No Small Endeavor with Lee C. Camp

Does evolutionary theory destroy morality? Barrett contends that evolutionary psychology might instead provide guidance toward practices of sociability, community, and love. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A helpful conversation with Suzanne Stabile on the Enneagram: what it is, what it isn’t, and why it can be a helpful tool for the flourishing of the self and the community. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Edith Hall offers timely commentary on the virtue ethics of Aristotle: and how contemporary society may be missing fundamental keys to living life well. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do Christians get wrong about Jesus? Prof. AJ Levine discusses common mis-readings of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’s stance on societal and gender norms, and how “Christian Fragility” impedes one’s ability to listen and learn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David French discusses the culture of animosity in which he finds himself as a political commentator; what it’s like to critique conservatism as a conservative; and why he thinks America’s classical liberalism may yet be salvageable. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The commodification of almost everything is one fact of life in the late modern capitalist world in which we live in the west. But commodification even of war? Justin Bronson Barringer joins us to discuss the business of war and the US military industrial complex. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is Conservative Christianity necessarily opposed to reason? Dr. Molly Worthen discusses the history of Protestant Evangelicalism, and how this tradition has often been “perhaps the most preoccupied with squaring reason with their understanding of faith.” A complex and fascinating tale. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“I did not go to divinity school to become a pastor. I went to figure out how people could read the Bible and not do justice.” Janet Wolf recounts her experiences doing justice and advocacy work in the face of misogyny, poverty, and racism as the first female Methodist pastor in Lawrence County, Tennessee. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“People are not so afraid of holding a wrong opinion, as they are of holding an opinion alone,” says public theologian Dr. Russell Moore, paraphrasing Soren Kierkegaard. In light of his recent book The Courage to Stand, we discussed the dangers of waging debate for the sake of hostility; the immense value found in cultivating the virtues of courage, prudence, and humility; and why he believes that “only the crucifiable self can find the courage to stand.” And these are not merely academic matters for Russell, having himself experienced trying times of intense public scrutiny from colleagues, friends, enemies, and Donald Trump. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marty Dodson is an acclaimed country singer-songwriter in Nashville. A number of years ago, he and his wife felt compelled to move from their home in Franklin, a wealthy and predominantly white suburb, to East Nashville, a historically black neighborhood which has been the site of much gentrification over the past few decades. When they moved in, they were instantly welcomed by Stephanie Knight, their new neighbor, and a long-time resident of East Nashville. Following the tragic murder of George Floyd, Marty and his wife were walking in their neighborhood when they stopped to talk to Stephanie. A long, tear-filled conversation culminated in Stephanie’s heartbreaking statement: “I’m scared for my boys… I just want them to come home.” It was this conversation that led Marty to start writing “Black Mothers,” a haunting song reminiscent of the Hebrew prophet’s plea for “justice to roll down like waters.” Today, their story, along with a performance of the song they wrote together. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“What should the right level of profit be for a corporation?” In this episode, Jay Jakub discusses why this question must be asked in order for a business to thrive, and how a more holistic approach to capitalism might be adopted to unlock a company’s full potential. And maybe help save the world. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A special episode reflecting on over a decade of Thanksgivings spent at Nashville’s historic Ryman auditorium, with some of our favorite performances, sketches, and memories which we’ve shared together. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Robert P. Jones discusses the ways his research has led to a shocking conclusion: “If you take your average white American, and you add Christian identity, they move up the racism index, not down.” And such a confession, he says, is a necessary starting point before there can be any reconciliation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Most people are too busy to live emotionally healthy and spiritually vibrant lives.” In this episode, John Mark Comer discusses the importance of taking seriously spiritual formation in a culture of noise and speed; why willpower cannot do what we want it to do; and practical ways we might find and live the good, the true, and the beautiful. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Father Greg Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries, the world's largest gang-member rehabilitation program, in one of our most beautiful interviews to date. “You don't go to the margins to make a difference. You go to the margins so that the folks at the margins make you different." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What role might race play in today’s ever-increasing gaps of social and economic inequality? And what might we be able to do about it? In this episode, Dr. Andre Churchwell explains how a life of cultivated virtue and diversity might be necessary to equip us to address such issues of injustice. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if the seemingly-opposite political forces of Left and Right are really two sides of the same philosophical coin? Patrick Deneen discusses the ways in which the modern West has taken for granted its long-held philosophy of Liberalism, and why this philosophy is starting to show signs of an inevitable failure. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“It has to be the joyful journey for justice,” says Ben Cohen, the world-famous “Ben” in Ben & Jerry’s. In this episode, we hear from Ben how starting an ice cream business has given him the means to do justice with hope and humor. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A special episode, taped in front of a live audience, in which Cyntoia Brown Long chronicles her experience leading to and within the Tennessee prison system, and the dramatic, at times hard-to-believe nature of the grace and providence which led to her coming-to-faith and ultimate release. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The X-CLUB, and the invention of the supposed war between science and faith, with astro-physicist and theologian David Wilkinson of Durham University. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does the resurrection of Jesus have to do with climate change? Chris Doran discusses why a rightly-seen eschatological hope should necessarily drive Christians towards climate care. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ever wonder about “everybody getting a trophy” and the cult of self-esteem? Kristin Neff discusses the potential dangers of self-esteem—like bullying and narcissism—and the preferred practice of self-compassion. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Health inequities started with slavery,” says Dr. Quincy Byrdsong in this episode on healthcare inequities. We discuss at length the infamous Tuskegee Syphilis trials, and the persistent issues in healthcare and social justice. We close with a personal conversation about his experience as an African-American man, and how he has emotionally and professionally navigated doing such work. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The US, says Harvard Prof. David Hemenway, does not have a “violence problem” in comparison to other high-income countries in terms of robbery, assault, or burglary. But we have much more homicide and gun-related problems: “A child in the United States is much more likely to be murdered with a firearm than children in these other countries: We are twenty-nine times higher.” From the perspective of public health, what practical helps might there be? Listener discretion is advised. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Professor of Religion at Dartmouth College Randall Balmer tells of a meeting in Washington, DC that changed the course of his academic career, and set him on an unexpected investigation: the Religious Right’s origins is not to be located in the issue of abortion. Instead, he concludes, the movement began “to defend racial segregation.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Poet Christian Wiman discusses doubt and faith; the role of poetry “when the world is burning”; ways in which being raised in west Texas made him the poet and person he is; how “destitution and abundance are two facets of the one face of God”; along with four poem recitations. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Not so sure about Christians touting second amendment gun rights? A discussion with the editors of God and Guns: The Bible Against American Gun Culture, who challenge the too-easy pro-gun rhetoric of many American Christians. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble,” said Congressman John Lewis. Leigh Nash and Matt Maher met for a song co-write honoring Lewis’s wisdom, hoping to speak to issues of race in America. Knowing their white perspective was not sufficient for an honest song, some awkwardness and vulnerability led to a request of their third co-writer Ruby Amanfu. That gave rise to their moving song “Good Trouble.” Includes live performance. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Conservative American Christianity insists we must not let the wider culture determine what we do, and yet we see that happening precisely in the patriarchy that characterizes much of American Christianity. So argues Dr. Barr, in her critique of the subordination of women in the church. Plus live satire from Tokens Show’s own Brother Preacher, aka Greg Lee. This and more, all playing off Dr. Barr’s book The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eugene Cho is a Korean-born immigrant to the United States and now activist and author. We discuss his moving and distressing childhood experiences at age six; his journey to Christianity; and how both those realities have given him insight and possibilities for service to the world, as well as put him at odds with both the right and the left in America. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Psychiatrist Curt Thompson joins Lee to discuss his book The Soul of Shame. They discuss the mechanism of shame, how it impedes joy, connection, creativity and human flourishing; and how vulnerability subverts shame. Don’t just listen to this one. Take notes, and try it… But it’s not for the faint of heart. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In light of the recent rise of anti-Asian-American hostility and violence, we interview Dr. Karen Korematsu, daughter of famed civil-rights activist Fred Korematsu, the namesake of the infamous 1944 Supreme Court Case Korematsu v. United States. Mr. Korematsu, a Japanese-American and American citizen, refused to comply with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s executive order which would have forced his re-location to an American “concentration camp.” In addition, we talk to Korean-born activist Eugene Cho, on his moving experiences as an American immigrant. Plus, live musical performances by Buddy Greene and the Most Outstanding Horeb Mountain Boys. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Angela Williams Gorrell, Professor of Practical Theology at Baylor University, and author of a new book entitled The Gravity of Joy: A Story of Being Lost and Found. Angela recounts her own experiences with the sudden, tragic, and nearly simultaneous losses of three family members; how America’s current crisis of despair can be traced and understood through suicide and addiction rates; and the surprising ways in which gateways to joy can be found in the midst of deep grief; plus, additional commentary from Angela’s former boss at Yale, Miroslav Volf, on the connection between joy and sorrow. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Kristin Du Mez, Professor of History and Gender Studies at Calvin University and author of a provocative new book entitled Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation. In light of the fact that 81% of white evangelicals supposedly voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 election, many have tried to make sense of how “family values voters” could have supported Trump. Du Mez, in contrast, claims that this support of Trump was not in contradiction to, but consistent with, the deeper values of American evangelical Christianity. Regardless of your politics, you will not find this an episode that leaves you without some emotion. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Katharine Hayhoe, one of the leading climate scientists in the United States, and author of a soon-to-be-released book entitled Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World. Katharine and Lee discuss the supposed dichotomy between evangelical Christianity and climate science; the truth about some common climate change myths; and how Katharine, as an evangelical Christian herself, receives hate mail and death threats on an almost daily basis, and yet sees Christians as the perfect people to care about stewarding their responsibility to look after creation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Peter Harris, Anglican clergyman and founder of the highly esteemed Christian conservation non-profit A Rocha International. Peter and Lee discuss why the political polarization of the climate crisis in the United States is more an accident of history than a theological necessity; the ways in which fundamental Christian orthodoxy supports ecological conservation; and how, the preservation, or decimation, of much of the biosphere is dependent upon the choices of evangelical Christians. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A frequent guest on Tokens Show, Audrey Assad joins Lee to discuss her new memoir Doubt Becomes Wonder: Embracing the Loss of Everything You Thought You Knew. They discuss healing from childhood wounds, and the consequent navigation of doubt; and Audrey’s experience as a woman in the church. PLUS: two live studio performances. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Holcomb, whom the Rolling Stone recently called “one of Americana’s Most Popular Stars,” talks with Lee about his surprising road through academia to becoming a singer-songwriter; the tragic loss of his younger brother; and what it’s like to have courage and hope as a songwriter, artist, husband, and father in the midst of the current polarized cultural moment. PLUS! Live in-the-studio-performances of two of his most moving songs: “You Never Leave My Heart” and “Dragons.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bill Cavanaugh, professor of Catholic studies at DePaul University, discusses with Lee his recent provocative article entitled "Electing Republicans has not Reversed Roe vs. Wade. It's Time to Change Our Strategy." in which Bill shares some shocking realities which are being little discussed and appear to be little known about the abortion debates in America. In addition, Lee and Bill discuss Bill’s book Torture and Eucharist on the Pinochet regime in Chile, along with a brief discussion of Bill’s book Being Consumed, in which Bill both critiques naïve notions of the “free market” while not advocating state socialism as the only other alternative. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Megan Barry, former mayor of Nashville. Lee and Megan discuss the tragic subject of addiction and how it led to the accidental overdose and death of her son Max; what it has been like to find hope and healing in both the midst and aftermath of such a tragedy; what there may be to learn, both personally and communally, about the various stigmas and statistics currently surrounding the issue; and the ways, both large and small, in which the current epidemic of addiction may be fought. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Justin McBrayer, Professor of Philosophy at Fort Lewis College, Executive Director of the Society of Christian Philosophers, and the author of a new book entitled Beyond Fake News: Finding the Truth in a World of Misinformation. Lee and Justin discuss the current crisis of a world plagued with false information, made worse by new media and technology; some surprising ways in which we ourselves often contribute in oblivious fashion to such a crisis; and some practices which we may adopt to combat the spread, both within ourselves and within our larger communities, of fake news. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with justice-seeker Lindsey Glenn Krinks on her experience as an advocate for the incarcerated, the sick, and the homeless; what it has been like to be a woman interested in the male-dominated field of theology; stories she has lived as a co-founder of Open Table Nashville, a nonprofit which seeks to disrupt cycles of poverty; and her new book, Praying with Our Feet: Pursuing Justice and Healing on the Streets. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Alister McGrath, esteemed professor of Science and Religion at the University of Oxford, and one of the world’s leading Christian apologists. Lee and Alister discuss one of the great modern dichotomies of our day: the supposed mutually exclusive choice between science and faith; why the teachings and writings of Einstein played a significant role in undermining McGrath’s own former atheism; and why adhering to a more holistic, incorporative view of science, religion, and philosophy may lead us to a better understanding of ourselves and of the world. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A special episode chronicling the capital punishment case of Pervis Payne, an inmate for over three decades on Tennessee’s death row; a similar story from former death row inmate Ndume Olatushani; and commentary from author and activist Shane Claiborne about the Christian church’s complex relationship with capital punishment. Plus musical performances by Buddy Greene, Sonya Isaacs, Vince Gill, and Odessa Settles. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Each year since 2008 we've spent the Sunday before Thanksgiving at Nashville's Historic Ryman Auditorium for an evening centered on gratitude and hospitality. This special episode of the Tokens Podcast reflects on over a decade of Thanksgivings spent at the Mother Church of Country Music with some of our favorite performances. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Naomi Shihab Nye is the author and/or editor of more than 30 volumes, the Young People’s Poet Laureate, and as we used to say in Alabama, the winner of more awards than you can shake a stick at. In this sort of wisdom-of-the-ages interview, Naomi discusses kindness, the joy which accompanies sorrow, paying attention, and living life large. She also shares two of her well-known poems: “Kindness,” and “Gate A4.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Diana Oestreich, a combat veteran of the Iraq war, had a “desert experience” precipitated by her sergeant’s orders in a 4.00 a.m. combat convoy safety briefing. We discuss that story and the unfolding of her remarkable experiences deployed to a combat zone, the exercise of a new kind of courage, and her new book entitled Waging Peace: One Soldier's Story of Putting Love First See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interview with Dr. Willie James Jennings, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Africana Studies at Yale University, on his book The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race. Jennings argues that the medieval European colonialist Christian vision imagined the entire globe in terms of a racist imagination; and that the continue to reap the consequences to this day; and that the Christian tradition does, in fact, have resources to re-imagine a new sort of world. LINKS: Dr. Jennings’ book, The Christian Imagination Tokens Online Master Course with Miroslav Volf, Lee C. Camp, and John Mark Hicks. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stanley Hauerwas was once dubbed by Time Magazine with the moniker, “America’s Greatest Theologian.” This is ironic because he’s spent much of his life criticizing American Christianity. Join us for our evening with Stanley, a beloved, profane, beautifully grumpy theologian, as he shares about non-violence, the story of Billy Dick, and a brief commentary on Christians and Donald Trump. PLUS: Stanley Hauerwas makes his acting debut with a stand-up comedy with the Tokens Radio Players. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Irish poet, peace-maker and theologian Pádraig Ó Tuama joins Lee for a discussion on practices of peace-making, including peace with oneself. They both discuss the great significance of John 21 for their own lives. And Pádraig shares readings from his poems “The Facts of Life,” “The Pedagogy of Conflict,” and “Shaking Hands.” LINKS: Padraig Books: In the Shelter Sorry For Your Troubles Daily Prayer with the Corrymeela Community Readings from the Book of Exile Tokens Online Master Courses See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices