Life with God: A Renovaré Podcast

Terry Wardle shares his journey from brokenness to beloved, emphasizing the importance of encountering God and grace. The podcast explores vulnerability, strength in suffering, and the role of community in healing. Wardle's work with Healing Care Ministries focuses on providing transformative encounters with Christ for broken individuals, emphasizing empathy, compassion, and spiritual direction.

Authors and founders of Unhurried Living, Gem and Alan Fadling, share insights into how we experience soul change, share key questions that open the door to spiritual transformation, and explore the difference between self-help and spiritual formation.

Hip hop artist and author, Sho Baraka, joins Nate to talk about refreshing our theology of work, strengthening the relationship between creatives and the Church, and adding variety to the genres and voices we turn to for spiritual nurture.[2:08] Could you tell us a little about your book (its creation)?[6:47] Could you say a little about help for creatives and what you hope to see?[8:33] One of the things I noticed throughout your book is a concern with the devaluing of the oral tradition and folk stories in Christianity. Could you say a little about that?[11:20] I’m wondering if there’s a connection [between devaluing oral stories] and losing some of the creativity in Christian life, church life.[14:55] Your work in hip hop, is that carrying on the oral tradition? [21:03] Have you been to the African American Smithsonian?[21:54] There is such a robust history and wisdom in the historical Black church that I feel is often lost on White America. Are there pieces of that tradition that you wish people knew or that you think would be helpful?[25:11] Could you unpack the term “evangelical edit?”[26:25] In your book you talk about a conversation you had with your daughter when she was seven, where she came and talked to you about her skin color and hair. Can you tell that story?[29:51] What do you hope people will take from your book?ResourcesHe Saw That It Was Good, by Sho BarakaAlbum: “The Narrative,” Sho Baraka, 2016

Author and Spiritual Director Sharon Garlough Brown speaks about using the medium of fiction to connect readers to the God who grieves and suffers with us and enlarges our capacity to receive joy.Show Notes[2:23] Could you tell us just a little about your love of Van Gogh?[5:12] Could you talk about how you work with fiction?[7:13] You go into spiritual direction not really knowing where this time is going to go, but being open. Do you take some of that same posture into your writing?[10:46] You've gone there in terms of writing about pain and suffering and some difficult topics. What has that been like for you?[13:20] What do you hope for the reader?[14:23] Do you see yourself as a fiction writer?[15:48] How does your work as a pastor and spiritual director inform your stories?[18:18] Could you talk a little about spiritual friendship?[22:46] What will that look like for you in Scotland … with these losses?[28:33] Could you tell us a little about Abiding Way?ResourcesFeathers of Hope, by Sharon Garlough BrownAbiding Way MinistriesSharon’s website

A classic talk by Renovaré Ministry Team member and retired pastor Glandion Carney on the collection of practices that create room in his life for dwelling with God and receiving grace.

Author Robyn Wrigley-Carr joins Nathan on this week’s episode to discuss Evelyn Underhill’s Prayer Book.Show NotesWho was Evelyn Underhill?Tell me a little bit about her prayer book prior to your visit to the retreat house.I’m hearing joy. Was it a joyful process for you?She does something bold, taking a prayer from some great Saint and adding her own lines, making her own contribution to it. I found that really special to get to have both people’s prayers together.Could you speculate what Evelyn might want people to do with this book?One of the things I found exciting is that, a number of the people’s prayers that she quotes I knew the names, but there were a bunch of them I don’t. And you give a little description of them at the end, and I thought, “New friends to explore!”Do you keep a prayer book?I’ve been collecting prayers for years, my own and others. And I love the idea of curating your own collection, that they all mean something to you. ResourcesEvelyn Underhill’s Prayer Book, by Robin Wrigley CarrThe Spiritual Formation of Evelyn Underhill, by Robin Wrigley-CarrMusic of Eternity: Meditations for Advent with Evelyn Underhill, by Robyn Wrigley-CarrThe Letters of Evelyn Underhill, edited by Charles WilliamsLetters from Baron Friedrich von Hügel to a Niece, by Friedrich von HügelPleshy Retreat House

Steve Macchia, author and founder of Leadership Transformations, dives into the art of discernment as a holistic lifestyle. He emphasizes the importance of cultivating a preference for God over personal agendas, highlighting that true listening requires humility. Macchia shares insights on recognizing divine presence through community support and intentional pauses. He also discusses the role of discernment in effective leadership, advocating for collaboration over competition, and explores how personal rules of life can enhance one’s spiritual journey.

Author Jan Johnson joins Nathan on this week’s episode to discuss Dallas Willard’s book Renovation of the Heart (an upcoming selection for the Renovaré book club), and how to live it out in daily practice.

In this guided audio meditation, Nathan Foster offers a prayer from the heart for Ukraine and the world.

Nathan speaks with one of his favorite authors, Marilyn McEntyre, about why “words matter more than we can imagine.” She explores words as sacraments, as creative forces, as conveyors of truth, and as precious ingredients in the feast called conversation.Show Notes[2:21] Where did your love of words begin?[4:52] Could you explain a little about how caring for words is a moral issue?[6:34] How about words as art?[9:15] You take this beyond writing and poetry—into normal conversation?[14:41] How do you use words as a spiritual practice?[18:53] What would you say to folks who are just beginning to think in terms of using words with some intentionality?[21:54] Do you speak other languages? What does that change for you reading in languages besides English? Does it open up a different world for you?[25:40] I was really moved by your section on felicity. When a word goes out of use in a culture, is it representative that that thing has gone out of use?[27:55] Do you like Noam Chomsky and his work?[33:09] What's your “one sentence” about the book?[34:47] What gives you hope in our culture today, connected to words?[39:02] What I was hearing was words as a way to love others, to love what's good and right, to care enough about the words we use. ResourcesMarilyn’s website: marilynmcentyre.comBooks by Marilyn McEntyre (a sampling)Caring for Words in a Culture of LiesSpeaking Peace in a Climate of ConflictWhen Poets PrayMake a List: How a Simple Practice Can Change Our Lives and Open Our HeartsWord by Word, A Daily Spiritual PracticeRichard Foster describes Lectio Divina“Politics and the English Language,” essay by George OrwellNo Passion Spent by George Steiner