Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership with Ruth Haley Barton

Ruth Haley Barton
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Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership with Ruth Haley Barton

Welcome to Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership podcast with Ruth Haley Barton. In each 30-minute episode you will discover how forging and maintaining a life-giving connection with God in the midst of leading is the best thing you bring to leadership! Visit www.transformingcenter.org for additional resources for pastors, Christian leaders, and the congregations and organizations they serve.

  1. 23 OCT

    S24 Ep 8 | Wrestling with the Cross: What does the Atonement Really Mean?

    In today’s episode, Ruth and guests Rev. Dr. Prince Rivers and Rev. Dr. David Hughes navigate the depths of the future of Christian spirituality through the lenses of the atonement. The discussion confronts traditional interpretations of the cross and atonement, addressing challenges posed by modern perspectives. Ruth, Prince, and David explore theories from historical and contemporary theologians, such as penal substitution, while highlighting how these interpretations impact real-life contexts, especially among marginalized communities and the oppressed. The conversation concludes with reflections on faith, suffering, and power, emphasizing transformation through love over wrath, with a heartfelt prayer for divine guidance and liberation.

    1h 1m

  2. 16 OCT

    S24 Ep 7 | The Work of Justice: Restoring what has Been Lost, Repairing What has been Broken

    In this episode, Ruth delves into the future of Christian spirituality as it pertains to the role of justice. Joined by her long-time friend and expert in reconciliation studies, Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil, the discussion centers on the growing movement of the Holy Spirit towards deeper justice work, specifically racial justice. Dr. McNeil discusses her new book ’Empowered to Repair’, which explores the biblical figure Nehemiah as a model for reparative actions that go beyond the warm fuzziness of relational reconciliation to concrete outcomes that reflect true justice. The conversation also addresses resistance within Christian communities towards reparations and repair, exploring how faith and a scarcity mentality influence these defenses. Ruth and Brenda call for activating all believers as ministers of reconciliation, underscoring the importance of integrating justice work with spirituality for the church to remain relevant, especially among younger generations.

    46 min

  3. 9 OCT

    S24 Ep 6 | Making Room: Welcoming the One Who is Strange to You

    What does it mean to be welcoming and inclusive from a rooted depth, and how do we see the Holy Spirit nudging us towards this concept? Ruth is joined by a special guest, Transforming Center’s very own cultivator of community and connection, Tina Harris, today to discuss the many ways we are called to practice hospitality in the name of Christ. Tina shares her own transformative experiences practicing radical hospitality, what it has felt like to not be welcomed, and practical and concrete ways churches can begin to become more welcoming and inclusive of all types of people. They also discuss why they think there is a resistance to this invitation and lament the ways that beautiful words and ideas like diversity, equity, and inclusion have become politicized, hot button issues.

    58 min

  4. 4 OCT · BONUS

    BONUS: Connecting the State of Our Politics and the State of Our Souls

    We cannot ignore the current state of our politics and the toll it has taken on the American public. As we approach another election season we wanted to provide you with encouragement and guidance on how we connect our spirituality and our politics. Guest Michael Wear joins Ruth to discuss why he believes the state of our politics is indicative to the state of our souls. Ruth and Michael also discuss how important it is to bring our own formation to our politics,  how politics can be an essential form in which to love our neighbors and why we need to avoid the false bifurcation of our spiritual lives and our political lives.

    57 min

  5. 2 OCT

    S24 Ep 5 | Knocking on Heaven’s Door: A Spirituality that is Practice-Based

    Is the Holy Spirit moving us towards a spirituality that is practice-based and practice-oriented rather than faith-based and belief-oriented? This week, Ruth and Fr. Michael Sparough sit down to discuss this question and their own experiences with a practice-based spirituality. Fr. Michael shares the ecumenical spiritual practices that have been the most transformative and the power he finds in praying and acting together across different faith traditions. They also discuss the ways in which a belief-oriented faith leaves us feeling responsible to defend the faith and God above all else.

    49 min

  6. 25 SEPT

    S24 Ep 4 | Reading in Color: Engaging Scripture Across Cultural Contexts

    How is the Holy Spirit leading us to engage with scripture in new and fresh ways? That’s what Ruth and guest Esau McCaulley discuss this week. Esau shares about his work editing The New Testament in Color: A Multi-Ethnic Commentary on the New Testament. They discuss how we need each other, reading and interpreting across all kinds of different cultures and contexts in order to best discern the mind of Christ, how differently we can view a biblical story depending on which character’s shoes we put ourselves in, and the importance of relinquishing control when it comes to a broader reading of scripture.

    46 min

  7. 18 SEPT

    S24 Ep 3 | Attending to the Spirit: The Gift of Spiritual Direction

    If a greater understanding and awareness of our own desires is part of the future of Christian spirituality, then today’s topic, spiritual direction, is a necessary companion in that journey of discovery. In this episode, Ruth shares some of her thoughts on what spiritual direction is and is not, why she thinks it is an important part of the future of Christian spirituality, and some of her own personal experience as a director and a directee. Then she shares a conversation with Transforming Center friend and alumn, Reverend Dr. David Hughes, about his experience as a high-level pastor and leader who found himself with a surprising invitation to spiritual direction. David shares about how strange and even uncomfortable the practice was initially and why he thinks it’s especially important for men to enter into spiritual direction.

    49 min

  8. 11 SEPT

    S24 Ep 2 | Understanding Our Complexity: The Role of Desire in the Spiritual Life

    The future of Christian spirituality will be propelled by a greater understanding and respect for the role of desire and desperation in the spiritual life. That is Ruth’s belief and our topic du jour. And to tackle a topic this important and encompassing, we needed two guests! Ron Rolheiser returns to discuss how the concept of desire has been misunderstood and even feared, the importance of desire in the spiritual life, and guidance for living with these complex dynamics within ourselves. Then, Tiffany Childress Price joins Ruth to discuss how her journey with desire took her from her life as a teacher on the west side of Chicago to becoming a summertime farmhand on an urban farm. She also shares the healing that came along the way and how attending to and following her deepest desires has impacted her parenting and made her a more loving and merciful person.

    1h 4m
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Welcome to Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership podcast with Ruth Haley Barton. In each 30-minute episode you will discover how forging and maintaining a life-giving connection with God in the midst of leading is the best thing you bring to leadership! Visit www.transformingcenter.org for additional resources for pastors, Christian leaders, and the congregations and organizations they serve.

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