100 episodes
The Loft LA - Progressive Christianity in Podcast Form The Loft LA
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- Religion & Spirituality
The Loft is a progressive Christian community that is unapologetically inclusive. If you're curious about what a socially and politically progressive Christianity looks like, this podcast is for you.
There are two podcasts in this feed: our Gatherings and Conversations.
The Loft Gathering is the edited audio from our weekly Sunday gathering of people who are interested in following Jesus’ spiritual path of radical compassion.
The Loft Conversations is a follow-up podcast that grew out of the conversations taking place during worship at The Loft. Each episode uses themes from our Sunday gatherings as a starting point to further explore the intersections of Christian spirituality, politics, and culture.
Their are four values that inform and help form our community:
- Conversation is the center of our gatherings. We facilitate a conversational approach to thinking about and living out our faith together.
- Belonging defines who we are and aim to be. We are not isolated individuals but people who belong in divine grace.
- Compassion is God’s love in action. It is in serving and helping others – we actively take the good news out into our city and the world.
- Decolonization is our theological approach. We are committed to the ongoing work of decolonizing Christianity in order to better love and serve the world.
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Loft Gathering: Beyond the Binary: Gender, God, and Liberation
Everest Harvey and Rev. Molly Vetter - In listening to the lives and stories of Trans siblings, we understand more about God, who exists beyond the boundaries of our categories.
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They Hate Down, But We Love Up
As Christians, we are called to love our enemies and to practice nonviolent resistance. But is this commandment impractical or even dangerous for Christians who want to stand against the evils of "christian" nationalism?
We are taking a two month break while Dr. Carter is on research leave to work on his forthcoming book project. Loft Conversations will return in August. As we map out our series for the rest of this year please let us know if there is a topic that you would like us to discuss! -
Loft Gathering: Why LGBTQ+ Inclusion Matters to Jesus, John Wesley, and Me
As we begin Pride month, we open a conversation about why LGBTQ+ inclusion matters to our faith. Although loud voices might try to claim otherwise, Christian theologies build a compelling case for our call to celebrate diversities in sexual orientation and gender identity.
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There is a difference between not "feeling" safe and not being safe
Far too many progressive Christian churches are defined by what they don’t believe. How might centering our conversation on what we do believe strengthen our religious communities?
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Loft Gathering: The Peace that Passes all Understanding: The Love of our Enemies
Jesus’ way of nonviolent resistance and love of enemies is often dismissed as impractical and idealistic. To be sure, the persuasive power of the myth of redemptive violence is dependent upon our belief that our enemies are not worthy of love. However, if our enemies are lovable and we choose not to love them then we are morally culpable for our failure to love. It is no wonder then, that Jesus taught that we are to love our enemies because God loves us and because God loves them, and this is a sign of a mature love that can lead us towards collective peace.
www.TheLoftLA.org -
Loft Gathering: Pentecost: A Vision for a Peaceful Church
At their best, Christian communities should reflect the vision laid out in Acts 2, collectively sharing our gifts, tragedies, joys, and resilience. However, we have struggled to live up to or into this vision of a peaceful Christian community. Why? Peace requires repair, and for our churches to become an oasis of peace, we must learn how to work through the obstacles that divide us so that we can live in peace with one another.
www.TheLoftLA.org