Category: Compass Podcast

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All of us encounter anxiety. Current cultural conditions have feelings of anxiety on the rise–and for many anxiety is not a fleeting feeling. It sticks with us and locks us into a spiral of depression, shame, and mental paralysis.

Rev. Jason Cusick provides a practical and pastoral approach to navigating anxiety. As he shares his story, you’ll hear a hope and compassion that is grounded in faith… and it’s a little infectious. It’s our hope that Jason’s story disrupts your possible spiral of anxiety.

Jason Cusick is lead pastor at Journey of Faith in Southern California. He previously served as a pastor of care ministries, overseeing grief, recovery, crisis, and counseling ministries, and has also worked as a board-certified hospital chaplain. He’s written a book coming out April 26 titled The Anxiety Field Guide. Which you can order right now.

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In this edition, we present the latest stories from the Rethink Church website and one of our most-read articles from years past.

Throughout March of 2022, our content focused on faithfulness. And we have some great posts about what faithfulness looks like in this new age and how we personally nurture our own faith. In this edition of the audiomag, we’ll hear:

“Exploring God’s behind-the-scenes faithfulness” by Madison Myers

“Faith, life and the lessons of “git gud” at video games” by Nathan Webb

“Faith and your world-changing invitation” by Joseph Yoo

And “What makes you feel spiritually alive” by Laquaan Malachi

 Let’s enter into our March 2022 edition of the Rethink Church audio magazine.

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This Compass episode explores how Lent leads us into a deeper spiritual connection. Pierce Drake and Ryan Dunn discuss the meaning of Lent and how this special season in the Christian year moves us to seek a spiritual-centeredness through discipline and practice.

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Did you know that there are daily practices you can utilize to seemingly slow down the pace of life, center yourself and cause some Divine disruptions in your perception?

AJ helps us see that contemplative prayer is for everyone, no matter where you are in your spiritual journey. If you’re breathing, you’re capable of contemplative prayer.

AJ Sherrill is the lead pastor at St. Peter’s Church in Mt Pleasant, South Carolina and has more than twenty years of experience as a pastor. He is an adjunct professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, where he teaches popular courses on transformational preaching and the Enneagram. AJ receives many speaking requests to lead Enneagram workshops across the country and is the author of The Enneagram for Spiritual Formation and Being with God–which is his most recent book and deals specifically with Contemplative Prayer.

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This is the February 2022 edition of the Rethink Church audiomagazine presented on the Compass podcast.

Throughout February of 2022, our content focused on commitment. And we have some great posts about what commitment looks like in this new age and how we personally nurture our own feelings of commitment. In this edition of the audiomag, we’ll hear:

• “The one thing it takes to remain committed” by Joseph Yoo
• “Making a commitment to faith in a culture of disbelief” by Madison Myers
• “Why should church stay online? Wordle.” By Nathan Webb
• And “John Wesley’s 22 questions of self-examination”

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The words we use matter. Words are both a reflection of what we feel inside and a means for influencing our own states of mind. Jonathan Merritt helps us understand how an inability to “speak God” might lead us to feel far from God. He also reveals how utilizing the language of faith influences our mindsets and motivations in powerful ways.

Jonathan Merritt is an award-winning contributor for The Atlantic, a contributing editor for The Week, a regular columnist for Religion News Service, and an author. His books include A Faith of Our Own, Green Like God, and Learning to Speak God From Scratch, which was released in 2018. He holds a Master of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Master of Theology from Emory University’s Candler School of Theology. He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Some of the questions covered in this discussion with Jonathan:

• Can you make a case to the rest of us as to why words about God and religious language might be important?
• What are your favorite words for God?
• Do you have least favorite words for God?
• Why is it important that we reclaim—or begin to utilize—language concerning God?
• What prompted your journey of relearning religious language?
• We asked some of our listeners what their uncomfortable religious words were. If we may, how might someone lean into a new definition of repentance? Of Justice?

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In January of 2022, we’ve focused on resilience. And we have some great posts about how you can keep on keeping on through 2022 (and beyond… as these ideas are not bound by this particular place in time). In this episode we’ll hear:

• “How faith builds your resilience skills” by Ryan Dunn.
• “Learning resilience in the most unexpected way” by Joseph Yoo
• “Stop teaching spiritual gifts, watch Encanto instead” by Nathan Webb
• “How faith can inspire resilience for 2022” by Madison Myers
• And our flashback article is “Living and the image of God” also by Ryan Dunn

So let’s enter into our January 2022 edition of the Rethink Church audio magazine.

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We’ve taken several of the most-read articles from the Rethink Church page (www.umc.org/rethinkchurch) and brought them to you in audio form, so you can now get tips on spiritual practices, ideas on social justice interventions, and perspectives on healthy living wherever you listen.

In this initial edition of the Rethink Church AudioMag:

“5 ways to be more spiritual” from Mandy Sloan McDow

https://www.umc.org/en/content/5-ways-to-be-more-spiritual

“Does Jesus have something to teach us about toxic busyness” by Ryan Dunn

https://www.umc.org/en/content/does-jesus-have-something-to-teach-about-busyness

“When my faith is frightening” by Joseph Yoo

https://www.umc.org/en/content/when-my-faith-is-frightening

“Maybe God doesn’t have an exact plan for your life” by Madison Myers

https://www.umc.org/en/content/maybe-god-doesnt-have-an-exact-plan-for-your-life

And “Body and Blood: the true horror of Midnight Mass” from Nathan Webb

https://www.umc.org/en/content/body-and-blood-the-true-horror-of-midnight-mass

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It’s year-end reflection time! Hosts Ryan Dunn and Pierce Drake review the moments they felt like God “showed up” in 2021. How did you see God showing up in your midst?

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Amy Julia Becker is helping us disrupt the cycles of division in our society. Overcoming systems of injustice feels overwhelming for one single person, we don’t feel like our efforts could make a difference. Amy Julia shares her experience with those doubts and committing to justice anyways.

Amy Julia Becker is an award-winning writer and speaker on faith, family, disability, privilege, and healing. She is the author of four books, including “To Be Made Whole: An Invitation to Wholeness, Healing, and Hope”, releasing in Spring 2022, and she is the host of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast. Her work is featured alongside the writings of other Compass contributors in “How to Heal Our Divides”.