Special Guests

  • Mr. Bennett — Singer, Poet, Punk and Lyrical Mutineer, Ukelele Virtuoso!
    He's back! If Bob Dylan & Tom Waits had a baby, then gave it to Leonard Cohen to raise – you'd have this guy! Mr. Bennett has spent the better part of his half century wandering and performing, including 18 years in the UK. He has supported acts like The Fall, Ron Sexsmith, Jonathan Richman, and has played a lingerie shop, The London Palladium, Camden Town and an Alabama house party for Satanists. When he wasn’t performing, he was fueling buses, test driving cars, selling cheese, being a butcher, a barista, barman, and a roadie for several rock bands including Bloc Party … “they were great, Wembley Stadium was a big show but I met Eddie Izzard in the loo and that was better”.
    planetbennett.com/
    Listen ← 27m:31s – 12.60 MB → Download

  • Bhaktimarga Swami — Canada's Leader of The Hare Krishna Community
    Bhaktimarga Swami achieved a remarkable feat in 1996 when he went the way of a pilgrim and walked on foot cross country from west to east across Canada, then back for a return journey from Cape Spear, Newfoundland to Vancouver Island in 2003, going full circle. He likes to share his unique experience and fond memories on the road after trekking 16,000 km's. Swami is a consistent feature in “The Longest Road”, a recent National Film Board documentary detailing the history of the people who shaped or were shaped by the Trans Canada Highway, the world’s longest continuous maintained road. Today, Swami joins us to explain what exactly Hare Krishna's believe!
    www.thewalkingmonk.org/Home.html
    Listen ← 27m:36s – 15.80 MB → Download

  • Lillian Daniel — Author Of When 'Spiritual But Not Religious' Is Not Enough: Seeing God in Surprising Places, Even the Church
    Lillian Daniel is a wife, mother, minister, author, and hosts the Chicago-based public television program, “30 Good Minutes”. Additionally, Lillian was recently featured on the PBS program, "Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly," and is editor at large for the Christian Century Magazine and a contributing editor at Leadership. Her work has also appeared in The Huffington Post, Christianity Today, Leadership Journal, Books and Culture, The Journal for Preachers and in the daily email devotionals available at ucc.org. She has taught preaching at Yale Divinity School, Chicago Theological Seminary and the University of Chicago Divinity School. She serves on the Board of Trustees of Chicago Theological Seminary and the Board of Advisors at Yale Divinity School. In October 2010 she received the distinguished alumni award from Yale Divinity School for Distinction in Congregational Ministry. Lillian has preached at the National Cathedral, Duke Chapel, the Festival of Homiletics and has delivered preaching lectures to clergy at King's College, London and Queen’s University, Ontario.
    www.fccge.org

  • Chris Heuertz — Author Of Unexpected Gifts: Discovering the Way of Community
    Serving the poor in Word Made Flesh communities across the globe for the last 20 years, Christopher Heuertz has learned a thing or two about living in close community with one another. In his new book, Unexpected Gifts, Chris reveals why communities are worth the work, addresses 10 tensions communities commonly face and offers ways to work towards resolution. “This is a book about the unexpected gifts of staying in friendships, relationships and communities,” writes Heuertz. “Stepping into community is far riskier than expected. It’s far worse that you expect it to be. But in the end, it’s far better than you could ever imagine.” Heuertz serves as the international executive director of Word Made Flesh community, where he and his wife Phileena serve women and children victimized by human traffickers in the commercial sex industry. Originally from Omaha, Neb., Heuertz has worked in more than 70 countries among the most vulnerable of the world’s poor, including three years in India, where Mother Teresa mentored him.
    www.wordmadeflesh.org/

  • Justin & Trisha Davis — Author Of  Beyond Ordinary: When a Good Marriage Just Isn't Good Enough  
    How safe is your marriage? The answer may surprise you. The biggest threat to any marriage isn’t infidelity or miscommunication. The greatest enemy is ordinary. Ordinary marriages lose hope. Ordinary marriages lack vision. Ordinary marriages give in to compromise. Ordinary is the belief that this is as good as it will ever get. And when we begin to settle for ordinary, it’s easy to move from “I do” to “I’m done”. Justin and Trisha Davis know just how dangerous ordinary can be. In this beautifully written book, Justin and Trisha take us inside the slow fade that occurred in their own marriage—each telling the story from their own perspective. Together, they reveal the mistakes they made, the work they avoided, the thoughts and feelings that led to an affair and near divorce, and finally, the heart-change that had to occur in both of them before they could experience the hope, healing, and restoration of a truly extraordinary marriage.
    refineus.org/

God Blogger

Talkback, etc.

  • The Counsel of Many
    This week on the Counsel Of Many: A young woman who believes that abortion is murder, just had a friend tell her that she had one this past summer. Now this woman is wondering how to move forward in her friendship. Should she continue on as though nothing really happened or sever the relationship completely because “doesn't the Bible say to have nothing to do with murderers?”

    “My friend just told me a few months ago that she had an abortion this past summer. I was absolutely floored by this information! I asked her why she didn't tell me she was pregnant and she said that she didn't want me to know because she knows that I think that abortion is wrong and that life begins at conception and she knew she was going to have one no matter what anyone said. I tried to be as loving and supportive as possible, especially knowing that there is nothing I can do to stop it all from happening NOW. I mean, she's right in assuming that I would have done anything in my power to get her to NOT have an abortion. Putting myself in her position, I can totally see that having a baby at this point in her life would have TOTALLY messed things up for her. But obviously there were other options that she could have chosen but... Anyway, it's too late. So I was thinking about how I feel about our friendship these days. Things have changed. I find myself thinking of her as a murderer. Terrible right? But is it? I mean, that's basically what she did. If the baby was 8 months older and she “terminated” it, she'd be in prison and the community would call her a child killer. So I'm just wondering what is the correct response as a Christian? Doesn't the Bible say that we should have nothing to do with murderers? My friend feels some remorse about the abortion, but it's almost as though I'm waiting and hoping that she becomes a traumatized mess before I re-invest in our friendship. I mean, SHE KILLED A BABY! I'm really confused. What do you think God wants me to do?”

  • God & Stuff
    Join Drew & Tim The Tool as they catch up on current events and the week's happenings in the world of Religion & Faith & Cults – Oh My! Today's God & Stuff Guest: Manya Brachear - Religion Reporter at The Chicago Tribune 
    www.chicagotribune.com/seeker