I don’t need to set this up at all… you know — sometimes when you’re doing some sort of sales, and you want to make a point, or propose some sort of solution to people’s felt needs, you first must articulate the problem we’re all facing… So if

Stan Mitchell on Progressive Christianity

Jul 14th, 2020 1h 45m

Guys, I’m trying not to be hyperbolic with how I describe this conversation, and the man I had it with… Stan Mitchell has been someone I’ve looked up to as a pastor for the last few years, someone that I’ve texted back and forth with countless

Finding Our "Joy Compass" with Andrew Morgan

May 29th, 2020 1h 53m

Andrew Morgan is an internationally recognized filmmaker focused on telling stories for a better tomorrow. His experience includes a broad range of work spanning narrative and documentary storytelling for multiple film and new media projects th

The Son of a Holocaust Survivor Finds Grace

May 10th, 2020 1h 36m

Larry Volk is an artist, educator, lecturer and author. He and holds an MFA in Photography from the Rhode Island School of Design has taught photography and visual art in nationally and regionally, for over 25 years. Currently, he is a Professo

B.T. Harman on Coming Out and Using His Platform for Good

Apr 28th, 2020 1h 49m

B.T. Harman is a former executive turned creative strategist, writer, and speaker. He was previously Vice President of Client Experience for Booster, an innovative school fundraising company based out of Atlanta. Between 2005 - 2016, B.T. was a

Jesus' Next 500 Years with Jonathan Williams

Apr 20th, 2020 1h 3m

Jill McAfee on Being a Missionary, Coming Out, and Finding Her Voice.

Apr 15th, 2020 1h 18m

What are yours?

Apr 7th, 2020 25m 4s

Vertebrae. The essential elements in our lives that give us a backbone. They’re what help us stand tall—to be strong in the face of adversity. They define our posture, and how we approach the world. They’re tested under pressure. They rela

A word of encouragement re: Coronavirus

Mar 13th, 2020 17m 10s

As humans, we’ve evolved over thousands of years to primarily do one thing: survive. To pass on our genetics. To continue the human race, whatever that is. To hopefully find a respectable mate and reproduce another generation and another and an

Change requires change.

Mar 5th, 2020 23m 43s

Everyone wants better, brighter, simpler, more joyful, more satisfying, to feel more complete, more whole… Living closer to their truest selves; so that their interior lives and exterior lives are synced-up. To be known and affirmed for who we

Anxiety

Feb 11th, 2020 18m 16s

Hey everyone, hope you’re doing well. This is episode 40 of the vertebrae podcast; a podcast that was born out of an intention that I might live my life more in alignment, across every area of my life… that my work didn’t feel disconnected from

Of course...

Nov 27th, 2019 19m 27s

This past week, we welcomed our 3rd child into the world. It was beautiful. It was a peaceful labor for the most part… from my perspective. The second day, I don’t know if it was a result of being in the hospital for 24 hours, being surrounde

The Practice of the Better

Nov 18th, 2019 42m 16s

The best criticism of the bad is the practice of the better. This quote from Richard Rohr has been with me for the last 3-4 years, and it pops into my head at the most random of times. Anytime I bump into a critical thought in my head, or hea

What to Do with Tension

Nov 11th, 2019 23m 9s

This is a lesson I learned a decade ago, and it made sense then, but as my life has become increasingly complex, nuanced, added responsibilities, stresses, variables, etc. it’s become all the more relevant. I was in the my early 20s and I was a

Disorientation

Oct 11th, 2019 23m 41s

We all have days when we wake up and feel disoriented. Maybe everything is the same, except for one or two small things and everything feels disorienting. The thing you were leaning on; the thing that had been supporting your weight for a while

Strategic Subtraction

Oct 3rd, 2019 16m 51s

Just had breakfast with a friend of mine… Fellow entrepreneur with a lot of pressure on his shoulders. Millions of dollars at stake, dozens of people’s careers, and needless to say—lots of opportunity, lots of risk. We were talking about the tr

Three Things

Sep 27th, 2019 24m 8s

It’s been 4 months since I’ve shared on here. 4 months of family, of rest, of equal parts confusion and clarity; 4 months of traveling the country to spend time with different churches—helping them understand their reputations in their cities a

The Big Lie

May 30th, 2019 42m 2s

Hey hey, hope you guys are doing well. It’s the week after Memorial Day and I’ve got something stirring that I want to explore with you today. This has been the product of a handful of really profound conversations, a few recent books, an “Awak

Say Something

May 1st, 2019 24m 9s

Hey friends, hope you’re doing well. The response to episode 30 “Coming out of the theological closet” has been extraordinary. I’ve actually already recorded a follow-up episode to that, specifically about our LGBT brothers and sisters, and cla

Coming out of the Theological Closet

Apr 8th, 2019 35m 54s

When you know, for certain, people are being mistreated, it’s a difficult tension to manage. When do you speak up? When do you work behind the scenes? Often you feel that you’re not doing enough, and sometimes it feels that you’re trying to do

Story-Tellers

Jan 2nd, 2019 23m 7s

Humans are hard-wired for story. We’re obsessed with the narrative of nearly everything we encounter… Over the Christmas break we watched Planet Earth 2, which is of course captivating. It’s breath-taking visually, and each scene with differ

Advent Meditation

Dec 19th, 2018 8m 21s

As we get ready for the Christmas experience, I’ve been reading the beginning of Luke… The birth of John the Baptist foretold, Jesus’ birth foretold, Mary pregnant with Jesus visiting Elizabeth pregnant with John… And I’m struck by how these

Paying Attention

Nov 28th, 2018 18m 20s

If you let any garden grow untended, it’s going to get messy. Maybe you were excited about it at the start… You knew where every row was, every seed planted, which cycles of water and light and how to fertilize “just right.” You knew what to ex

The Right Critics

Oct 26th, 2018 19m 49s

There’s been a theme in my life recently that I want to share with you guys, my Vertebrae friends… I don’t think it’s unique to me, and I know others have encountered much worse than I have… But part of my promise to you guys in the first episo

Information ≠ Transformation

Oct 15th, 2018 18m 19s

Information doesn’t equal transformation. Here’s the reality: We’ve become fat on information. Intellectually obese. We know more about the world and business practices and education techniques and parenting and health care and politics than an