We’ve reached that time of year again--The Weight’s yearly wrap-up episode. It’s been a year of conversations that covered a wide range of emotions: joy, hope, grief, fear, love. We talked about seeing the Holy Spirit at work, disagreeing from a place of love, the decline of mainline Protestantism, and the Methodist movement and its history of missional work. We talked to authors, pastors, researchers, and artists. We got to hear Chris get schooled by a beloved United Methodist Bishop. We got to laugh a little and learn a lot, and we are so glad that you, our listeners, joined us.

Eddie and Chris are once again joined by producer Cody Hickman to recap our fourth year of The Weight. This time they pull back the curtain and reveal some behind-the-scenes secrets. Who did Eddie ask to be a guest and was immediately shot down? How do Chris and Eddie cue each other over Zoom? Exactly how many kids does Cody have?

Thank you for listening to The Weight. We’ll be back in February.

Esau McCaulley returns to The Weight for a discussion about his newest book, "How Far to the Promised Land.” This is a joyful conversation that covers some heavy topics, like reconciling yourself to your history while charting your own path and creating your own story. And sometimes, finding your place in the story means finding your place with God and allowing God’s grace to emerge in unexpected ways.

This episode goes deep into the theological concept of atonement. You may not know what atonement is (broadly, the reconciliation of the relationship between God and people through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ), but today’s guest is here to help. Fred Anderson, author of Why Did Jesus Die and What Does That Have to Do with Me?, is pastor emeritus at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City. He retired after forty-two years in ministry, but also served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War and is the author of hymn texts.

Eddie and Chris talk to Nick Connolly, founder and lead pastor of Bright City Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Nick has a few good words to share with anyone facing hardships, defeat, or resistance. His new book, Don’t Give Up Just Yet, comes out in February 2024 and offers some practical ways to work through doubt, seasons of waiting, and letting life’s difficulties strengthen your faith in God and the path God has ready for you.

Today’s guest on The Weight gives us a framework and some history to think more critically about how we engage the news around Israel and Hamas. Dr. Graham Pitts is the Assistant Professor of History and Middle Eastern Studies at the Croft Institute for International Studies at the University of Mississippi. His focuses are food, famine, and environmental history in Lebanon and the Middle East. He first encountered Lebanon while he was a student at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, and his time studying abroad only increased his passion for the people of that region. Graham earned his Ph.D. at Georgetown University, and has worked at North Carolina State, Georgetown, and George Washington University.

Jorge retired in August 2023 from Grace Church in Cape Coral, Florida, after serving as pastor there for 27 years. Jorge has degrees from Asbury College and Asbury Theological Seminary, as well as a Doctor of Ministry degree from United Theological Seminary. He is a writer, a speaker, and a leadership coach who uses his years as a pastor and a leader to coach new leaders into building sustainable leadership practices.

Dean Colón-Emeric gives us a hopeful view of the future of the United Methodist Church through the lens of some of Christianity’s past saints, John Wesley and Thomas Aquinas, and they're . Dean Colón-Emeric acknowledges the struggles and fragmentation of Christianity in the American context, but for him, the end is not a thing to worry about. The end is just the beginning, because the end, in the Christian context, means reconciliation. We may not see the way to reconciliation, but we don’t have to. God’s got this, and our story isn’t over.

Eddie and Chris continue a conversation about Methodism and what drives it with their resident Bishop Sharma Lewis. Bishop Lewis’s assignment in Mississippi began in January 2023, and she comes to the state with excitement and passion for the people of Mississippi and what is in their hearts. Despite being in a season of disaffiliation and fragmentation, Bishop Lewis sees great things happening in the Mississippi Annual Conference, with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Today’s guest is Dr. Laceye Warner, Royce and Jane Reynolds Associate Professor of the Practice of Evangelism and Methodist Studies and Associate Dean for Wesleyan Engagement and Hybrid Programs at Duke University. Dr. Warner is the author of Saving Women: Retrieving Evangelistic Theology and Practice, The Method of Our Mission: United Methodist Polity and Organization, and co-author of From Relief to Empowerment: How Your Church Can Cultivate Sustainable Mission and Grace to Lead: Practicing Leadership in the Wesleyan Tradition.

Chris and Eddie are joined again by Reverend Dr. Will Willimon, Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry at Duke Divinity School and former Bishop of the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church. Rev. Willimon, Chris, and Eddie talk about what it means to be part of the United Methodism, with its tradition of being the Gospel on the move, and how that tradition translates into today’s world.

Today’s guest, Dr. John Wigger, is a professor at the University of Missouri, where he specializes in US social and cultural history, including religious history and the history of flight. His most recent book is about the mystery of hijacker D.B. Cooper, but he is also spent a lot of time researching and writing about the history of the Methodist movement in the United States. Dr. Wigger traces the roots of Methodism through other Protestant denominations, including the rise and growth of Pentecostalism.

Our guest today is Edward Grinnan, Editor-in-Chief and Vice President of Guideposts Publications, which includes Guideposts Magazine, Angels on Earth, and Mysterious Ways. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and earned his MFA from Yale School of Drama, where he studied playwriting. He is also the author of The Promise of Hope, Always By My Side, and A Journey of Faith.

How do you disagree with someone in ways that allows the Holy Spirit to work within you--in ways that promote love, patience, faithfulness, and peace instead of hatred, anger, and dissent? Kathy Khang and Matt Mikalatos are cohosts of the Fascinating Podcast and the authors of Loving Disagreement, and they offer some thoughts on living in community with one another and working through disagreements in a Spirit-led way.

Every moment--as mundane as doing laundry or as overwhelming as losing a loved one--can connect us back to God’s great story. But finding the words for those moments can be hard. Today’s guest has words to share. Doug McKelvey is author of the Every Moment Holy books, three volumes of prayers for the ordinary moments in our lives.

Matt Luke is a former football player and coach, who served as the head coach for the University of Mississippi (and was a member of Oxford University United Methodist Church while Eddie and Chris pastored there.) Matt is probably most well known for helping to lead the University of Georgia football team to a National Championship win in 2021 as associate head coach and offensive line coach. After that win, Matt stepped away from coaching football in February 2022.

Shane is very open and honest about his story. His childhood diagnosis of hemophilia led to him contracting HIV and hepatitis-C after a blood transfusion, which drastically changed the course of his life. The social stigma surrounding HIV almost stopped him from being ordained in the United Methodist Church, and led him to some difficult moments in his first appointment in the Mississippi Conference. Shane continues to hold on to the words of his grandfather, to make every day matter and to live his life so that every step he takes--no matter how many he has--matters.

Theologian W. David O. Taylor is an author, speaker, and minister with a heart for bringing together art and ministry. He is the director of the short film, Bono & Eugene Peterson on The Psalms. He currently serves as Associate Professor of Theology and Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary. His most recent book, Open and Unafraid: The Psalms as a Guide to Life, shows readers how to use the poetry and song of the psalms to bring their anger, doubt, praise, and thanksgiving to God--even if what we’re feeling seems disrespectful or even unfaithful. The psalms are prayers that have been prayed for thousands of years, and cover the entire spectrum of the human experience.

Lowrey is the founder and CEO of the 18th Ward, a non-profit that provides high-quality, low-cost youth sports programs in New Orleans. All kids are welcome to join the 18th Ward, regardless of race, gender, income, or neighborhood. As a kid growing up in Tupelo, Mississippi (along with Chris), Lowrey got to experience the formation that comes from not only being able to play sports, but to do so in a lower-stakes environment that fostered teamwork and friendship. Many families can’t financially afford the expenses that come with competitive travel ball teams, so Lowrey is providing a path for all kids in New Orleans to reap the benefits of simply getting to play.

Today’s conversation with Anne Snyder might give you a little hope. She joins Eddie and Chris in a rich discussion of the Christian imagination, bringing back our shared stories to build community and move forward with more grace and joy--concepts that have seemed a little hard to grasp over the last few years.

We are excited to welcome Barbara Brown Taylor to The Weight for a conversation about hospitality and being in the center and being at the edge of a religion--how is it different when you’re the outsider versus when you’re on the inside? How do you let people who believe in something completely different strengthen your own faith?