• Spirituality for Ordinary People

  • By: Matt Brough
  • Podcast
Spirituality for Ordinary People By cover art

Spirituality for Ordinary People

By: Matt Brough
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  • Summary

  • Conversations with writers, artists, pastors, and other ordinary folk about about practicing the Christian faith.

    mattbrough.substack.com
    Matt Brough
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Episodes
  • The Deep Well of Art, Music, and Community

    The Deep Well of Art, Music, and Community
    Jan 25 2024

    This amazing conversation with Juno-award winning musician, Steve Bell, was the 9th episode of the Spirituality for Ordinary People Podcast. I felt like it was worth re-sharing, and have also included the original “show notes” below. You can also get a transcript by reading this post in the substack app or on the substack website.

    This interview was such an amazing experience, recorded in Steve’s own studio in Winnipeg. Steve was incredibly gracious and generous with his time and his honest sharing. Steve shared a ton in this episode, and you can find all kinds of links below that reference just some of what Steve spoke about.

    Thanks for reading Noticing Delight! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

    This podcast episode also features several of Steve’s songs, used with his permission.

    CONNECT WITH STEVE BELL

    * Steve’s Website – stevebell.com

    * Pilgrim Year

    * Steve’s Albums

    SOME OF WHAT WE COVERED IN THE INTERVIEW:

    * Following Jesus as a Pathway

    * Interactions with First Nations People and the effect on Spirituality

    * The unhelpfulness of some of Western Christianity’s theological assumptions for our spirituality.

    * Spirituality as relationality and grounded in the Trinity

    * Reading as Spiritual practice and way in to inner quiet

    * Scripture as art

    * The role of music and art in spiritual formation

    * Kindly guides for understanding art (and spirituality)

    * Being deliberate with your Spiritual “diet” to be spiritually healthy.

    QUOTES

    * “The Bible starts with the goodness of creation.”

    * “[You should] read 80% from people who are dead and 20% from people who are alive”

    * “If there is this deep relationality that goes beyond words and mere ideas, we need art to get there.”

    LINKS, RESOURCES, AND PEOPLE

    * Terry Leblanc, Ray Aldred, Cheryl Bear and North American Institute for Indigenous Theological Studies – http://www.naiits.com/

    * Richard Twiss – His books

    * Theresa of Avila – http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=208

    * John of the Cross – http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=65

    * Edith Stein – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Stein

    * G.K. Chesterton – http://www.chesterton.org/who-is-this-guy/

    * C. S. Lewis – http://www.cslewis.com/

    * Charles Williams – http://www.charleswilliamssociety.org.uk/

    * Gerard Manly Hopkins – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerard_Manley_Hopkins

    * Godric, a novel by Frederick Buechner

    Thanks for reading Noticing Delight! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.



    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mattbrough.substack.com
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    58 mins
  • Church, Listen to Women

    Church, Listen to Women
    Dec 14 2023
    There are certain Christian traditions that seem talk about how we need more “Bible-based teaching.” These same traditions that tend to indicate that they are elevating the Bible and take pride in “understanding the Bible literally” or, if they actually deign to admit that it is impossible to take the entire Bible literally because, well, least of all, there are poems in the Bible (even an entire book of poetry called the Psalms) and you can’t actually take a poem literally or you’ve totally missed the point, then they will instead declare that they, and maybe only they, are “taking the Bible seriously.”Some of these same traditions have churches and leaders who have done things like silence women, perpetuate abuse and discrimination, gather enormous wealth, or created their own kingdoms and then done what is “necessary” to protect them. (See the Secrets of Hillsong documentary, and the Rise and Fall of Mars Hill podcast)I’m not usually one to criticize other Christian traditions, but my aggravation at the way certain segments of the Christian Church are seen as representative of the entire Christian Tradition has grown in recent years. I usually want to try and just get along. Let’s just keep talking about grace and do our best to love one another. But still, I have become sick of a term like “Bible-believing” being far-too-often a code for a supposed God-sanctioned exclusion of anyone who is not a white man.How is it that “Bible-believing” has come to mean in some circles that because there are a few places in the New Testament that have references like “women be silent in church” or “wives submit to your husbands” that that gives “wise male leaders” the right to subjugate women and pretty much anyone else they deem “less than” by using an institution that is actually meant to represent a community that is also described in that same New Testament as one where “there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus?” (Galatians 3:28)If I’m a leader in a true “Bible-believing church,” shouldn’t I be shining a light on ALL the heroes of the faith, instead of just a select few? How about people like Sarah, Deborah, Hannah, Ruth, Naomi, or Elizabeth, just to name a few?And indeed what about Mary? Should we silence Jesus’ mother in the church? In some churches it seems so, because how can Mary’s song be heard as anything other than just a personal song of praise (I guess women are allowed to have those) in places that continue to perpetuate power for the few at the expense of others?Mary sings - and I’m just quoting the Bible here…He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly;he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. (Luke 1:52-53)Hmm. I’m thinking there words are a little hard to swallow while flying in your private jet to your next speaking gig at the Bible believing mega-church where your college buddy is the head pastor?I’m sick of seeing Christianity being portrayed as synonymous with corruption, abuse, discrimination, and the like. And I don’t want to defend the religion of Christianity. I want to instead point to the Bible, not as a proof-text about how to see things my way, but because it has a ton to say against the corruption of power, especially when that power is claimed as divine right.As a Christian, I am supposed to see things through the lens of Jesus Christ and Jesus didn’t do any of the manipulating, excluding, discriminating, or defending or bolstering of his power or authority that you see among church leadership in certain circles. Sure, we can say, that if Jesus is God incarnate, then he simply **has** all power and authority (no defending needed), and we ought to just be obedient subjects. But interestingly, Jesus himself didn’t even make that argument.He spoke of coming to serve and not be served. Instead of consolidating power and protecting his inner circle so that they would keep him in place so his religious movement would grow in numbers and also in political influence, Jesus was executed by a collusion of the state and religious powers of his day, and his inner circle was a scattered and broken mess (with one who denied he even knew Jesus, and another who betrayed him to the authorities).Of course we know the ones who did stay true to Jesus even after he was arrested and given the death penalty. They were the same ones who God chose as the first people to go and tell Jesus’ other followers about the incredible news of him being raised from the dead. The real way the Jesus movement continued actually started with these people bringing this good news (Gospel!) and speaking it to other disciples. If that isn’t speaking in church I don’t know what is! These are the models for who should speak and to whom we ought to listen!Matthew says it was “Mary Magdalene and the other Mary,” (Matthew 28:1) Mark says it was “,...
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    10 mins
  • Busy-ness and Contemplation

    Busy-ness and Contemplation
    Nov 29 2023

    A podcast episode based on a written reflection first posted to the Noticing Delight Substack.



    This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mattbrough.substack.com
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    8 mins
Ministry & Evangelism Spirituality
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