The Embedded Church Podcast

Episode 1—Access to Food and the Church

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode, Eric and Sara Joy talk with Pastor Cynthia Wallace about how the Oasis Farm and Fishery was implemented and is operating out of Bible Center Church in the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Originally started as an educational initiative to help families learn how to eat and cook healthier, the program has evolved into growing food for the local community. This work began as the church gained a deeper understanding of the food insecurity, or lack of access to food, that so many of the local neighborhood residents are facing. Eric and Sara Joy also speak with a couple of field guides who provide professional research expertise to expand upon the social and economic implications of food insecurity in our communities.

EPISODE NOTES

In this episode Eric and Sara Joy build a more robust understanding of shalom, reflecting on the meaning of the term beyond the standard definition of peace to include a proactive seeking of flourishing and right relationships with each other, with God, and with our whole community. They even note that shalom can and should be sought and reflected in the built environment of our communities.

Bringing in Josh Yates, the Executive Director of Ormond Center at Duke Divinity School, to expound upon this Eric and Sara Joy find out how his personal and professional quest to define and pursue "thriving" has connected deeply with a biblical understanding of shalom. Yates lays out several things we need to unlearn, relearn, and keep learning in order to embrace this biblical vision of shalom for our communities. In particular, he notes the need to broaden the interpretation of shalom and recognize and reverse the incomplete understanding of shalom that has historically been present in Christian community, contending that shalom brings a coherence and unity to things that we have tended to pit against one another. 

Additionally, Yates discusses our current cultural moment and how shalom is worked out in the local context. Recognizing there are compounding crises, such as loneliness, trust in institutions, racism, affecting the deep fractures in our society, he remains hopeful for society more broadly if the Christian church can recognize the emerging opportunities for meaningful, biblical engagement within this cultural context. He outlines three key opportunities, which include: 1) the turn to well-being, 2) the turn to wholeness, and 3) the turn to local.  Each of these opportunities are deeply related to shalom and the holistic understanding of how God designed us to develop local culture, seek thriving, and live in community and relationship with one another.

Access  Show Notes with pictures and links related to this episode.

More information about this podcast and helpful church and urbanism resources can be found on The Embedded Church.

Related Resources

• ARTICLES, BOOKS, MEDIA, & ORGANIZATIONS

  Oasis Farm and Fishery

  Bible Center Church

  Hope in Homewood – article about the  Everyday Cafe run by Bible Center Church

  Black Church Food Security Network

  Agrarian Spirit: Cultivating Faith, Community, and the Land (forthcoming) by Norman Wirzba

  Food and Faith: A Theology of Eating by Norman Wirzba

  This Sacred Life: Humanity's Place in a Wounded World by Norman Wirzba

  The Way of Love: Recovering the Heart of Christianity by Norman Wirzba

  What’s Not to Like: All the Good Things that Happen in School Gardens (Tricia Elisara's Blog)

  KEY TERMS

  Embodiment

  Food Desert

  Hospitality

  Localism

  Zoning

Show Credits

• Hosted and Produced by Eric O. Jacobsen and Sara Joy Proppe

• Edited by Adam Higgins | Odd Dad Out Voice Productions

• Theme Music by Jacob Shaffer

• Artwork by Lance Kagey | Rotator Creative

Episode 2— Social infrastructure and the Church

EPISODE SUMMARY

How do community centers and places to gather affect the flourishing of our neighborhoods? What can churches do to provides these places of social infrastructure in our communities? In Episode 2 of Season 5, Eric and Sara Joy interview Scott Pontier from Jamestown Harbor Church in Hudsonville, Michigan about how they are designing a new church facility in partnership with a local sports program to provide a place for gathering within their local neighborhood. Eric Klinenberg from NYU and Greg Snider from Aspen Group serve as our field guides for this episode providing deeper insights to the sociological and design aspects of creating social infrastructure.

EPISODE NOTES

In this episode, Eric and Sara Joy talk with Pastor Scott Pontier about how Jamestown Harbor Church has explored the needs and opportunities for creating a "center" in their suburban community. After a few years of conversation with the local township board and other organizations, they landed on partnering with a local sports program to design a facility that provides gathering space for the church and also serve as a sports complex. Though not using the term specifically, it is evident through this interview that the missional heart of Jamestown Harbor Church has been to create "social infrastructure" in order to be a blessing to their community.

Social infrastructure is a term coined by Eric Klinenberg, a sociologist from NYU, which refers to the physical spaces and places that are the venue for the formation of civic, social bonds with those in living in proximity to one another. The journey of Jamestown Harbor Church demonstrates a church leadership team and congregation that has sought to identify where there is a deficit of social infrastructure in their community and discern how their church can play a super important role in creating a venue that fills the void and builds opportunities for people to form relationships in their suburban context. 

Pastor Scott stresses the importance of being flexible and being more in love with your mission than your stuff as essential qualities for taking on partnerships and building places that are to be used freely by the local community. He acknowledges that the process has been arduous at times with dead-ends or outcomes that look vastly different than anticipated, but trusting that God is at work and staying laser-focused on the mission of blessing the community has enabled this vision to move forward despite the unplanned pathways. At Jamestown Harbor Church they are intent on creating a place where relationships are formed and deepened among members of their township so that people can experience the fullness of shalom found in Jesus.

Eric and Sara Joy also speak with a couple of field guides who provide professional expertise to expand upon the sociological and design facets of social infrastructure. Eric Klinenberg of NYU shares his definition of social infrastructure, why it is so important, and how it differs from social capital. He also discusses the ways churches can either support or detract from building cohesive and integrated communities with their facilities and programs. Greg Snider with Aspen Group gives more color to the community process that Jamestown Harbor Church engaged before landing on their current plan for to include a sports complex. He also highlights several avenues churches can pursue when considering the type and design of social infrastructure elements on their properties. 

Episode Contributors

Scott Pontier is the Lead Pastor of Jamestown Harbor Church in Hudsonville, Michigan. 

Eric Klinenberg is Helen Gould Shepard Professor of Social Science and Director of the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University. A New York Times bestselling author, he has written several books including Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life (Crown, 2018), Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone (The Penguin Press, 2012), Fighting for Air: The Battle to Control America’s Media (Metropolitan Books, 2007), and Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago (University of Chicago Press, 2002).

Greg Snider is a Ministry Space Strategist at Aspen Group. He has more than 20 years of construction experience in residential, light commercial, and interior build-out. Fifteen of those years were spent building churches, including Living Water Church in Bolingbrook, Illinois, West Side Christian Church in Springfield, Illinois, and Community Christian Church in Naperville, Illinois. At Aspen Group, he works diligently to obtain an intimate understanding of the mission and vision of each church. He then uses this knowledge to guide the project team as they translate that vision into effective design and ultimately into a finished, ministry-enhancing facility.

Access more Show Notes with pictures and resources related to this episode. Sign up for the free online Community Forum on July 26, 2022 to discuss this episode with Eric, Sara Joy, and Chris and other podcast listeners. Register today!

More information about this podcast and helpful church and urbanism resources can be found on The Embedded Church website.

Related Resources

Jamestown Harbor Church

Aspen Group

Palaces for the People by Eric Klinenberg

The Celtic Way of Evangelism by George G. Hunter III

Season 1: Episode 2 - Community Collaborations (Third Church Community Charrette Process) - The Embedded Church Podcast

Season 3: Episode 6 - Reading Palaces for the People - The Embedded Church Podcast

Find these Key Terms on The Embedded Church website:

- Charrette

- Civic Sphere

- Fragmentation

- Public Belonging

- Social Belonging

- Social Capital

- Social Determinants of Health (SDOH)

- Social Infrastructure

- Threshold

Show Credits

Hosted and Produced by Eric O. Jacobsen and Sara Joy Proppe

Edited by Adam Higgins | Odd Dad Out Voice Productions

Theme Music by Jacob Shaffer

Artwork by Lance Kagey | Rotator Creative

SHOW CONTRIBUTORS

Eric Klinenberg

Greg Snider

Scott Pontier

Sara Joy Proppe

Chris Elisara

Eric O. Jacobsen

Episode 3—Third Place and the Church

EPISODE SUMMARY

How does a neighborhood coffee shop further the mission of a church? What can churches do to provide third places in our neighborhoods? In Episode 3 of Season 5, Eric and Sara Joy interview Scott Woller from Corner Church in Minneapolis, Minneosta about how his missional calling and entrepreneurial aspirations converged to start both a church and a coffee shop in a post-industrial urban neighborhood. Hazel Borys from PlaceMakers and Rich Heyman from the University of Texas serve as our field guides for this episode to help us better understand what third places are and how they have come to play a valuable role in our society.

EPISODE NOTES

In this episode, Eric and Sara Joy chat with Pastor Scott Woller about the model of building both a church and a coffee shop. While Pastor Scott does not say it directly, in essence, he aimed to develop a "third place." Third place is a term coined by Ray Oldenburg to describe those places that we find ourselves visiting on a fairly regular basis that are not our homes and not our places of work. Third places can take a variety of forms. They can be coffee shops, pubs, barber shops, or even a collection of mailboxes near some seating. Third places play a crucial role in connecting people in a neighborhood and breaking down barriers presented by demographic differences. 

With a mission to reach the urban dweller who may have little interest or experience with a church, Scott and his wife started Corner Coffee as a way to connect with neighbors and build relationships within walking distance of where they live and worship. He started Corner Churchalongside Corner Coffee in order to reach regular customers in the neighborhood with the gospel.

A distinctly different model than a church with a coffee shop in the lobby, Corner Coffee is the main user and lease holder on the property and Corner Church leases space from the coffee shop in order to meet there on Sundays. The pastoral staff of Corner Church also serve in management, service, and administrative capacities for the coffee shop. The financials between the church and the coffee shop are completely separate, and Pastor Scott shares about the risky and sometimes tough road it has been to build both a profitable business and a sustaining church. Despite the difficulties, they have been dedicated to creating a place that cultivates regular, consistent interactions with the neighborhood so they can make a difference in people's lives. A coffee shop has been their chosen venue for turning a localized customer base of "regulars" into friends and community members. 

He also discusses their church's foundation of evangelism being centered on "redefinition." This approach means they want to be at the forefront of redefining what is means to be a follower of Christ, what it means to be the church, and walking relationally with people through the learning process. This is their "why" and what motivates them to continue pressing into the daily grind of coffee shop work and pastoring. Since its inception in the North Loop in 2005, Corner Church has planted three additional coffee shops and churches in walkable neighborhoods in the Minneapolis metro area.

Eric and Sara Joy also speak with two field guides who expand upon the concept of third places in communities and the important role these play in our civic relationships and well-being. Hazel Borys with PlaceMakers shares her definition of third place, why these spaces matter, and important characteristics that make them successful. Rich Heyman from the University of Texas provides the historic background on the development of third places and the positives and negatives that can be associated with these communal spaces. 

Episode Contributors

Scott Woller is the North Loop Pastor of Corner Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

Rich Heyman is a Lecturer in the Department of American Studies at University of Texas at Austin. His research interests include cultural geography, urban geography, critical theory and Marxism, history of geography, pedagogy, and public space. He recently contributed to an article in The Atlantic entitled Do Yourself a Favor and Go Find a ‘Third Place’.

Hazel Borys is the Managing Director at PlaceMakers. As Managing Principal, Hazel inspires the company to deliver an exceptional product to a developing marketplace. She guides governments through zoning reforms — allowing walkable, mixed-use, compact, resilient places to develop by-right — and helps developers get things built under the increasingly-prevalent form-based codes and character-based land use laws of the new economy.

Access more Show Notes with pictures and resources related to this episode. Sign up for the free online Community Forum on August 23, 2022 to discuss this episode with Eric, Sara Joy, and Chris and other podcast listeners. Register today!

More information about this podcast and helpful church and urbanism resources can be found on The Embedded Church website.

Related Resources

Corner Church

Corner Coffee

PlaceMakers

Do Yourself a Favor and Go Find a ‘Third Place’ - The Atlantic

The third place: What is it & how does it relate to coffee shops? - Perfect Daily Grind

The Great Good Place by Ray Oldenburg

Show Credits

Hosted and Produced by Eric O. Jacobsen and Sara Joy Proppe

Edited by Adam Higgins | Odd Dad Out Voice Productions

Theme Music by Jacob Shaffer

Artwork by Lance Kagey | Rotator Creative

SHOW CONTRIBUTORS

Scott Woller

Hazel Borys

Rich Heyman

Sara Joy Proppe

Chris Elisara

Eric O. Jacobsen

Episode 4—Art and the Church

EPISODE SUMMARY

How can a church intentionally support the creative callings of artists in their local community? What is the value of art in conveying the beauty and goodness of the Gospel? In episode 4 of Season 5, Sara Joy and Eric tackle these questions through an interview with Gabe Coyle, Campus Pastor of Christ Community Church, which has curated gallery space in their artsy neighborhood in Kansas City, MO. Sandra Bowden, an artist and curator based in Chatham, Massachusetts, and David Taylor, Associate Professor of Theology and Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary, serve as our field guides for this episode to help us better understand how to develop thoughtful art space and how the appreciation and value of art has taken shape throughout the course of church history.

EPISODE NOTES

In this episode, Sara Joy and Eric talk with Pastor Gabe Coyle about the fruition of Four Chapter Gallery, an art space developed, curated, and managed by Christ Community Church in downtown Kansas City. Using the biblical framework of four chapters (movements): creation, fall, redemption, and restoration, the Four Chapter Gallery seeks to bring flourishing to the local arts community by offering beautiful gallery space and valuable support in promoting the work of the artist and treating each artist with care and dignity.

Sandra Bowden, an artist and curator based in Chatham, Massachusetts, and David Taylor, Associate Professor of Theology and Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary, serve as our field guides for this episode to help us better understand how to develop thoughtful art space and how the appreciation and value of art has taken shape throughout the course of church history.

Episode Contributors

Gabe Coyle is the Campus Pastor of Christ Community Church in downtown Kansas City, MO.

Sandra Bowden is a visual artist based in Chatham, MA. She has been interpreting Scripture and her own spiritual walk through mixed media for more than forty years. She has been acclaimed as one of the most unique, impressive and inspiring Christian artists in America. Bowden’s work has been featured in books, magazines and gallery shows across the United States, Canada, Italy and Jerusalem. She is co-author of Seeing the Unseen: Launching and Managing a Church Gallery.

David Taylor is Associate Professor of Theology and Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary. Prior to his appointment at Fuller, Dr. Taylor served as a pastor for ten years in Austin, Texas. Taylor serves on the advisory board for Duke Initiatives in Theology and the Arts as well as IVP Academic’s series, “Studies in Theology and the Arts.” He is the author of Glimpses of the New Creation: Worship and the Formative Power of the Arts and The Theater of God’s Glory: Calvin, Creation and the Liturgical Arts. He is editor of For the Beauty of the Church: Casting a Vision for the Arts.

Sign up for the free online Community Forum on Sept. 27, 2022 to discuss this episode with Eric, Sara Joy, and Chris and other podcast listeners. Register today!

More information about this podcast and helpful church and urbanism resources can be found on The Embedded Church website.

Related Resources

Christ Community Church - Downtown KC

Four Chapter Gallery

Christian Community Development Association (CCDA)

Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA)

Agents of Flourishing by Amy Sherman

Seeing the Unseen: Launching and Managing a Church Gallery by Sandra Bowden and Marianne Lettieri

Show Credits

Hosted and Produced by Eric O. Jacobsen and Sara Joy Proppe

Edited by Adam Higgins | Odd Dad Out Voice Productions

Theme Music by Jacob Shaffer

Artwork by Lance Kagey | Rotator Creative

SHOW CONTRIBUTORS

Gabe Coyle

Sandra Bowden

David Taylor

Sara Joy Proppe

Chris Elisara

Eric O. Jacobsen

Episode 5—Affordable Housing And The Church

EPISODE SUMMARY

Can a church meet housing needs within their neighborhood? What opportunities exist for churches to help with our nationwide affordable housing crisis? In episode 5 of Season 5, Sara Joy and Eric tackle these questions in an interview with Dwayne Cline, Lead Pastor of James North Baptist Church, which built affordable and supportive housing on their new church property as a way to meet housing needs in their neighborhood in Hamilton, Ontario. Jill Shook, Founding Director of Making Housing and Community Happen based in Pasadena, California, and Patrick Duggan, Executive Director of the United Church of Christ Church Building and Loan Fund, serve as our field guides for this episode, highlighting strategies for churches to play a role in the affordable housing arena.

EPISODE NOTES

In this episode, Sara Joy and Eric talk with Pastor Dwayne Cline about James North Baptist Church and their journey towards providing affordable housing in their neighborhood in the north end Hamilton, Ontario. As the neighborhood tide began to change with new development and rising property prices in more recent years, the church recognized a growing need to provide affordable housing options for the long-time local residents. Their solution was to build affordable housing into their church property plans. Eric and Sara Joy also speak with a couple of field guides who provide professional insight to expand upon the ways churches can be involved in providing affordable housing in their communities.

Episode Contributors

Dwayne Cline, Lead Pastor of James North Baptist Church.

Dr. Jill Shook is the Founding Director of Making Housing and Community Happen, working with churches to bring about housing justice in the United States. She is author of Making Housing Happen: Faith Based Affordable Housing Models. She has developed and taught Housing Justice and Community Organizing in the Azusa Pacific University MA Social Work Department. Today she does a variety of workshops, including One-Day Housing Justice Workshops around the US.

Rev. Dr. Patrick Duggan is the Executive Director of the United Church of Christ Church Building and Loan Fund. He is responsible for advancing the mission and growing the capacity, reach and social impact of CB&LF products and services. Patrick has more than 30 years of experience in bi-vocational ministry, serving the local church while working in the public sector, including education, government, nonprofit organizations and economic and community development.

Sign up for the free online Community Forum on Nov. 1, 2022 to discuss this episode with Eric, Sara Joy, and Chris and other podcast listeners. Register today!

More information about this podcast and helpful church and urbanism resources can be found on The Embedded Church website.

Related Resources

James North Baptist Church

Growing to Serve: The Story of James North - video

Indwell - a Christian charity that creates affordable housing communities 

Making Housing and Community Happen - a faith-based nonprofit that equips congregations, community leaders, and neighbors with practical tools needed to transform their communities to end homelessness, and to stabilize the cost of housing

United Church of Christ Church Building & Loan Fund - an institution that transforms communities by helping the Church live into God’s economy, helping congregations plan, raise, finance, and build transformative projects

CNU - Members Christian Caucus: Churches + Affordable Housing Case Studies

Ministries of Mercy by Tim Keller

Christianity's Surprise by C. Kavin Rowe

Making Housing Happen: Faith Based Affordable Housing Models by Jill Shook

KEY TERMS

Affordable Housing

Displacement

Entitlements

Gentrification

Inclusionary Zoning

Tax Credits

Zoning

Show Credits

Hosted and Produced by Eric O. Jacobsen and Sara Joy Proppe

Edited by Adam Higgins | Odd Dad Out Voice Productions

Theme Music by Jacob Shaffer

Artwork by Lance Kagey | Rotator Creative

SHOW CONTRIBUTORS

Dwyane Cline

Jill Shook

Patrick Duggan

Sara Joy Proppe

Chris Elisara

Eric O. Jacobsen

Episode 6—The Workers in Your Neighborhood and the Church

EPISODE SUMMARY

Who are the people that bus tables, wait on you, or clean your hotel room? How can a church reach these particular neighbors in a meaningful way? In episode 6, the last episode of Season 5, Sara Joy and Eric confront these questions in an interview with Kevin Finch, a former pastor and Executive Director of Big Table, an organization focused on caring for the needs of workers in the hospitality industry. Paul Cunningham, head pastor of La Jolla Presbyterian Church in California, and Eliza Harris Juliano, an principal urban planner with Canin Associates in Orlando, Florida, serve as our field guides for this episode, showing how Big Table works on the ground with a church and the important interplay between housing and transportation in meeting the tangible needs of workers within the hospitality industry.

EPISODE NOTES

In this episode, Eric and Sara Joy listen to the story of Kevin Finch, the Executive Director of Big Table and a former pastor who was moonlighting as restaurant critic. During his days as a pastor and a restaurant critic, Kevin was exposed to the high levels of need that existed among workers in the hospitality industry. As he sought a way to provide help and care for this often overlooked sector, he could not find a single nonprofit that was dedicated to serving this particular community. Then he received a very unusual and distinct calling from God to step up to the plate to address this need. 

This calling led Kevin to begin Big Table in 2009, a nonprofit solely dedicated to meeting the needs of workers in the restaurant and hospitality industry. Operating on a referral model, Big Table helps cover rent, provide cars, assist navigating health issues, etc. for those in the hospitality industry. Kevin impresses upon listeners the need to really see the people in your community and neighborhood who are so often overlooked because these relationships are too often viewed as purely transactional. He sparks a new way of thinking and a new population to consider when it comes to caring for the least in your neighborhood.

Sara Joy and Eric also speak with two field guides who provide more insight into the work of Big Table and the needs that so many service and hospitality industry workers face in their daily lives. Paul Cunningham, head pastor of La Jolla Presbyterian Church, shares how his church helped establish a Big Table presence in the San Diego area. Through funds and connections to the local restaurants, the church has been a catalyst for expanding Big Table to southern California. Paul also shares how their collaboration with Big Table has inspired his congregants to be kinder and more generous people to those with whom they come in contact in the service industry. He reiterates the importance of seeing the unseen people in the community and caring for them in tangible ways.

Eliza Harris Juliano, another field guide for this episode, provides a helpful perspective from urban planning as she notes that housing and transportation costs together are large factors that affect the livelihood of hourly wage workers, like those in the restaurant and hospitality industries. She highlights that when workers have to live far from their job, they are more dependent on reliable transportation which can be costly when it comes to maintaining a car. She also points out that deficient and/or unreliable public transit is another hurdle that these workers face, particularly when being late to a job because of a slow bus can actually cost them their job. Providing affordable housing in places near jobs and increasing public transit infrastructure to serve these areas are ways this sector of the community can be better supported. In that regard, she encourages listeners to pay attention to zoning and advocate for better policies that create the places where people of all socioeconomic classes can live together.

Episode Contributors

Kevin Finch is the Executive Director of Big Table based in Spokane, Washington.

Rev. Dr. Paul Cunningham is the Head Pastor of La Jolla Presbyterian Church

Eliza Harris Juliano is a Principal in the Urban Design studio and serves as the firm’s Director of Urbanism at Canin Associates based in Orlando Florida.

Access more Show Notes with pictures and resources related to this episode. Sign up for the free online Community Forum on November 22, 2022 to discuss this episode with Eric, Sara Joy, and Chris and other podcast listeners. Register today!

More information about this podcast and helpful church and urbanism resources can be found on The Embedded Church website.

Related Resources

Big Table

Big Table | Serving Hope Video

La Jolla Presbyterian Church

The Center for Neighborhood Technology

Yes In My Backyard (YIMBY)

Yes In God's Backyard (YIGBY)

Arbitrary Lines: How Zoning Broke the American City and How to Fix It by M. Nolan Gray

KEY TERMS

Affordable Housing

Inclusionary Zoning

Missing Middle Housing

NIMBY (Not in my backyard)

YIMBY (Yes in my backyard)

Zoning

Show Credits

Hosted and Produced by Eric O. Jacobsen and Sara Joy Proppe

Edited by Adam Higgins | Odd Dad Out Voice Productions

Theme Music by Jacob Shaffer

Artwork by Lance Kagey | Rotator Creative

SHOW CONTRIBUTORS

Kevin Finch

Paul Cunningham

Eliza Harris Juliano

Sara Joy Proppe

Chris Elisara

Eric O. Jacobsen

Season 4 Trailer:

This trailer sets up the theme for Season 4 "Cultivating Neighborhood Shalom.” (Access transcript here.)

Episode 1—
What is shalom and how is it like dirt?

EPISODE SUMMARY

What is shalom and is it really a dirty word? In Episode 1 of Season 4, Eric and Sara Joy introduce Wendell Berry's image of a bucket collecting local, natural materials and making soil or "dirt" as a metaphor for cultivating the shalom of a place. They also talk with Josh Yates, Executive Director of Ormond Center, to develop a robust definition of shalom for our listeners that provides a strong basis for meaningful Christian engagement in our communities in the midst of our cultural moment.

EPISODE NOTES

In this episode Eric and Sara Joy build a more robust understanding of shalom, reflecting on the meaning of the term beyond the standard definition of peace to include a proactive seeking of flourishing and right relationships with each other, with God, and with our whole community. They even note that shalom can and should be sought and reflected in the built environment of our communities.

Bringing in Josh Yates, the Executive Director of Ormond Center at Duke Divinity School, to expound upon this Eric and Sara Joy find out how his personal and professional quest to define and pursue "thriving" has connected deeply with a biblical understanding of shalom. Yates lays out several things we need to unlearn, relearn, and keep learning in order to embrace this biblical vision of shalom for our communities. In particular, he notes the need to broaden the interpretation of shalom and recognize and reverse the incomplete understanding of shalom that has historically been present in Christian community, contending that shalom brings a coherence and unity to things that we have tended to pit against one another. 

Additionally, Yates discusses our current cultural moment and how shalom is worked out in the local context. Recognizing there are compounding crises, such as loneliness, trust in institutions, racism, affecting the deep fractures in our society, he remains hopeful for society more broadly if the Christian church can recognize the emerging opportunities for meaningful, biblical engagement within this cultural context. He outlines three key opportunities, which include: 1) the turn to well-being, 2) the turn to wholeness, and 3) the turn to local.  Each of these opportunities are deeply related to shalom and the holistic understanding of how God designed us to develop local culture, seek thriving, and live in community and relationship with one another.

Access  Show Notes with pictures and links related to this episode.

More information about this podcast and helpful church and urbanism resources can be found on The Embedded Church.

Related Resources

• Sex, Economy, Freedom, & Community: Eight Essays by Wendell Berry

• Living Toward a Vision: Biblical Reflections on Shalom by Walter Brueggemann 

• The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs

• The New Localism by Bruce Katz and Jeremy Nowak

• Christianity's Surprise by Kavin Rowe

• For the Life of the World by Miroslav Volf and Matthew Croasmun

• Jeremiah 29:7 "But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare." (ESV)

Find these Key Terms on The Embedded Church website:

• Built Environment

• Fragmentation

• Localism

• Missional Theology

• Place

• Shalom

• Social Determinants

Show Credits

• Hosted and Produced by Eric O. Jacobsen and Sara Joy Proppe

• Edited by Adam Higgins | Odd Dad Out Voice Productions

• Theme Music by Jacob Shaffer

• Artwork by Lance Kagey | Rotator Creative

Access the transcript via this link.

Episode 2—
Defining Place

EPISODE SUMMARY

What makes the places where our homes and churches are located distinct and why should this matter to our mandate to seek shalom? In Episode 2 of Season 4, Eric and and Sara Joy seek to define "place" and bring in Chris Elisara to expound on the topic from his own personal experiences.

EPISODE NOTES

Place is a key element of shalom because our identities are rooted in place and we connect to one another through place. In this episode, Eric and Sara Joy discuss the difference between place and space (and why place isn’t always good and space isn’t always bad), while framing both within a biblical understanding. They trace the theme of place from the beginning to the end of the Bible, noting how we are redeemed in place. They also talk with Chris Elisara from Ormond Center who shares about his perception and experience of place and its importance in his family life and community. And they find out where Chris’s cool accent comes from. 

They also challenge the notion that we need to choose whether to care for people or places and note that we often are called to love people through loving their places.

Lastly, we find out yet, another reason while Texans are a peculiar (awesome!) breed.

Access more Show Notes with pictures and resources related to this episode.

More information about this podcast and helpful church and urbanism resources can be found on The Embedded Church website.

Related Resources

• First and Main Films: Find out more about the films that Chris Elisara mentions in this interview

• Better Cities Film Festival

• Where Mortals Dwell: A Christian View of Place for Today by Craig Bartholomew

• “The Work of Local Culture” in Sex, Economy, Freedom & Community: Eight Essays by Wendell Berry

• Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America by James and Deborah Fallows

• A Christian Theology of Place: Explorations in Practical, Pastoral and Empirical Theology by John Inge

• Reclaiming Place in a Disengaged World: An Interview with Eric O. Jacobsen in Fuller Magazine: Issue 17 

Find these Key Terms on The Embedded Church website:

• Place (and Space)

• Hospitality

• Placelessness

Show Credits

• Hosted and Produced by Eric O. Jacobsen and Sara Joy Proppe

• Edited by Adam Higgins | Odd Dad Out Voice Productions

• Theme Music by Jacob Shaffer

• Artwork by Lance Kagey | Rotator Creative

Access the transcript via this link.

Episode 3—
Can you really make a place?

EPISODE SUMMARY

Is placemaking even possible? Or is place just the given context in which we pursue our mission. In Episode 3 of Season 4, Eric and Sara Joy contend that placemaking is possible and give some ideas of how to go about it as individuals and as congregations.

EPISODE NOTES

In this episode, Sara Joy and Eric continue their conversation about place with Chris Elisara at Ormond Center to consider the various ways we impact the places we live, work, play, and worship. Placemaking can sound like an abstract concept, but it is essentially helping our places become places worth caring about. Anyone or any church can engage in placemaking.

Some key questions addressed in this episode are:

1. Is placemaking possible? Place is not just given, we contribute to our places in ways that honor God and in ways that dishonor God every day.

2. Is placemaking Biblical? Part of our calling as humans and as followers of Christ is to bless others through activities like placemaking.

3. Is placemaking ecclesial? Not only is it appropriate for the church to be involved in placemaking. The church has a unique role and perspective on placemaking.

4. Is placemaking scalable? Placemaking can be as simple as putting a dog bowl with water in front of the church or as complex as helping to design a network of sidewalks for the community.

In addition to talking about placemaking itself, we also discover that Chris’s actual job title is ‘Studio Lead for and Senior Fellow for Placemaking’ at Ormond Center. That definitely gives The Embedded Church podcast some street cred.

Access more Show Notes with pictures and resources related to this episode.

More information about this podcast and helpful church and urbanism resources can be found on The Embedded Church website.

Related Resources

• Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life by Eric Klinenberg

• Redemptive Placemaking Toolkit: Discerning your church's mission in the built environment by Sara Joy Proppe & Edward Dunar (Use discount code EmbeddedChurch at checkout to receive 15% off purchase price.)

• Tactical Urbanism by Mike Lydon and Anthony Garcia

• Seaside City of Ideas - a documentary film about the making of Seaside, FL and the community design intentions behind this New Urbanist town

• Parish Collective - an organization connecting people to be the church in the neighborhood

• Placemakers - a group of planners, urban designers, form-based code wranglers, storytellers, advisors and advocates working on making places

• Project for Public Spaces - an organization bringing public spaces to life by planning and designing them with the people who use them every day

• Proximity Project - a consulting and education firm that helps churches align their mission with their property assets for the flourishing of their neighborhood

Find these Key Terms on The Embedded Church website

• Place

• Placemaking

• Tactical Urbanism

Show Credits

• Hosted and Produced by Eric O. Jacobsen and Sara Joy Proppe

• Edited by Adam Higgins | Odd Dad Out Voice Productions

• Theme Music by Jacob Shaffer

• Artwork by Lance Kagey | Rotator Creative

Access the transcript via this link.

Episode 4—
Amy Sherman on Shalom

Interested in the human ecology? Learn more about this framework here.

EPISODE SUMMARY

Is there a third way to consider the church's engagement in our current culture? How do we be agents of flourishing rather than fall into modes of attack and retreat? In Episode 4 of Season 4, Eric and Sara Joy talk with Dr. Amy Sherman of the Sagamore Institute about the writing and research she has done to exemplify opportunities for churches to cultivate shalom within their congregations and communities.

EPISODE NOTES

In this episode, Eric and Sara Joy interview Dr. Amy Sherman, Senior Fellow and Director of Center on Faith in Communities (CFIC) at the Sagamore Institute to gain her thoughtful insight on the nuance and meaning of the word shalom.  

In particular, Amy shares about her forthcoming book, Agents of Flourishing, which centers around six endowments of flourishing (or shalom) that are identified as: the Good, the True, the Beautiful, the Just, the Prosperous, and the Sustainable. She discusses the role of the church in each of these and provides examples and strategies that churches can adopt to be active in these endowments. Her humble approach shines as she talks about the valuable model the church can be simply through advocating for and living out of a lens of human dignity. She laments how we have often failed in this realm and challenges the church to think creatively, be vulnerable, and take some wise risks for the good of their local communities.

Access more Show Notes with pictures and resources related to this episode.

More information about this podcast and helpful church and urbanism resources can be found on The Embedded Church website.

Related Resources

• Culture Making by Andy Crouch

• Playing God by Andy Crouch

• Becoming Whole by Brian Fikkert and Kelly Kapick

• The Shaping of Things to Come by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch

• The Church and Its Vocation by Michael Goheen

• Kingdom Calling by Amy Sherman

• How God Became King by N.T. Wright

• Simply Christian by N.T. Wright

• Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright

• Made to Flourish  - an organization that empower pastors and their churches to integrate faith, work, and economic wisdom for the flourishing of their communities

• Proximity Project - a consulting and education firm that helps churches align their mission with their property assets for the flourishing of their neighborhood

• Sagamore Institute - an organization that builds and implements solutions to society’s biggest problems. Through research, consulting, and impact investing, they fight for a society uplifted by heartland policy innovation, business solutions, and citizen engagement

Find these Key Terms on The Embedded Church website:

• Church Gathered / Church Scattered

• Shalom

• Social Determinants (of health)

Show Credits

• Hosted and Produced by Eric O. Jacobsen and Sara Joy Proppe

• Edited by Adam Higgins | Odd Dad Out Voice Productions

• Theme Music by Jacob Shaffer

• Artwork by Lance Kagey | Rotator Creative

Access the transcript via this link.

Episode 5—
Adam Ward on Sharing the Stories of a Place

Interested in the Better Cities Film Festival? Learn more here.

EPISODE SUMMARY

How can a podcast help generate love for a place? In Episode 5 of Season 4, Eric and Sara Joy talk with Adam Ward about how he is sharing stories of local leaders serving the kingdom of God in his podcast entitled For Columbus.

EPISODE NOTES

In this episode, Eric and Sara Joy talk with Adam Ward about his podcast, For Columbus, based in Columbus, Ohio. Unlike other podcast hosts who aspire to expand their audience as far as possible, Adam is happy to limit his reach to those who love and serve Columbus. In this podcast, Adam shares stories about leaders serving God’s kingdom in a local setting.

Most Christian leaders are too busy with their own ministries to pay attention to other things that are happening in their own backyard. The For Columbus podcast addresses that problem by providing an easy way for everyone to hear about the cool things that other leaders are doing in their city. It’s exciting to discover how God is at work just down the street or across town. And these stories can generate support and provide opportunities for collaboration across different ministries.

This is a ministry idea that has very low barriers to entry. Anyone can start a local podcast in their own city. Adam shares some tips on how to get started. It’s a great way to build camaraderie among ministry leaders, bring hope to a city, as well as engender civic pride among local residents.

Access more Show Notes with pictures and resources related to this episode.

More information about this podcast and helpful church and urbanism resources can be found on The Embedded Church website.

Related Resources

• For Columbus Podcast hosted by Adam Ward

• Barna Research Access

• Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America by James Fallows and Deborah Fallows 

• The Externally Focused Quest: Becoming the Best Church for the Community by Eric Swanson and Rick Rusaw

• To Transform a City: Whole Church, Whole Gospel, Whole City by Eric Swanson

Find these Key Terms on The Embedded Church website:

• Church Gathered / Church Scattered

• Social Determinants of Health

Show Credits

• Hosted and Produced by Eric O. Jacobsen and Sara Joy Proppe

• Edited by Adam Higgins | Odd Dad Out Voice Productions

• Theme Music by Jacob Shaffer

• Artwork by Lance Kagey | Rotator Creative

Access the transcript via this link.

Episode 6—
Rob Kaple on Church Renovation as Placemaking

EPISODE SUMMARY

What happens when a church asks questions about the neighborhood and their physical relation to the neighborhood before undertaking a major renovation? In Episode 6 of Season 4, Eric and Sara Joy talk with Rob Kaple, lead pastor of Grace Midtown in Atlanta, about how their church renovation became a defining moment for their church's posture towards the surrounding neighborhoods.

EPISODE NOTES

In this episode, Eric and Sara Joy interview Rob Kaple of Grace Midtown Atlanta. The church came on their radar when they noticed in Public Square, an online publication of the Congress for the New Urbanism, that the church had won a merit award for good design in the Block, Street, and Building category of CNU's 2021 Charter Awards. It is somewhat unusual to see a church featured in an official publication of the CNU and even more unusual when the church is an evangelical mega church. So their interest was piqued. After a little investigating they connected with Rob Kaple who is the Lead Pastor of Grace Midtown and had a front row seat for that building project.

In this interview our attention is turned to practical examples of placemaking. Rob provides listeners with a compelling story of how he and his congregation went through a paradigm shift as they considered how to best utilize their facility to support their mission. Their facility is located at the intersection of an upscale neighborhood and an underinvested neighborhood. At first they considered a complete tear down and rebuild of a new building that would be oriented towards the upscale neighborhood. But they decided that it was more in line with their mission to repurpose the main building and to orient their church towards the underinvested neighborhood.

This initial decision led to additional decisions which allowed them to leverage physical connections to their neighborhood. And after they had begun their project, they made the happy discovery that the famous Atlanta Beltline would be coming right past their front door, making the church easily accessible to pedestrians and bicyclists. This was a fun conversation and an unusual story to be sure. Our hope is that this kind of story will become less unusual as churches learn the value of placemaking and taking the physical context of their neighborhood more seriously.

Access more Show Notes with pictures and resources related to this episode.

More information about this podcast and helpful church and urbanism resources can be found on The Embedded Church  website.

Related Resources

• Grace Midtown Atlanta

• A new kind of church, in a former warehouse on CNU Public Square

• The Atlanta Beltline Project

• Atlanta Olympics

• Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City by Timothy Keller

• Will Mancini on Upper Room and Lower Room Thinking

• For a Kunstleresque smackdown on Atlanta read “Atlanta: Does Edge City Have a Future” in The City in Mind: Notes on the Urban Condition by James Howard Kunstler

• Congress for the New Urbanism

• Kronberg Urbanists + Architects

Find these Key Terms on The Embedded Church website:

• Embedded Church

• Mixed Use

• Border Vacuum

• Redlining

• Placemaking

Show Credits

• Hosted and Produced by Eric O. Jacobsen and Sara Joy Proppe

• Edited by Adam Higgins | Odd Dad Out Voice Productions

• Theme Music by Jacob Shaffer

• Artwork by Lance Kagey | Rotator Creative

Access the transcript via this link.

Episode 7—
Cynthia Wallace on Holistic Neighboring

EPISODE SUMMARY

How does a relatively small church with a "Gideon calling" bring big transformation to their neighborhood? In Episode 7 of Season 4, Eric and Sara Joy talk with Cynthia Wallace, Executive Pastor of Bible Center Church, about how the Oasis Project is seeking a multifaceted shalom strategy in the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

EPISODE NOTES

In this episode, Eric and Sara Joy interview Cynthia Wallace, Executive Pastor and Executive Director, about the providential birth of The Oasis Project, a community and economic development initiative led by Bible Center Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. When their pastor in Michigan prayed over Cynthia and her husband, John, saying they would go to Pittsburgh and create an oasis, they had no idea how prophetic that moment would be. With John serving as the Senior Pastor of Bible Center Church and Cynthia heading up the church’s The Oasis Project they have actively responded to their call to 'seek the shalom of the Homewood neighborhood in Pittsburgh.

Guided by the slogan, “the church has left the building”, their ministry to the neighborhood started small by simply picking up trash. As the church members noticed what they were seeing and listened to their neighbors, they began to see concrete opportunities to seek the welfare of their community.

For example, a problem with school absenteeism, has led to a vibrant transportation ministry. A problem with access to healthy food has led to an urban farm. A problem with a lack of third places (and accessible wifi) has led to opening a coffee shop. And the list goes on. The Oasis Project now hosts a residential community, a business entrepreneurship training program, after school programs, a commercial kitchen, and a number of other practical ministry initiatives. And, Bible Center Church is able to do all this with a modest congregation of a couple of hundred members. Tune in for the inspiring story shared by Cynthia about how she and her husband responded faithfully to this ambitious call the Lord had placed on their hearts.

Access more Show Notes with pictures and resources related to this episode.

More information about this podcast and helpful church and urbanism resources can be found on The Embedded Church website.

Related Resources

• The Oasis Project

• Bible Center Church

• Hope in Homewood – article about the  Everyday Cafe

Find these Key Terms on The Embedded Church website:

• Third Place

• Adaptive Re-use

• Gentrification

• Food Desert

Show Credits

• Hosted and Produced by Eric O. Jacobsen and Sara Joy Proppe

• Edited by Adam Higgins | Odd Dad Out Voice Productions

• Theme Music by Jacob Shaffer

• Artwork by Lance Kagey | Rotator Creative

Access the transcript via this link.

Episode 8—
Pete Kelly on Seeking Shalom in Apartment Buildings

EPISODE SUMMARY

How do we love our neighbors when they live in apartment buildings? In Episode 8 of Season 4, Eric and Sara Joy answer that question with Pete Kelly, CEO of Apartment Life, which is a Christian ministry that helps apartment owners care for residents by connecting them to relationships with others in their building.

EPISODE NOTES

In this episode, Eric and Sara Joy talk with Pete Kelly, the CEO of Apartment Life. For many reasons, Eric and Sara Joy are really excited to share with listeners this timely conversation. (Side note, Pete Kelly did visit Tacoma just two weeks after the episode was recorded and confirmed that Tacoma is way cooler than most cities in Texas -- this is Eric's note <--- [SJ would like to note that Eric is trying way too hard to make his city look cool] ).  

Over the past decade or so, there has been a renewed and encouraging interest in loving our neighbors within the Christian community. There have been some really helpful resources providing a persuasive call and practical suggestions for how Christians can engage their neighbors. Most of these resources understandably are focused on how to love your neighbor when they and you both live in detached single family homes. In these kinds of settings there are all sorts of organic ways to slowly build relationships with your neighbors.

But the question of how to engage neighbors when they (and/or we) live in apartment buildings remains. This has proven to be a much tougher nut to crack. Apartment dwellers don’t have yards or driveways where they can naturally connect with others around them. Fortunately, Pete shares how the team at Apartment Life has been working on this issue for a long time and have come up with some really interesting and effective strategies for building relationships with and among the apartment dwellers in our cities. What makes their ministry model especially compelling is that it also works as a business model. Many apartment building owners contract with Apartment Life because it helps them avoid costly turnover by retaining residents.

This is an important and timely conversation in light of the fact that we are undergoing a significant demographic shift right now and more and more people are eschewing the single family detached home in favor of higher density multifamily settings. As Christians motivated to seek the shalom of our neighborhood learning how to serve our neighbors in multifamily settings is going to be increasingly important.

Access more Show Notes with pictures and resources related to this episode.

More information about this podcast and helpful church and urbanism resources can be found on The Embedded Church website.

Related Resources

• Apartment Life

• Missional Living Curriculum developed by Apartment Life

• Videos featuring Apartment Life

  • Atheist Property Manager Plants a Church

  • From Dead End to New Hope

  • AL Team and Church Planters

  • Iranian Neighbor Accepts Christ

• Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design by Charles Montgomery 

• My Vertical Neighborhood: How Strangers Became a Community by Lynda MacGibbon

Find these Key Terms on The Embedded Church website:

• Affordable Housing

• Belonging

• Density

• Hospitality

• Missional Theology

• Mixed Income Neighborhood

Show Credits

• Hosted and Produced by Eric O. Jacobsen and Sara Joy Proppe

• Edited by Adam Higgins | Odd Dad Out Voice Productions

• Theme Music by Jacob Shaffer

• Artwork by Lance Kagey | Rotator Creative

Access the transcript via this link.

Episode 9—
Jonathan Brooks on Completing the Narrative in Your Neighborhood

EPISODE SUMMARY

How can a church help tell a more complete and restorative story in the neighborhoods that have a reputation for problems as well as neighborhoods that pretend they don't have any problems? In Episode 9 of Season 4, Eric and Sara Joy discuss this important question with Jonathan Brooks, pastor at Lawndale Community Church and author of Church Forsaken: Practicing Presence in Neglected Neighborhoods.

EPISODE NOTES

In this episode Sara Joy and Eric interview Jonathan Brooks of Chicago, currently co-pastor at Lawndale Community Church and the former pastor of Caanan Community Church in Englewood and author of Church Forsaken: Practicing Presence in Neglected Neighborhoods. Jonathan tells how his attempt to get out of Englewood by pursuing a career in architecture, led him right back to his old neighborhood where he had to learn to see it with different eyes. "Pastah J" shares about becoming a pastor in the neighborhood where he grew up and discovering that God was very much at work in this neighborhood of Chicago. Turns out that the narrative of Englewood involved much more than violence, drugs, and brokenness, and Jonathan found a lot of goodness and beauty throughout as he stuck around and got to know his neighbors. 

What makes Jonathan’s story particularly interesting is how he learned to ‘see’ his neighborhood while serving as a pastor at a local church. He learned that a local church could tip the scales towards the hopeful side of the narrative by engaging local residents and empowering them to make positive changes in the neighborhood. Jonathan’s insights about completing the narrative are not only for churches in under-resourced neighborhoods, but are relevant for middle and even upper class neighborhoods as well, where the tendency is sometimes to hide the pain and suffering within the neighborhood behind a façade of wealth and privilege. In those neighborhoods, completing the narrative involves being more honest about the brokenness.

Whether your neighborhood feels rich or poor, this episode can help you and your church practice God’s faithful presence right where you live.  

Access more Show Notes with pictures and resources related to this episode.

More information about this podcast and helpful church and urbanism resources can be found on The Embedded Church website.

Related Resources

• Jonathan Brooks

• Englewood Rising

• Christian Community Development Association

• Church Forsaken: Practicing Presence in Neglected Neighborhoods by Jonathan Brooks

• Making Neighborhoods Whole: A Handbook for Christian Community Development by Wayne Gordon and  John M. Perkins

• The New Parish: How Neighborhood Churches Are Transforming Mission, Discipleship and Community by Paul Sparks Tim Soerens, and Dwight J. Friesen

• Everywhere You Look: Discovering the Church Right Where You Are by Tim Soerens and Walter Brueggemann

Find these Key Terms on The Embedded Church website:

• Eyes on the Street

• Food Desert

• Gentrification

• Parish

• Placemaking

• Social Determinants of Health

• Third Place

Show Credits

• Hosted and Produced by Eric O. Jacobsen and Sara Joy Proppe

• Edited by Adam Higgins | Odd Dad Out Voice Productions

• Theme Music by Jacob Shaffer

• Artwork by Lance Kagey | Rotator Creative

Access the transcript via this link.

Episode 10—
Aaand, that's a wrap for Season 4! What we learned...

EPISODE SUMMARY

So, now what? In this final episode of Season 4, Sara Joy and Eric welcome back to the show Josh Yates and Chris Elisara of Ormond Center to reflect on some key takeaways from Season 4 and to offer specific challenges to pastors, professionals, and the 'piqued' to encourage them to seek shalom in their local context.

EPISODE NOTES

We want to learn more about who is out there listening! Please take this short survey to tell us more about who you are, why you listen, and how we can make the podcast better for you!

In this final episode of Season 4, Sara Joy and Eric, along with Josh Yates and Chris Elisara from Ormond Center, unpack some of the common themes and fresh discoveries of the past 9 episodes. Here are a few snippets from this conversation.

Audience: We discovered that we have at least three distinct audiences for our podcast. Obviously we have pastors listening as the majority of our guests have been pastors. But we have practitioners who have been trained in or work in the built environment (developers, architects, planners) listening as well. And, we have a number of listeners who are neither pastors nor practitioners, but are very interested in this subject. We call these listeners the piqued.  Which of these categories best describes you?

Churches: Churches are important anchor institutions in most communities. Churches play a unique role in bringing shalom to particular places. Local churches can help to contain and sustain the narrative in a neighborhood.  While we are committed to the idea that the church scattered can contribute to shalom, we continue to be inspired by all the surprising ways that the gathered church (with a humble, outward posture) gets drawn into what God is doing in the neighborhood.

Geography: The guests for Season 4 come from a variety of geographic contexts. Whether its better to define those contexts in terms of cities or states depends on how important it is to you that Texas gets named. In any case, we noted that we want to continue to expand the geographic variety of our guests.

Shalom as Soil: We discovered that our metaphor of soil being made in a bucket as a picture of the conditions needed for forming shalom was great, but needed to be developed a bit. The bucket analogy helps us see how local materials are transformed and utilized to bring new life to a community. But the bucket analogy is somewhat limited in its usefulness to leaders because it suggests a mostly passive role for community leaders who are seeking shalom. We turned to a compost heap as a helpful auxiliary metaphor for seeking shalom. The compost heap also makes soil, but unlike the bucket, it makes soil by an active process of someone adding materials to it. We talked about how those seeking shalom need to be adept in both passive waiting for and active contributing to the shalom of the local community.

Challenge: We end this episode by thinking of specific challenges for each of our three listener groups: Pastors, Professionals, and the Piqued. We’re hoping that every one of our listeners will identify with one of these groups and will consider taking on one of our challenges.

This has been such a fun and productive season. We are grateful to our partners at  Ormond Center for collaborating to make it happen and to every one of our listeners for continuing to listen and share with others.

We want to learn more about who is out there listening! Please take this short survey to tell us more about who you are, why you listen, and how we can make the podcast better for you!

 Access more Show Notes with pictures and resources related to this episode.

Sign up for our email list and find more information about this podcast and helpful church and urbanism resources on The Embedded Church website.

Related Resources

• Jeremiah 29:7

• Sex, Economy, Freedom, & Community: Eight Essays by Wendell Berry

Find these Key Terms on The Embedded Church website:

• Hospitality

• Shalom

Show Credits

• Hosted and Produced by Eric O. Jacobsen and Sara Joy Proppe

• Edited by Adam Higgins | Odd Dad Out Voice Productions

• Theme Music by Jacob Shaffer

• Artwork by Lance Kagey | Rotator Creative