Episode 14 -- Friendship, Grief, and Love without Limits: Living into the Calling to Be the Person You Are

Jacqueline Bussie acknowledges that it took the sudden and tragic death of her best friend and husband, Matt, to help her to “unlearn” the cultural traps of overwork and of equating self-worth with productivity.  In this poignant and delightful conversation, Jacqueline speaks of friendship as her highest calling, of leaning into the long and anguished process of being “reborn” in the years since Matt’s death, and of embracing the importance of rest in seeking justice and in living into the calling to BE a person.  She asks – and invites us to ask ourselves: “What if I left behind all the titles & everything else and just allowed myself to love and be loved – would it be enough?”   Dr. Jacqueline Bussie is an award-winning author, professor, public theologian, and student of life in all its messy beauty, as well as a much sought after speaker and workshop facilitator. Her first book, The Laughter of the Oppressed won the national Trinity Prize. Her 2ndbook, Outlaw Christian: Finding Authentic Faith by Breaking the Rules won the 2017 Gold Medal Illumination Award for Christian Living and received a coveted starred review from Publishers Weekly. Her 3rd and latest book, Love Without Limits: Jesus’ Radical Vision for a Love with No Exceptions won the Reader’s Favorite Bronze Medal International Book Award for Christian Living, the 2020 IAN Outstanding Religion Book of the Year Award, and 3rdPlace IAN Non-Fiction Book of the Year Award. Also, Publisher’s Weekly named Love Without Limits “a must-read for all Christians interested in inclusivity for their communities.” An active servant-leader in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Jacqueline spent the last twenty years teaching religion to undergraduates at ELCA colleges and serving as the founding Director of the Forum on Faith and Life at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. Jacqueline's favorite things to do are walk on the beach, read good books, ride in the front car of roller coasters, spend time with friends, and travel to any place she's never been before.