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Today we sit down with Rev. Dr. Emily McGowin to ask why so many of us feel trapped between “family first” slogans and the weight of church, work, and politics pressing on our homes. Emily’s vision is both bracing and kind: stop chasing a biblical blueprint that doesn’t exist, and start practicing love in households that actually look like ours—single, married, multigenerational, adoptive, blended, roommates, and everyone in between.

We dig into how Jesus relativizes cultural gender norms and invites women as disciples, how early Christian communities disrupted hierarchy, and why mutuality—rather than rigid roles—better reflects the kingdom.

We'll discuss the loss of SNAP benefits and that misuse of Scripture while ignoring real families who are working, caregiving, or simply hungry.

Households of Faith: Practicing Family in the Kingdom of God

You don't eat, you don't work.

"Nobody gets to heaven without a letter of reference from the poor." - James Forbes

If this episode challenged or encouraged you, tap follow, share it with a friend who cares about church and home, and leave a quick review so more listeners can find it. Got a question or pushback? Email hello@theologypieces.com and join the conversation.

If this conversation helps you, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review. Your support helps more people find thoughtful, grounded faith in a loud, fearful world.

For more information, you can follow us at
https://www.theologyinpieces.com/
Theology in Pieces on Instagram - @theologyinpieces

Email us by emailing hello@theologyinpieces.com

Malcolm Foley - on twitter @MalcolmBFoley
Slim Thompson on twitter @wacoslim

For more information on the church,
check us out at www.mosaicwaco.org or on instagram.

Send us a Question!

What if the most radical thing you could do this week isn’t another hot take, but a habit that holds? We open with the “No Kings” rallies and ask a tough question: are we organizing for change or outsourcing our hope to cathartic moments? Drawing on Martin Luther King Jr.’s four steps of nonviolent direct action, 1) collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive; 2) negotiation; 3) self-purification; and 4) direct action.

King Went on to say, "Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue." Did the #NoKings protests miss this opportunity?

From there we pivot to reclaiming Scripture by reading it to meet Jesus. We challenge the empty badge of “Bible-believing” when it turns the text into an idol or a weapon. Jesus says the Scriptures testify about him; life is found in Christ, not in mastering pages. So we offer a clear, practical path to rediscover beauty.

We also push back on “revival by metrics.” Bible sales, app downloads, and playlist counts aren’t the fruit the Spirit promises. Renewal smells like repentance, reconciliation, generosity, and enemy love. If you’re exhausted by outrage and spectacle, consider a counter-liturgy: prayer, fasting, silence, and small acts of obedience. Those practices don’t weaken you; they open space for God’s strength. Over time, beauty forms us—reordering our fears, reshaping our loves, and making us the kind of people who can bear goodness in a fractured world.

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If this episode helps you breathe a little deeper and walk a little steadier, share it with a friend and leave a review. Subscribe so you don’t miss what’s next, and tell us: what passage are you wrestling with—and how is Jesus meeting you there?

If this conversation helps you, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review. Your support helps more people find thoughtful, grounded faith in a loud, fearful world.

For more information, you can follow us at
https://www.theologyinpieces.com/
Theology in Pieces on Instagram - @theologyinpieces

Email us by emailing hello@theologyinpieces.com

Malcolm Foley - on twitter @MalcolmBFoley
Slim Thompson on twitter @wacoslim

For more information on the church,
check us out at www.mosaicwaco.org or on instagram.

Send us a Question!

What if loving your Christian nationalist neighbor is the most political thing you’ll do this year?

Can a stadium memorial where “forgive your enemies” and “hate your enemies” share the same stage?"

Today we invited pastor and author Caleb Campbell (Disarming Leviathan) to help us name the powers discipling our age—and offer a way back to love with a spine.

We trace Caleb’s decade pastoring in Phoenix as culture-war catechisms flood the church, Turning Point rallies fill calendars, and neighbors learn to see each other as threats. Caleb names Leviathan—the biblical image of predatory, chaos power that dresses itself in righteousness—and shows how anxiety, not policy alone, is the engine of Christian nationalism.

We also talk about grief and honesty around public tragedy, why militarizing the Lord’s Prayer profanes God’s name, and how to practice discernment without getting trapped in bad‑faith quarrels.

If this conversation helps you, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review. Your support helps more people find thoughtful, grounded faith in a loud, fearful world.

For more information, you can follow us at
https://www.theologyinpieces.com/
Theology in Pieces on Instagram - @theologyinpieces

Email us by emailing hello@theologyinpieces.com

Malcolm Foley - on twitter @MalcolmBFoley
Slim Thompson on twitter @wacoslim

For more information on the church,
check us out at www.mosaicwaco.org or on instagram.