the Church of the Holy Apostles in New York, New York.
07/17/05 -
The Working Bikes
cooperative, a non-profit organization whose mission is to empower
communities by engaging in activities that promote environmentalism,
public health, and human equality.
07/10/05 -
Brenda Meier,
a member of the LWR staff since 2001 who serves as the
communication associate for parish projects and partnerships.
07/03/05 -
David Pope,
a village president in suburban Chicago, discusses the privilege of
serving his community.
06/26/05 -
Dennis Dewey, the Executive Director
of the Network of Biblical Storytellers
(NOBS) is a self- described “minister of storytelling.”
06/19/05 -
Susan MacDonald Bray is a naturalist
at Lakeside Nature
Center in Swope Park – an 1,800 acre park in the heart of Kansas
City, Missouri.
06/12/05 -
Linda Schroeder
is the Executive Director of Project
COPE, an ecumenical ministry in St. Louis, Missouri.
06/05/05 -
Mary Ylvisaker Nilsen
is an author and teacher with a graduate degree in Literary
Non-Fiction from the University of Iowa.
05/29/05 -
Pastor Dwayne Westermann,
of College Lutheran Church in Salem, Virginia,
leads what he calls Lutheran Safaris to Tanzania.
05/22/05 -
Gerry Iverson
is the national coordinator for the organization, Alternatives for
Simple Living.
05/15/05 -
Pastor Wayne Gordon, pastor and
coach who helped a group of inner-city teenagers make a difference in
their neighborhood.
05/08/05 -
Lynn
Pauley, mother of five adopted
inner-city children.
05/01/05 -
Dr.
Shannon Jung, a professor of rural
ministry at Warburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, and the
director for the Center for Theology and Land.
04/24/05 -
Ken Beckmann, the owner of Beckmann
Violin shop in Mission, Kansas. a craftsman and an award-winning
violin maker.
04/17/05 - The Rev. Bob Herhold,
a retired ELCA pastor, an award winning journalist, author, and
playwright.
04/03/05 and 04/10/05 -
Sister Joan Chittister,
a best-selling author and well-known lecturer.
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