A.J. Swoboda is back on the podcast for the third time. This time we are sitting down to talk about A Teachable Spirit. He hit on something that I think is sorely missing in this world today: being teachable. In a world often drawn sharply into polarized camps, where dialogue seems overshadowed by ideological extremes, cultivating a teachable spirit becomes more than a virtue, it becomes an act of quiet revolution. But what exactly does it mean to approach life, faith, and community with genuine humility and openness, even when our convictions run deep? Our conversation explores what it truly means to possess a teachable spirit, how to stand firmly in our beliefs while also actively listening to, honoring, and learning from those who are different than us. We’ll explore themes of humility, empathy, wisdom, discernment and the careful balancing act of maintaining convictions while remaining open to growth and change. This is an important conversation, so join us as we unpack the practice of discerning truth in a fragmented world, and how holding our beliefs can transform both our inner and outer worlds and enable us to have a teachable spirit.

Rev. A. J. Swoboda (Ph.D., Birmingham) is the associate professor of Bible and Theology at Bushnell University. He served as a college pastor on the University of Oregon campus for nearly ten years. For another decade, he planted and pastored an urban church in Portland, Oregon, called Theophilus, which continues to worship today. He leads a Doctor of Ministry program around Spiritual Formation and Soul Care at Friends University. He has taught at the London School of Theology, LIFE Pacific, Southeastern University, and Multnomah University. He is the author of over ten books, including Redeeming How We Talk (Moody), After Doubt (Brazos), and the award-winning Subversive Sabbath (Brazos). He hosts the Slow Theology podcast (w. Dr. Nijay Gupta) and writes the widely read Low-Level Theologian Substack. A.J. lives and works on an urban farm with his wife and son in Eugene, Oregon.

A.J.'s Book:

A Teachable Spirit

A.J.'s Substack:

The Low-Level Theologian

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