Posts by Transforming Center
Season 22: Episode 4 | Hope in the Midst of Collective Suffering
This week we are taking a break from our conversations with Curt and his book The Deepest Place to talk about a different aspect of suffering: the communal, unmerited suffering that comes from oppression. Friend of the Transforming Center, Leo Ayala, is back with us to discuss this important topic. Leo and Ruth talk about…
Read MoreSeason 22: Episode 3 | What Does God’s Glory Have to Do With Our Suffering?
What does God’s glory have to do with our suffering? How do we wrestle with the crucifixion of Christ and the issue of atonement as it relates to suffering and God’s anger? How do we determine when we are the cause of our own suffering, when it’s someone else’s doing or when we are being…
Read MoreSeason 22: Episode 2 | Compassion and Curiosity: Attuning to Different Parts of our Suffering
In this episode, Ruth and Curt dive all the way into the deep end as they discuss attachment, attunement, and internal family systems. The pair also tackle the importance of embodiment in this healing work of suffering and durable hope. Curt also has some thoughtful questions for Ruth about the role suffering has played in…
Read MoreSeason 22: Episode 1 | What’s Suffering Got to Do With It (Our Transformation)?
What does suffering have to do with our transformation? That is the question Ruth and Curt explore this season on the podcast! In today’s episode, they discuss how the Christian story is the only one that honors suffering, the difference between suffering and pain, what shame has to do with it, and how suffering differently…
Read MoreBONUS: Preparing for Lent | Fashioning Your Own Desert
Lent is upon us again. In this special bonus episode, Ruth shares her remarks from our recent live, virtual event designed to help us prepare for Lent. Lent is for everyone, but it has a special application for spiritual leaders, providing a needed opportunity to “fashion our own wilderness” (Henri Nouwen) and return to God…
Read MoreVisio Divina Guided Practice | Assumptions
We were so lucky to have Scott Erickson on the podcast this season! Not only did he share his wisdom and thoughtfulness, but he also shared his art and his spiritual director expertise! Over on Patreon each week we chose one of the pieces of art discussed in the episode and Scott walked us through…
Read MoreSeason 21: Honest Advent | Week 4: Where is God in the Unfolding?
We’ve reached the end of our Advent journey. Ruth, Scott, and Charity come together one last time to wonder where God is in the darkness, the unfolding, and the journey. Scott shares a story of God’s intimate revelation during his own pilgrimage, and the three ponder how we move from revelation to participation. They also…
Read MoreSeason 21: Honest Advent | Week 3: Where is God in My Humanity?
Ruth, Scott, and Charity continue their journey through Advent with a conversation around Scott’s pieces, Sacred and Mighty. With these images, they explore where God is in our humanity, in our broken, imperfect bodies, and in the mightiness God displayed when he came to earth in the form of a tiny baby, choosing to go…
Read MoreSeason 21: Honest Advent | Week 2: Where is God in my Vulnerability?
This week, as Ruth, Scott, and Charity examine Scott’s “cover” of Sister Grace Remington’s beautiful painting Mary and Eve, they delve into womanhood, mothering, and the invitation to embrace vulnerability this advent. Why is it so scandalous to talk about God as a mother? What does the vulnerability of God coming into the world as…
Read MoreSeason 21: Honest Advent | Week 1: Where is God in My Uncertainty?
As we mark the first week of Advent we are examining the Annunciation. How do we define a revelation and what does it expose in us? What does a revelation do to our plans and certainty? Where is God in the midst of it all? Ruth, Charity and Scott discuss Mary’s response to the news…
Read MoreSeason 21: Preparing for Advent: Honest Longings, Honest Questions
Advent is upon us again. This season, we’ve invited artist, author, and speaker Scott Erickson to join us. Transforming Center team member Charity McClure is also on the microphone. Together with Ruth, the three will discuss how an honest Advent leads to honest hope. Using images from his book, Honest Advent, they will explore issues…
Read MoreSeason 20: Episode 7 | This is Fun, Y’all: The Joy and Hope of Transforming Worship
Ruth sits down with producer Colleen to wrap up season 20 of the podcast. They share their learnings and highlights from these conversations and Ruth answers a listener’s question about how to bring transformative worship to your congregation if you are not a part of the planning process. To close Ruth gives us a few…
Read MoreLee Ann Thornton Memorial Fund
Lee Ann Waters Thornton, of Austin, Texas, died Thursday November 9, 2023 after a courageous seven-year battle with endometrial cancer. Lee Ann Thornton’s history tells a good story, but her swiftness to share the gospel, the way her eyes disappeared when she laughed, the joy she found near a body of water, the pleasure of…
Read MoreSeason 20: Episode 6 | What about my puppets? Beyond Programming to Worship that Changes Us
David, Charity, and Leo return with Ruth to continue their conversation from last week. In an episode that could have been titled, “Confessions of Professional Christians,” these four vulnerably and candidly share their own struggles with perfectionism at the cost of transformation. David gives us incredible insight into the difference between a diverse community and…
Read MoreSeason 20: Episode 5 | Worship on Earth as it is In Heaven: The Transforming Power of Diversity
We have a full house for today’s episode! Ruth and Rory are joined by David Bailey, Leo Ayala, and Charity McClure. Sunday morning continues to be the most segregated hour of the week and many of us find ourselves longing to worship alongside a community that reflects a beautiful diversity of age, race, gender, socioeconomic…
Read MoreSeason 20: Episode 4 | The Pain and the Promise of Communion
We’re back! This season we’re focusing on worship, particularly worship that is transformative. Our season long guest is Rory Noland and we will be working with his book, Transforming Worship: Planning and Leading Sunday Services as If Spiritual Formation Mattered. In addition to Ruth and Rory, we will also be bringing other guests into the…
Read MoreSeason 20: Episode 3 | Re-thinking Sunday Mornings: Creating Space for God
We’re back! This season we’re focusing on worship, particularly worship that is transformative. Our season long guest is Rory Noland and we will be working with his book, Transforming Worship: Planning and Leading Sunday Services as If Spiritual Formation Mattered. In addition to Ruth and Rory, we will also be bringing other guests into the…
Read MoreSeason 20: Episode 2 | Beyond Auto Pilot: Worship that is Spiritually Substantive
In today’s episode Aaron Niequist joins Ruth and Rory to discuss the practices that make up Transforming Worship. They discuss how Covid revealed just how little participation was required in most church services, the temptation leaders face to create emotional experiences rather than allow space for the Holy Spirit to do its work, and what’s…
Read MoreSeason 20: Episode 1 | Beyond the Frenzy: Worship that Transforms
We’re back! This season we’re focusing on worship, particularly worship that is transformative. Our season long guest is Rory Noland and we will be working with his book, Transforming Worship: Planning and Leading Sunday Services as If Spiritual Formation Mattered. In addition to Rory and Ruth, we will also be bringing other guests into the…
Read MoreSpecial Mini-Episode: A State of the Podcast Announcement
Hello! We’re popping in the podcast feed with a little “State of the Podcast” announcement (don’t worry! It’s not ending!). Ruth gives a peak behind the curtain as to what is happening over at the Transforming Center this year and shares about our Alumni Retreat in July. Then, we’ll hear from some Transforming Community alumni…
Read MoreSeason 19: Easter Monday | Transforming Post-Resurrection Encounters with Jesus
He is Risen, indeed! Happy Easter Monday, friends. Today, Ruth helps us celebrate the Risen Christ with five stories of post-resurrection encounters with Jesus. In each story she helps us consider our own invitations to transforming encounters with Jesus that God might have for us. Which story resonates most profoundly with you and what healing…
Read MoreSeason 19: Lent Week 6 | Lament: Saying No to Triumphalism
This season we are focusing on justice as an aspect of spiritual formation and we believe Lent to be the perfect season to explore this connection. Using A Just Passion: A Six-Week Lenten Journey, and the lectionary, we will look at various aspects of justice, its importance to God and why the modern church has…
Read MoreSeason 19: Lent Week 5 | Communal Suffering: Can These Bones Live?
This season we are focusing on justice as an aspect of spiritual formation and we believe Lent to be the perfect season to explore this connection. Using A Just Passion: A Six-Week Lenten Journey, and the lectionary, we will look at various aspects of justice, its importance to God and why the modern church has…
Read MoreSeason 19: Lent Week 4 | Opposing Violent Injustice: Bringing Light to the Darkest Places
This season we are focusing on justice as an aspect of spiritual formation and we believe Lent to be the perfect season to explore this connection. Using A Just Passion: A Six-Week Lenten Journey, and the lectionary, we will look at various aspects of justice, its importance to God and why the modern church has…
Read MoreSeason 19: Lent Week 3 | The Work of Justice: Healing our Broken Ways
This season we are focusing on justice as an aspect of spiritual formation and we believe Lent to be the perfect season to explore this connection. Using A Just Passion: A Six-Week Lenten Journey, and the lectionary, we will look at various aspects of justice, its importance to God and why the modern church has…
Read MoreSeason 19: Lent Week 2 | Colonialism and Christianity: Bible Translation as a Work of Justice
This season we are focusing on justice as an aspect of spiritual formation and we believe Lent to be the perfect season to explore this connection. Using A Just Passion: A Six-Week Lenten Journey, and the lectionary, we will look at various aspects of justice, its importance to God and why the modern church has…
Read MoreSeason 19: Lent Week 1 | Confession: What We Have Done and What We Have Left Undone
This season we are focusing on justice as an aspect of spiritual formation and we believe Lent to be the perfect season to explore this connection. Using A Just Passion: A Six-Week Lenten Journey, and the lectionary, we will look at various aspects of justice, its importance to God and why the modern church has…
Read MoreSeason 19: Ash Wednesday | Learning to Love What God Loves
This season we are focusing on justice as an aspect of spiritual formation and we believe Lent to be the perfect season to explore this connection. Using A Just Passion: A Six-Week Lenten Journey, and the lectionary, we will look at various aspects of justice, its importance to God and why the church has often…
Read MoreSeason 18: Episode 5 | What about the Congregation? How Everyone Benefits from a Pastor’s Sabbatical
We are wrapping up our sabbatical season by turning our attention to the congregation; how does a congregation benefit from a pastor’s sabbatical. Ruth sits down with her brother, Pastor Jonathan Haley, to discuss the thoughtful and intentional ways he included his congregation in his sabbatical planning, how he stayed connected with them and how…
Read MoreSeason 18: Episode 4 | Are You Willing to Quit Your Job: Sabbatical for the Rest of Us
Are sabbaticals just for pastors? This week, Ruth sits down with guest Andy Crouch to talk about sabbatical from an everyman perspective. Andy has taken full responsibility for his own rhythm of regular sabbaticals by saving up and risking the need to find a new job at the end of his time away. Ruth and…
Read MoreSeason 18: Episode 3 | Boundaries: Protecting What is Precious
Inevitably, every sabbatical will meet a challenge, a place where the outside world creeps in and threatens to call you back to the work you’ve committed to set aside. When that happens, what is a leader to do? Ruth sits down with Dr. David C. Alves to discuss how to discern the necessary boundaries each…
Read MoreSeason 18: Episode 2 | More Than a Vacation: Planning for a Meaningful Sabbatical
We have two extra special guests this week! First, Ruth sits down with Christine Lee, Priest-in-Charge of St. Peter’s Chelsea in New York City. She and Ruth discuss how Christine discerned what was most important for her sabbatical and how she responded when her plan for sabbatical coincided with a challenging time for her congregation.…
Read MoreSeason 18: Episode 1 | When Sabbath Isn’t Enough: Embracing the Gift of Sabbatical
Happy New Year! We are ringing in the new year by talking about sabbatical! Friend of the Transforming Center Rick McCall is back with us, and he and Ruth are sharing their experiences with sabbaticals, what ways Ruth sees it as an extension of sabbath, and why it’s so important for the church to build…
Read MoreBonus: Advent 2022 Year A
We find ourselves again beginning a new Christian year with Advent. This year the lectionary finds us in Cycle A. In this episode Ruth helps us prepare for advent with an invitation to use this season as actual space to practice sabbath keeping. She shares some of the greater themes we find in Advent and…
Read MoreSeason 17: Episode 11 | Sabbath Journey: Do Something Before You Do Everything
We’re wrapping up our sabbath season with a solo episode. Ruth is on the mic to help us discern the something we can do to start our sabbath journey. What are your invitations and resistances? What are the obstacles you face as you attempt to “return to rest?” At the end of the episode producer…
Read MoreSeason 17: Episode 10 | Fruit and Frustration: Creating a Culture Where Everyone Can Rest
As we’ve camped out around this idea of a “sabbath community” the last few weeks, we’ve explored the possibility and very real struggles of what that kind of commitment to sabbath looks like for pastors. This week we’re speaking with a pastor whose community is living out that practice in a variety of ways. In…
Read MoreSeason 17: Episode 9 | Getting Honest About the Challenges of Sabbath Community
Today’s conversation is an honest and vulnerable one about the challenges of leading communities in the ways of the sabbath. Ruth sits down with Christine Lee who leads a busy church in New York City. Christine shares her own journey of practicing sabbath herself and the struggles she sees to “lead a sabbath community.” She…
Read MoreSeason 17: Episode 8 | Sabbath Leaders Cultivating Sabbath Communities
Over the next few episodes we are turning our attention from a leader’s personal sabbath practice towards how they can form and shape their communities around sabbath. We’ll be talking to a number of pastors and leaders about their efforts and challenges in leading others in the practice. Today Ruth sits down with Jeanne and…
Read MoreSeason 17: Episode 7 | Sabbath Rhythms During Seasons of Singleness and Care-giving
In this episode we continue discussing how each season or stage of life presents its own challenges and opportunities with regard to sabbath keeping. Today we’re joined by two guests, Phaedra Blocker and Vicki Degner. In the first half Phaedra and Ruth talk about sabbath keeping in seasons of singleness. Phaedra shares the ways in…
Read MoreSeason 17: Episode 6 | Sharing Sabbath Presence Within Our Families
As we continue to discuss the idea of a sabbath practice and the very practical ways one can incorporate it into one’s life, we want to acknowledge that each season or stage of life presents its own challenges and opportunities with regard to sabbath keeping. In the next two episodes we’re going to speak with…
Read MoreSeason 17: Episode 5 | The Power of Unplugging
We’re here this week to talk about the elephant in the sabbath room… technology. Ruth and guest, Tiffany Shlain, talk all about how our technology impacts our ability to truly rest, why a “tech Shabbat” has been a lifeline for Tiffany, and the nitty gritty details of how Tiffany goes completely screen-free (and we mean…
Read MoreSeason 17: Episode 4 | Shabbat: Conversation with a Jewish Rabbi
Our guest this week is Rabbi Evan Moffic, a rabbi leading a congregation in the Chicago suburbs who also teaches and writes about the Jewishness of Jesus. He and Ruth discuss the importance of the sabbath and its roots in the Jewish faith, the communal aspect of the practice, and how the activities we engage…
Read MoreSeason 17: Episode 3 | Sabbath as Resistance
We had so much goodness in our conversations around the idea of sabbath as resistance that we decided to release them as separate episodes. In this episode, Ruth and guest Cole Arthur Riley continue the discussion with a conversation around whether or not sabbath is just for the privileged few. Cole shares how she experiences…
Read MoreSeason 17: Episode 2 | The Poetry of Sabbath
We continue to celebrate the launch of Ruth’s newest book, Embracing Rhythms of Work and Rest From Sabbath to Sabbatical and Back Again. This week, Ruth sits down with pastor and poet Drew Jackson to discuss the idea of sabbath as resistance. Ruth and Drew discuss how the practice of sabbath itself can be a…
Read MoreSeason 17: Episode 1 | Awakening to God’s Gift of Sabbath
We’re back! This season we are celebrating the launch of Ruth’s newest book, Embracing Rhythms of Work and Rest From Sabbath to Sabbatical and Back Again. Ruth has invited a number of friends to come on the show to discuss the themes found in her book. These episodes are for pastors and leaders who are…
Read MoreBONUS: A Conversation with Glenn Packiam on Being a Resilient Pastor, Challenges Facing the Church, and Cultivating A Spiritual Life
We can’t wait for you to hear this encouraging conversation between Ruth and Glenn Packiam, a pastor and author of The Resilient Pastor: Leading Your Church in a Rapidly Changing World. Glenn and Ruth shared their thoughts on why it’s so hard for pastors to prioritize their life with God, performing our spirituality vs. cultivating a…
Read MoreBONUS: Ask Ruth #5 Excerpt
Over on Patreon, we concluded season 16 with our fifth installment of our Ask Ruth series. This episode included questions specific to this past season on Transforming Leadership: Managing Anxiety Within Our Communities with Steve Cuss. Patrons submitted questions that arose from their listening of the podcast, and Ruth provided her trademark thoughtfulness, wit and…
Read MoreJuneteenth: Celebrating the Good News of Freedom
Where the Spirit of the Lord there is freedom. II Corinthians 3:17 Today as we mark the Juneteenth national holiday, we invite you to reflect on this documentary that expands our awareness of our nation’s journey towards freedom for all. This documentary was produced through a partnership between the Jude 3 Project and Our Daily…
Read MoreSeason 16: Episode 8 | Systems Theory and Leadership: Picking Up the Tools that Diffuse Anxiety
We’re nearing the end of our season on Systems Theory and leadership anxiety! In this last episode with Ruth and Steve together, the two give really practical help with concrete tools that can help diffuse anxiety. These tools range from personal to relational, and they are rooted in deep care for the soul of the…
Read MoreSeason 16: Episode 7 | It’s a Human Thing: Systems Theory in Non-Majority Spaces
This week we invited two additional guests to tackle this tender and challenging topic. Ruth and Steve are joined by Pastor Tina Harris, a former pastor and lawyer and currently Transforming Center’s Cultivator of Community and Connection, and Pastor Marvin Williams, the pastor of Trinity Church in Lansing, MI, and a doctoral candidate doing his…
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