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Thoughtful, enjoyable, and practical takes on Jesus-centered prayer and lifestyle practices meant to lead you into life, connect you with God, and help you grow personally and spiritually...
USC® TV & RADIO PRODUCTIONS™, LLC CHANNEL'S ONE,TWO and THREE is a Spiritual Leader as a catalyst for humanity's shift from human nature to Divine Greatness, through both the spoken word and our host sharing compelling and exciting topics to create a greater understanding of the subject and how it relates to our world today. Whether our host is speaking at conferences to world-wide audiences, organizing live global events, or presenting unique life changing empowering knowledge, our mission ...
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The Brown Line Church Podcast
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Pride in the 21st century, Gender-bending in the 1st & 2nd centuries
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Recent scholarship suggests powerful parallels between today's Pride Movements and the resistance of violence and domination and exclusion in 1st and 2nd century Imperial Rome by some early Jesus communities, namely how they both push the boundaries of gender.By Hayley Larson & Vince Brackett
What does it mean to belong to ourselves and belong to one another? On the weekend of Juneteenth and Father's Day, we look to the words of writer Cole Arthur Riley as Hayley shares thoughts around being personally and communally well. (Image: cover art for “This Here Flesh” by Cole Arthur Riley)By Hayley Larson
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The Brown Line Church Podcast
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Are any of these missing from your experience of community?
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41:58
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For week 2 of our reflections on community, Vince feels like the default shape of community in modern American life leaves him missing a lot. He wonders what is different about a Jesus-shaped experience of community...By Vince Brackett & Hayley Larson
Vince reflects on feeling cared for by community over the last month, and on 10 years of seeing a variety of different ways people experience healthy community, to encourage us toward a spacious model of community that is never one-size-fits-all.By Vince Brackett & Hayley Larson
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The Brown Line Church Podcast
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A Lens of Love, Not Judgment, wk 4 (The Good Samaritan)
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In the wake of continued tragedies, judgment and shame around our own responses and the responses of others can arise. What if, instead, we allowed compassion to re-align our vision? Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan offers wisdom here...By Hayley Larson & Matt Butin
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The Brown Line Church Podcast
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It's okay to not feel optimistic after mass shootings
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We wonder, this week, what voices you’re paying attention to in the wake of what happened in Buffalo? Our own comments as pastors, for the sake of our community, are just: it’s okay if you don’t feel optimistic right now about the world. To believe in the God Jesus shows — who joins those who suffer in solidarity, and whose mission is to bend the w…
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The Brown Line Church Podcast
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A Lens of Love, Not Judgment, wk 3 (Mary Magdalene)
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The narrative of Mary Magdalene gives us a picture of Jesus meeting us within real and embodied pain. What can we learn by looking at the resurrection through the lens of those with a closer proximity to suffering? (Art by Kelly Latimore)By Hayley Larson & Erica McLin
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The Brown Line Church Podcast
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A Lens of Love, Not Judgment, wk 2 (Fearfully and Wonderfully Made)
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What does it mean to be fearfully and wonderfully made? (Psalm 139) From a lens of judgment, scriptures like this are a weapon for controlling marginalized bodies. From a lens of love, they speak to God's companionship in the complexity of our embodied experiences.By Hayley Larson
Formed by things like reality tv, religious legalism, and even a little too much self help, we can often automatically take on a lens of judgment when looking at ourselves and those around us. Instead of falling into the trap of comparison, can we adjust our vision to see more clearly through a lens of compassion?…
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The Brown Line Church Podcast
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Some pastoral comments on disappointment and the month ahead for BLC
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This is Vince's last Sunday on the mic for a month. He offers some pastoral comments for the moment.By Vince Brackett
For our Easter reflection this year, Hayley is struck by the opening line from the Gospel of John's telling of Mary Magdalene's visit to Jesus' tomb on Easter morning: "While it was still dark..."By Hayley Larson
Any uncomfortable feelings and thoughts you may be carrying are NOT distractions from you observing Good Friday; they are the reasons to observe it. We hope this brief reflection and prayer in consideration of Jesus on the Cross helps you to experience the Cross as “solidarity” and “breaking cycles of blame and revenge” (rather than as “substitutio…
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The Brown Line Church Podcast
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Give up False Beliefs for Lent wk 6: Wrath & Punishment
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51:38
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You are not alone if you find it inconsistent, problematic, or shaming the way Jesus’ crucifixion is presented as “substitution” in the vast majority of American churches (as though God needs someone to be punished, and Jesus “substitutes” himself for us, who really deserve the punishment). As we begin Holy Week this Lent, we offer some ways to shi…
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The Brown Line Church Podcast
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Give up False Beliefs for Lent wk 5: Romance will complete you
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60% of American adults believe in the idea of soulmates, according to a recent YouGov poll. But romance can be a fickle, crappy, unforgiving thing to put one’s trust in. Unfortunately, much of American religion reinforces the belief that to be single is to be incomplete. How can a community like BLC counter such beliefs?…
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The Brown Line Church Podcast
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Give up False Beliefs for Lent wk 4: Purity Culture
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Purity culture (making "acceptance from God" dependent on White American Evangelicalism's specific ideas on sexual ethics and gender identities) peaked in the 1990s and early 2000s, and still has a massive impact today. Is there a way outside of purity culture to find God's help in developing a healthy sexual ethic? We believe so!…
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The Brown Line Church Podcast
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Give up False Beliefs for Lent wk 3: Christian Supremacy
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Christian supremacy is very much linked to the other supremacies our world is talking about (white supremacy, national supremacy), but it’s sometimes given a pass because of an interpretation of Jesus’ words: “no one comes to the Father except through me.” Is there another way to interpret Jesus’ words? Is there a way to wholly give oneself to the …
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The Brown Line Church Podcast
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Give up False Beliefs for Lent wk 2: The Bible as an Idol
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45:56
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Is it possible to experience the Bible as a source of life and approach it critically at the same time? (Spoiler: we believe the answer is yes.) Or would that mean you're betraying the Bible or God? (Spoiler: we believe the answer is no.)By Erica McLin & Hayley Larson
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The Brown Line Church Podcast
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Give up False Beliefs for Lent wk 1: The "God's Blueprint" View of Life
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How can anyone believe in a loving and powerful God when there is so much evil and suffering in the world? If the common religious response that "it's all a part of God's plan" is not satisfying to you (or has hurt you personally), you are not alone. For week 1 of Lent, we experiment with an alternative way to believe in a loving and powerful God -…
A three minute guided prayer from Vince to begin LentBy Brown Line Church
As Jesus offered specific critique of the 1st century Roman Empire's so-called "peace", it feels important to us to offer specific critique of 21st century America's so-called "peace". Vince gives one more framing to our upcoming Lent 2022 experiment in giving up false beliefs.By Vince Brackett
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The Brown Line Church Podcast
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Living ourselves into new ways of thinking (not the reverse)
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39:23
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Summarizing Jesus' message about how human growth and change works, Fr. Richard Rohr suggests no one can think themselves into new ways of living; we must live ourselves into new ways of thinking. We have this insight in mind as we prepare to give up false beliefs for Lent this year.By Hayley Larson & Vince Brackett
Psychological growth often involves leaving behind coping mechanisms from our past that used to protect us but now harm us. Spiritual growth often involves doing the same with religious coping mechanisms. Seeing this process through requires an ability to look back at our past selves with compassion rather than disdain.…
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The Brown Line Church Podcast
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Celebrating our Co-Founding Pastor Kyle Hanawalt
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This week we honor the way our Co-Founding Pastor Kyle Hanawalt has shaped our community forever.By Brown Line Church
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The Brown Line Church Podcast
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"Turn the other cheek" as active resistance
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There's more to Jesus' three examples of non-retaliation from the Sermon on the Mount -- "turn the other cheek", "let them take your cloak also", and "go the extra mile" -- than it seems on the surface. (Art: "Come Ye Blessed... " from the Sermon on the Mount, by Nathaniel Mokgosi. 1980.)By Vince Brackett
Most of the images Jesus and St. Paul used to describe life are organic things that grow and change -- soil, vines, bodies, families -- rather than manufactured or mechanistic things that follow formulas. There's A LOT of wisdom behind that! (Art by Scott Erickson: @scottthepainter)By Hayley Larson & Vince Brackett
On the weekend our country remembers Dr. King, we do a book report on Howard Thurman's "Jesus and the Disinherited" -- reportedly the book Dr. King kept in his pocket during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Thurman is one of the most important theologians in American history, but unfortunately not as well known as he ought to be. (Photo: Book jacket for…
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The Brown Line Church Podcast
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It's okay if prayer doesn't feel like it's "supposed to"
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37:59
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Hayley and Vince, inspired by both new and ancient things they've read recently, want you to realize that your prayer life is probably in better shape than you think it is! (Art: Book jacket for "A Rhythm of Prayer" edited by Sarah Bessey)By Hayley Larson & Vince Brackett
Hayley Larson reflects for us after our annual take on the traditional Anglican Christmas Carols Service.By Hayley Larson
A specific prayer practice some at BLC find extremely helpful is Emmanuel Prayer. It involves accessing our memories to help us connect with the God who is always with us (Emmanuel means "God with us", and is a name for God we return to often during Advent). Vince interview BLC's Anna Cruz about her experience.…
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The Brown Line Church Podcast
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Helpful and harmful spiritual perspectives on waiting
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The season of Advent in the church calendar encourages us to annually come back to the theme of "waiting", suggesting how core it is to learn to "wait well" in order to "live well". Hayley and Vince unpack some helpful and some harmful spiritual perspectives on waiting they've encountered (and perhaps you have too?)…
We ring in the first Sunday of Advent 2021 with our first visit of the year to some of our favorite Carols, and a look at the song of Mary from Luke 1, according to the First Nations Version of the English New Testament.By Vince Brackett
Once a year we set aside a Sunday to remember and grieve loved ones lost by people in our community. Grief is complicated and frustrating, and yet, if honored and treated with respect, it can often be a place people discover God to be a God of Comfort.By Vince Brackett
Special guest and old friend of BLC Kristen Daly-Mosier unpacks three movements the Jesus tradition encourages us to make as a capitalistic, materialistic, colonizing culture: (1) From "stewardship" to "solidarity", (2) From "uses" to "gifts", (3) From "classification" to "revelation".By Kristen Daly-Mosier
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The Brown Line Church Podcast
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Combining the Living God and the Loving God (Annual Meeting 2021)
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Vince tells the story of the first 8 years of BLC in a way he never has beforeBy Vince Brackett
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The Brown Line Church Podcast
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Prayer as partnership (The "kin-dom" of God is like yeast)
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Vince passes on a reflection on prayer as partnership from writer and pastor Libby Tedder Hugus, jumping off of Jesus' teaching that the Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread.By Vince Brackett
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The Brown Line Church Podcast
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Helping others be present (Lessons from a chaplain)
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Vince interviews special guest and friend of BLC Natasha Huang about being a chaplain, and the ways we all can learn from chaplains for the benefit of our relationships and interactions and community.By Natasha Huang, with Vince Brackett
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The Brown Line Church Podcast
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From productivity / prosperity to presence
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Whether it’s from the self-help industry or Christian messaging, toxically simple takes on “how to rest & recharge” or on “the three steps to a (fill in the blank) life” abound. Hayley helps us scour the Jesus tradition for more realistic and helpful outlooks on life.By Hayley Larson & Vince Brackett
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The Brown Line Church Podcast
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Biblical lessons from a First Nations perspective
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On the weekend of Indigenous Peoples Day, we unpack a couple of resources that help us encounter the Bible from a First Nations' perspective.By Vince Brackett
Vince reflects on a provocative reading of the Gospel of Luke's story of two men meeting the Risen Jesus on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus.By Vince Brackett
In honor of Latinx & Hispanic heritage month, we investigate the origins of some of our church's core beliefs and values in the thoughts of Latin American Liberation theologians. (Art: "Cristo de la Liberacion" by Maximino Cerezo Barredo)By Hayley Larson & Vince Brackett
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The Brown Line Church Podcast
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Faith in Modern Life Film Club (Community Spotlight)
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BLC's Lara Johnson leads a monthly film club, and we want to give you a taste of what it's like. The group watches movies or TV series that have depictions of faith lived out against the backdrop of modern life or modern crises or modern technology, and then discusses together the beauty and challenges they reveal in our own lives and faith.…
Join us as we attempt to capture and give expression to the many feelings and thoughts and complicated prayers we all might have bouncing around inside us 20 years after 9/11.By Hayley Larson & Vince Brackett
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The Brown Line Church Podcast
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Celebrating students, teachers, and parents
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A teacher in our community offers a prayer for parents, a parent in our community offers a prayer for students, and a student in our community offers a prayer for teachers.By Brown Line Church
Listen in on our family conversations for August 2021! (1) What are the latest plans and thoughts on in-person community and pandemic life? (2) What’s the status of BLC's Five Year Plan? And (3) our pastors have been bouncing around some very big thoughts about why our church exists.By Vince Brackett & Kyle Hanawalt
Vince, Kyle, and Hayley share experiences, reflections, and suggestions on the intersection of spiritual health and therapy. They discuss how therapy can be amazing for anyone, and how to overcome common obstacles to a good therapy experience.By Hayley Larson, Vince Brackett, Kyle Hanawalt
One tension it feels we must hold to live life well is (on one side) pursuing ideals, and (on the other side) choosing to embrace what is true right now and maybe can't be ideal. Hayley and Kyle discuss how to do that well without losing our minds or succumbing to cynicism.By Hayley Larson & Kyle Hanawalt
A healthy, full life of course has a strong element of inward reflection and being in touch with oneself. And, at the same time, a healthy, full life is also richly relational and never closed off. Life (and connection with God) are found in holding the tension of looking inward and outward.By Hayley Larson & Vince Brackett
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The Brown Line Church Podcast
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Pushing yourself AND giving yourself grace
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49:05
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Life is often found in tension -- holding together two things that seem opposed but actually need each other. This week, Kyle and Vince discuss the tension of pushing yourself AND giving yourself grace.By Vince Brackett & Kyle Hanawalt
In so many ways, life is found in tensions. In holding together two things that seem to be opposed to one another, but actually need one another. One that strikes us lately is the tension between humility and self-worth: Being quick to admit we’re wrong or that we need help, but also boldly believing we are NOT our worst mistakes or victimizations;…
Join us as we celebrate 4 wonderful new children in our community, and support the families that are raising them. To watch the recording of full ceremony, visit: https://youtu.be/8p_hngd-VT8By Brown Line Church
