What does it mean to trust God in an age when trust itself feels almost impossible? In this episode, Dennis sits down with pastor, author, and Christian Century contributor Katherine Willis Pershey, who opens up about her journey from secular skepticism through ordained ministry to a renewed and deepening faith in the God who acts. They talk honestly about the decline of progressive mainline denominations like the UCC, asking whether the crisis is not just numerical but spiritual, rooted in a slow drift away from confidence in the resurrected Christ toward a gospel of human programs and good intentions. Katherine brings both unflinching honesty about the institutions she loves and a hard-won hope grounded not in optimism about what we can do but in the promise of what God is already doing. If you have ever felt the tension between pursuing justice and trusting in grace, or wondered whether the church can find its way through death to resurrection, this conversation is for you.
Shownotes:
Life, Death, and Resurrection in the United Church of Christ (https://katherinewillispershey.substack.com/p/life-death-and-resurrection-in-the)
Please, liberal Christians, read Eugene Peterson (https://www.christiancentury.org/features/please-liberal-christians-read-eugene-peterson)
Every day is Holy Saturday (https://mbird.com/theology/every-day-is-holy-saturday/)
Katherine's website (https://www.katherinewillispershey.com/)
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