Bridgetown Audio Podcast

Joy: Part 1

Part 7 of the series "Unhurrying with a Rule of Life", as part of Practicing the Way. The twentieth century spiritual director Evelyne Underhill once said, “The spirit of Joy and the spirit of Hurry cannot live in the same house.” In part one of this two-part teaching, we explore a biblical theology of joy, and all the ways it is incompatible with hurry.

Fast Fashion & Blood Money

Our annual lecture on shopping habits and how they affect human rights and the environment. Taught by Josh Porter of Van City Church.

The Power of Margin in a World Without Limits

Part 6 of the series "Unhurrying with a Rule of Life", as part of Practicing the Way. Most of us live with low-grade fatigue, depression, stress, and a feeling of chronic burnout that rarely goes away. Tired is the new normal. The concept of margin – the space between our load and our limits – is alien in a secular world that is obsessed with time and efficiency, but has no vision of eternity. In this teaching we explore a biblical theology of limits, as well as the practice of simplicity as a way to live within our God-given limits and become people of love.

Sabbath Summit

Part 5 of the series "Unhurrying with a Rule of Life", as part of Practicing the Way. Ultimately nothing in this life, apart from God, can satisfy our desires. But tragically we continue to chase desire in a chronic state of restlessness, coupled with underlying anxiety driving us increasingly into a life of hurry. In this teaching we take a look at sabbath as a means to fight hurry and tap into the deep soul rest Jesus offers.

The Power of Quiet in a World of Noise

Part 4 of the series "Unhurrying with a Rule of Life", as part of Practicing the Way. Richard Foster once said, “Our adversary, the devil, majors in three things: noise, hurry, and crowds.” It’s not just the hurry of the modern, secular world that’s at odds with the life we crave, but the noise. For millennia, master teachers of the way of Jesus have said that silence and solitude are indispensable to the spiritual life. In this teaching, we explore the practice and power of quiet in a world that can’t stop talking.

The Case for a Digital Asceticism

Part 3 of the series " Unhurrying with a Rule of Life", as part of Practicing the Way. The odds are high that even if we come up with a healthy, wise, thoughtful rule of life, our digital devices will likely sabotage our best intentions. In this teaching we make the case for a digital asceticism, or a digital rule of life, as well as explore the key role attention plays in our spiritual formation.

Developing a Rule of Life

Part 2 of the series " Unhurrying with a Rule of Life", as part of Practicing the Way. Jesus said the secret to experiencing the life and joy He has for us is to “abide in the vine.” But how do we do this in the day and age of smartphones and news alerts and urban noise and the demands of adulthood? The answer from the ancient church is to develop a rule of life. In this teaching we explore this ancient, yet incredibly helpful idea.

The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry

Part 1 of the series " Unhurrying with a Rule of Life", as part of Practicing the Way. Dallas Willard once called hurry, “the great enemy of spiritual life in our day,” and said followers of Jesus (who was rarely, if ever, in a hurry) must “ruthlessly eliminate hurry.” In this teaching, we kick off our fall practice with the pyscho-spiritual case against hurry as incompatible with love, and touch on the ancient practice of a rule of life as a way to slow down to the speed of love.

Generous Living

Generosity is a lifestyle. In this teaching, we explore how to leverage all that we have been given for God‘s kingdom even in the age to come.

 

This teaching began with a video on the theology of generosity from The Bible Project. Watch the video here.

Becoming People of Generosity

The cultural current of our day moves us on a trajectory toward greed, materialism, hurry, and discontentment. But Jesus said that generosity is the key to living a happy, content, free life. In this teaching, we explore Jesus’ teaching in Luke 11 on generosity and the inner architecture of our hearts.