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An Accidental Rant on Christianity With A Kind, Patient, Open-minded Pastor Who Took it Well

An Accidental Rant on Christianity With A Kind, Patient, Open-minded Pastor Who Took it Well

Released Tuesday, 14th December 2021
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An Accidental Rant on Christianity With A Kind, Patient, Open-minded Pastor Who Took it Well

An Accidental Rant on Christianity With A Kind, Patient, Open-minded Pastor Who Took it Well

An Accidental Rant on Christianity With A Kind, Patient, Open-minded Pastor Who Took it Well

An Accidental Rant on Christianity With A Kind, Patient, Open-minded Pastor Who Took it Well

Tuesday, 14th December 2021
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Most of the time on the Interesting Lives of Normal People, we try to dig into the stories of our guests to find out what they’re all about, what’s been on their mind, and what they ‘just need to get out into the world.’ This podcast turned out to be a bit of the reverse.

In this episode with Dr. David Burke, mentor and friend of Jake’s, and a long-time pastor, it’s as though we were the ones doing the sharing. Especially about the church and American Christianity today. 

Surprise, surprise: talking about Christianity and the church (*during COVID*) struck some nerves and David opened up the space for us to share some thoughts, concerns, and hopes--holding all of them with grace and aplomb.

It was clear in our conversation that David is no stranger to opening up space for others. Opening his schedule for his wife’s budding midlife painting career. Opening up a grocery store where low-income residents could shop in the middle of their food desert, Opening up his home and heart for his adopted twins *on top of his 4 other kids*. 

We hope this conversation opens up something for you--maybe even something unexpected.

You can find the transcript for this episode here. Find transcripts for all episodes here.

Questions of the Day

Have you felt a deep calling to something in your life? 

Where have you found deep gladness in your life?

When have you acted on your deep gladness and found it to positively impact others?

Who would be your greatest supporter if you were to step out and risk pursuing a passion?

 

Visit this episode on our website at ILNPpod.com and share your responses

Links from the Episode

Kelsey Burke Art

Books

Anything by Dallas Willard

Books by John Perkins

Episode Highlights

[2:55] David’s life story in 5 minutes

[9:30] The Son of a UW Professor (who was an atheist)

[20:00] Helping his wife start her passion project: painting

[28:20] David’s passions: college students, Ethiopia, Basketball

[34:00] What makes passion projects successful?

[36:46] Starting a grocery store in a food desert

[50:20] Christianity, today

[58:02] Where desire to do “passion projects” comes from

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From The Podcast

Interesting Lives of Normal People

“I think you guys should start a podcast with Jake.”The podcast started with a group text from Maggie, Jake’s wife. A few months later, Holdeman and Fin sat down with Jake to find out what was behind Maggie’s text (besides her usual motivations of starting a wildly successful business that would allow us all to retire at 40).Jake shared that he just had a nagging desire to ‘do something’. Life was good, work was good, but still, something creative and generative seemed untapped within him. He needed a passion project and had a hunch that a podcast might be that. Holdeman proposed we just start recording, capturing the process of unfurling Jake’s passion project in real time, sharing the journey with people, and maybe helping them along the way with a word of encouragement or an actual exercise to complete.The early episodes reveal an earnest, if clunky, pursuit of understanding passion, passion projects, and the risks of ‘doing something.’ Soon, though, Jake dialed into what he wanted to do: listen. More than just booking guests, figuring out how to mix sound, or determining the best marketing channels for the podcast, Jake wanted to concentrate on creating a space where people were heard, focused on, and maybe even learn something about themselves by being on the pod. For him, these conversations became almost like spiritual practices that stretched him and served others. By midseason, Jake had discovered his ‘something’ and had dived deep into what became the crux of the show: deep conversations with “normal people”--people like him, with jobs and kids and mortgages--who were living out their normalcy in the most interesting and extraordinary ways. Jake noticed something else about “normal”, though: the further away he got from how he defined normal, the bigger his definition became.Here’s what the podcast is about: We believe that regular people are living interesting lives all around us, but in the day-to-day grind, it’s easy to overlook them. So, we’re going to talk to normal people - people you could pass in at the grocery store or meet at your kid’s daycare - who are living normal lives in extraordinary ways. We’re going to talk to a mom who is slowly going blind but refusing to wallow in it. We are going to talk to a first-generation American who’s actually trying to “go back where he came from.” We are going to interview a serial solopreneur who’s fighting racism with a new business.No famous people allowed (take that, Ke$ha!); just normals with day jobs, kids, and mortgages who are intentionally living their lives in some pretty compelling ways.Find us on InstagramJake Smeester: @jakesmeesterRyan Findley: @finsky777Ryan Holdeman: @ryanholdemanMusic by Hygge. Please follow her on SoundCloud.

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