Today’s episode explores sexuality and spirituality as God-ordained realities. Ruth is joined by Rev. Dr. David Hughes and producer Colleen Powell, to discuss church and cultural distortions—repression, purity culture, objectification, and abuse—while affirming sexuality as a “very good” gift meant for joy, love, and generativity, including for singles and those not sexually active. In conversation the three share formative experiences as they relate to sexuality, observations on ministry power dynamics; purity culture’s impact, and more.
Season 29 is titled Becoming Human: With God in Our Bodies. Our goals this season are to confront the dualism between life in the body and life in the spirit, to hear stories of people who experienced their bodies as a place of encounter with God, and to explore the connection between the integration of life in our bodies and our spiritual lives with our leadership. We will be having deep, spiritual conversations with friends of the Transforming Center about their very human experiences in their bodies and how they’ve experienced God in and throughout these experiences. We will explore God in concrete bodily realities like gender, sexuality, race, ability, aging, illness, and death, to name a few.
Mentioned in the Episode:
A Church Called Tov, by Scot McKnight
Know My Name, by Chanel Miller
Hear Me Quickly, Lord by Ted Loder
Music:
Kingdom Come by Aaron Niequist
Led by the Spirit from Music in Solitude
We’re on Substack! “On the Journey with the Transforming Center” is our home for “reflection, conversation, and connection with our transforming community.” It includes thoughtful reflections from Ruth Haley Barton and the Transforming Center team, as well as alumni and friends of the Transforming Center, occasional special video teachings and guided practices, and space to interact with our content and respond with how God is working in your life through the posts. This is also where you find all of our podcast patron content! There are free and paid tiers. We’d love for you to join us over on Substack.
Support the podcast! This season patrons will receive special bonus conversations with each of our guests. Become a paid member of Substack today to receive these practices and so much more!
The Transforming Center exists to create space for God to strengthen leaders and transform communities. You are invited to join our next Transforming Community:® A Two-year Spiritual Formation Experience for Leaders. Delivered in nine quarterly retreats, this practice-based learning opportunity is grounded in the conviction that the best thing you bring to leadership is your own transforming self!
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