The Uncommon Journey Podcast

Joel Skinner
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Christianity
  • Updated Monthly

Insights, conversations, and practices for the journey of faith, designed for a circle of trusted friends to process together.

  1. 12/19/2022

    Season 6: Episode 3 | Active Practice

    Jesus was a practical guy, and his practical approach to spirituality seems to easily lost in the midst of contemporary theological and theoretical debates. This episode invites you to take a very practical approach to your spiritual life by asking the question, "What should I do?" And rather than take the 'just try harder' approach, we can become wise and skillful at choosing the kinds of active practices - real life stuff - that will teach us how to trust and partner with God in the everyday mess of life.

    30 min

  2. 12/01/2022

    Season 6: Episode 2 | Contemplative Practice

    This season we are discussing three main areas of Christian practice. First stop: Contemplative Practice- what is it and why does it matter? What's the difference between meditation and contemplation? Who was Guigo II and why should you care? Is there still a case to be made for regular bible reading and prayer?  I hope this little talk inspires you to try some new/old ways of connecting with and receiving from God. For more reading, check out Guigo's book "The Ladder of Monks". For daily guided contemplative practices, check out the "Pray as You Go" app, or their website.

    36 min

  3. 11/07/2022

    Season 6: Episode 1 | Following Jesus is a Practice, Not a Belief

    Many of us with evangelical "roots" were handed a belief system called Christianity, and much of that system has been called into question in recent years. The current crisis of faith that many are experiencing could rightly be called a crisis of the failure of belief systems to deliver the promises found and hoped for in the gospels. It has also created a crisis of identity - what does it mean to be a Jesus follower, a Christian, a believer, etc? This next season of episodes will explore practices, rather than beliefs, as the sphere in which we "work out our faith." The challenge is that so few of us emerging from the evangelical milieu have a comprehensive picture of what constitutes Christian practice and why. So let's explore that! Find us online here: https://community-circles.circle.so

    35 min

  4. 10/04/2022

    Season 5: Episode 5| Some Questions and Difficulties

    I wish I heard more people talk about the spiritual life in such plain language! Evelyn, in her final chapter of the book "The Spiritual Life" addresses some of the biggest and most common challenges presented to those pursuing the spiritual life (at least in the early stages) in the shortest chapter of her book. I offer a brief summary of each, and a practice at the end that I think wraps things up nicely :) Come visit our our online community: https://community-circles.circle.so/home

    39 min

  5. 09/15/2022

    Season 5: Episode 4| Cooperation with God

    In this episode we are looking at the active life - all the things we do in a day - and asking, "How can we cooperate with God in the middle of all this?" What does my mundane life have to do with divine reality? Is spirituality simply seeking contemplative experiences and disregarding everything in between? Evelyn Underhill's book "The Spiritual Life" helps us address the need to learn how to live in cooperation with God as we do all that we do, and gives us (through St. John of the Cross) a simple test we can use to know if we are cooperating with God. Join our online community: https://community-circles.circle.so

    39 min

  6. 09/01/2022

    Season 5: Episode 3| Practical Implications

    In this episode, I attempt to get as practical as possible when talking about connecting with God. What is the difference between doing religious or spiritual activities in a way that connects us to God versus doing them in a way that disconnects us. The Pharisees (as recorded in the gospels) are an interesting study in how one can try really hard but end up on the wrong path. I am willing to be that many of us have tried things in the past, but struggled with feeling like we were successful. But there is a way to practice that actually ushers us into the Kingdom of God, and it might not be what you think.  Online Community: https://community-circles.circle.so/home Thursday Gatherings: https://community-circles.circle.so/c/gatherings/thursday-gathering-a4df98

    39 min

  7. 08/08/2022

    Season 5: Episode 2 | Connecting With God

    Let's think about what we mean when we talk about connecting with God. In this episode I am using Evelyn Underhill's second talk in a series of four on the Spiritual Life to help us, and I think her description is prescient for the situation we find ourselves in today. I hope this discussion is thoughtful and challenging, and I hope you can discuss your thoughts with others. We will be having an in-person discussion around these ideas on August 25 - see the event page if you're interested in joining that conversation. Evelyn Underhill's Book on Amazon  Online Community Page

    39 min

  8. 07/12/2022

    Season 5: Episode 1 | A Wider Life

    In this season, we will be using Evelyn Underhill's book "The Spiritual Life" as a guide for provoking us to think bigger about Christian spirituality. As always, we will try to bring a very practical approach while dealing with such big ideas. In this episode, we ask the question, "What is the spiritual life?" In other words, how did Jesus (and the many great spiritual teachers within our tradition) see the project of connecting with God, and how do they encourage us to see it and approach it?  For a reference to the practice I describe at the end of the podcast, see Francis de Sales' "Introduction to the Devout Life", Part 2, ch. 2, 10, and 11. Here's a link to a free pdf of his book.

    25 min
See All (32)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Insights, conversations, and practices for the journey of faith, designed for a circle of trusted friends to process together.

Information