0018 - The Weight - Leonard Sweet - "Rings Of Fire"

Show Notes:The place of Christianity in the greater culture is constantly changing. With constant changes comes increased challenges for Christians in terms of maintaining integrity in terms of witness and practice. What are the new ways that temptation permeates our daily lives? How do we stand firm in timeless convictions in ever changing times? How do we set our eyes on Jesus Christ despite the circumstances of the world around us?In today’s episode of The Weight, we engage these questions with Leonard Sweet, a scholar of United States culture, semiotician, historian, and United Methodist minister. Currently serving as the E. Stanley Jones Professor Emeritus at Drew Theological School, Sweet has built a reputation as one of the most influential voices in Christianity who seeks to communicate the Gospel by bridging together the worlds of faith, academia, and culture. Sweet is passionate about the role of the Church in the world and what a faithful future can look like for the people of Jesus Christ, especially in an increasingly divisive culture. In this episode, Sweet speaks bluntly about the aspects of today’s world that concern him, but also offers a vision of Christianity as a faith that isn’t separated from the culture of the world, but indigenous in it. He challenges listeners to recognize the ways that the Spirit of God can work through the culture of the world to make miracles happen and “bring the best out of the worst.”Resources:Check out Len Sweet’s book “Ring of Fire: Walking in Faith Through a Volcanic Future”https://www.amazon.com/Rings-Fire-Walking-through-Volcanic/dp/1631463942Listen to Len Sweet’s podcast “Napkin Scribbles”https://leonardsweet.com/podcasts/Follow Len Sweet on the web: https://leonardsweet.com/Follow Len Sweet on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lensweetFollow Len Sweet on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/LensSweetSpots