The Bleeding Purple Podcast:

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Post Mclaren Thoughts & Feedback

In this minicast I comment on the thoughts & images lingering in my mind after the interview; I play and read some comments and emails from listeners; and I share a few other random announcements.
Stay tuned for some exciting new interviews, musings, and audio experimentation (ever heard of a showercast?)

From this point on, I plan to only include music on the show from people I know or have met at some point.

Music: Mandy Troxel

For some reason audacity was stealing chunks of audio and no matter how many times I recorded, the thief snuck back in.
So, I offer this as is. Sorry.

Check out the v. interesting purple discussion this has sparked over at "The Ooze" Forum.

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Interview with Brian Mclaren Part II

Part II
Note (Edit, 3/18/2006):
I just noticed from a spike in my web stats today that a mass mailing went out to what looks like a group called "light house trails". I feel sad and somewhat frustrated that the 'marketing' of that post seems to dramatize and (intentionally?) misrepresent the issue, but I know I have fallen to the same temptation myself, so I can't get too upset. However, to those of you visiting this site and listening to the interview with 'heresy hunting' pre-motives, I ask that you please:

Start with an open and thoughtful mind, as well as a humble and loving spirit. As mentioned in the interview, their are ~35,000 christian denominations --its really time to start humbly listening and learning from each other.
Try to let God's "perfect love" cast out all fear, for fear is the root that gets us all divided and judging each other. A deep trust in God's perfect and unconditional love is the only way out.
Check out a conversation like this one, in which both christians with more conservative and liberal views have been talking about the same "false advertising" quote and having a mostly respectful dialogue.
Despite what I said in the blog of the first interview, I'd encourage you to start from the beginning.

In Christ's peace,
Leif

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Here's the second half of the interview with Brian. This half we continue the hell-busting, as well as consider question like:

Is Christian exclusivism unavoidable with a high view of Jesus?
Why is evil evil?
Does an after-life focused theology contribute to earthly injustice?
How can someone like myself start to trust/believe things about God again when so many beliefs seems to continue changing?
Do our human concepts of God innately become idols?
How many people really feel God's presence daily? What to do if its a "dark night of the soul"

Be 'the first' listener to leave audio feedback
Call toll free, 1-888-654-2278 (65-gcast). Then enter the number 321-321-4321 (pause for code)-4321. Leave your message and then in about 5 minutes it will be live --check the Gcast widget to your right for other comments from me and other listeners.

Shownotes:

See Previous Podcast Shownotes
Pete Rollins, on How (not) to think of God (Mclaren's 4ward)
The Last Week, Borg & Crossan
Image above taken from the "Suddenly Seminary" conversation with Brian Mclaren

Technorati Tags:
Brian Mclaren, Interview, Spirituality, Emergent, Hell, Christian Exclusivism, Jesus, God, Universalism, Theology, Eschatology, Soteriology, Hermeneutics, Marcus Borg, Churchianity, Doubt, Hope,

Sunday, January 08, 2006

Brian Mclaren Interview Part I

Overall, a great interview! Thank you Brian. I hope the rest of you enjoy the show and leave some feedback here or call in using the toll free Gcast number below.

Edit: I suggest that those of you who are limited on time, or who want to jump into the best of the interview --skip this first one and listen to #2.

In this show we talk about:

Criticism Brian has received since writing A Generous Orthodoxy and The Last Word... and how to respond 'in purple' fashion.
What to make of the violent imagery Jesus occasionally makes use of in the NT (ie Mt 24:51)
The importance of having an hermeneutic of love
Fear and the toxic doctrine of hell
If hell is true, is the meaning of the cross false advertising?

On your right is the new listener feedback player, and the RSS feed as well.

Some of you may also be interested in the paper I wrote and shared with Brian. Its written as a dialogue between four different positions on topics ranging from divine justice, the nature of scripture, and the meaning of hell. As many of you know, this project was foundational to my coming to the conclusion of truly good news, of the hope of the universal reconciliation of all to God.

Authors & Books mentioned:

The Coming of the Son of Man, Andrew Perriman
The Secret message of Jesus, Brian Mclaren
A Generous Orthodoxy, Brian Mclaren
The Last Word & the Word after That, Brian Mclaren
The Last Week, Borg & Crossan

Other Notes:

Technical notes:

Gizmo Project (How Brian & I did the interview)
M-Audio MicroTrack (My new portable recording studio, see below)
Podcast 411
Gcast

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Happy 06!

Hello friends, enemies and mysterious beings.
I hope you've had some quality holiday time and are as excited as I am for the new year. (I'm a sucker for the freshness of a new year.)

This is just a quick post to let you know that I'm back and ready to cast with some fun new portable podcasting gear (check out the M-Audio Microtrack -I got a great price on it and bought it with combined CHristmas money/returns --thanks Gma, Pama, and PaPete)

Currently working on:
1)A new year's experiment: Each day I'm choosing a different focus (Will/Work, Getting Support, Positive Thinking, Spirituality, Bodily Health) and seeing how it effects my day and doing a short audio blurn on it.

2)This Friday is my interview with Brian Mclaren! Check the comments for the question clusters I've emailed him. I hope to cover some of those questions/topics.

3)I have plenty of other fun and interesting podcasts ideas in mind and am excited about each of them. If only I can find the time to do them. Patience might be a virtue, but I tired of waiting for it. (;

Let me know if you have any ideas of people to interview (including yourself), or other projects. Here's to a wonder-filled new year!
-Leif

Friday, December 16, 2005

Break for the holidays

Some announcements and thanks to specific listeners.

Well, it's time I take a break to give my attention to where it should be --family, an upcoming new year, and the meaning of this holiday (which I'm still really trying to figure out). I also need a break to get back to the fun of podcasting. I've gotten off track and become way to obsessed with 'stats' and promoting the site --and I think this has diminished the quality of the show. Sorry bout that, if you agree. I want to get back on track. Fuck it if there are 2 or 2000 of you listening. I mean, nothing personal...you know what I mean. (For the record, it looks like about 100 downloads a week for new shows, 25 same show each week on average after that).

Next podcast probably won't be till mid-January, and will probably be the interview with Brian Mclaren (he gave me the 21st of this month, but Anna knew I'd be too distracted if I tried to do that show during Christmas break, so I've postponed).

Thanks to Bruce Cockburn for being the kind of person I think I can assume would be okay with playing snippets from his music on my podcast--hopefully ya'll go out buy his albums. He's one of the most amazing artists and 'prophets' alive.

Have an wonder-full holiday and a very purple Christmas, and I look forward to being back with you in 2006!

Friday, December 09, 2005

Lectio Divina Purple Style

Possibly the first ever podcasted Lectio Divina --a devotional style meditative reading of Psalm 76. Thanks to my wife, Anna Hansen, for doing the reading so heartfully. In this podcast, Anna reads once through, then I respond to each phrase with a spontaneious prayer, and then she reads a final time. Hope you like it, let me know what you think!

Reading comes from the contemporary, and highly suggested, Psalms for Praying, by Nan C. Merill. This text is not meant to be a literal translation, rather a contemplative and personalized translation. Occasionally it gets a little too psychologized for me, but I do really like it.

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

PFAQ (Potentially Frequently Asked Questions)

PFAQ
(Potentially Frequently Asked Questions)
for the Bleeding Purple Podcast.

1. Do you really get asked these questions frequently?

No. I am primarily doing this to answer the questions for myself --why AM I doing this? But yes, I do get asked occasionally.

2. What is this podcast about?

I've described it elsewhere as "The musings, interviews, and audio experimentations of a guy attempting to stretch between the best of blue and red. Subject matter mostly revolves around honestly exploring spirituality, creativity, and various other wild topics. This is not a political podcast –though it does occasionally try and get at issues behind the politics."

It's about:

Experiencing the ‘healing-pain’ of trying to reach out to find the truth, beauty and goodness from both the blue and the red.

Getting beyond blue and red, left and right, conservative and liberal, orthodox and unorthodox, us and them (aren't all terms , in the end, self-righteous oversimplifications anyway?)

Being Honest about how little I really know, and yet also honest about what I really hope to be true.

3. Can you give me some purple examples?

Check out people like:

Jim Wallis (and his new book “God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets it Wrong, and the Left Doesn’t Get it”)
Brian Mclaren (and his new book “The Last Word, and the Word after That.”)
Madeleine L’engle.
Many more, who I hope to add and honor later.

Politically (& spiritually) speaking, check out articles like:

4. Why are you doing a podcast? Isn't podcasting kind of ego-centric?

Well, um, it can be. Sometimes, either from the black-hole of ego or everyday loneliness, I am motivated to do this stuff for attention, but I don't think its the only motivator.

My other main motivators for doing a podcast/blog are:

*I like meeting and talking with interesting people about interesting topics --and being a podcaster gives me an extra easy excuse to do it, "Um, hi, I have a podcast called Bleeding Pur...what...a podcast? Oh, its like an internet radio show...yeah, well, anyway...would you be open to do an interview with me? Really, cool!" I think most people are pretty psyched that somebody would want to interview them. I get to then share the fruits of this with others. Fun!
In addition, interviewing folks for my podcast increases my interviewing skills and, honestly, I like it so much I might just want to do it professionally some day.

*I also think that I have a number of things to say, what I call "musings", that might be of interest and import to others. They're usually about spirituality, the future, our culture, etc. So, I occasionally muse out loud about those as well, hoping to spark some hopeful conversations.

*Lastly, the "audio experimentations": I love music, I love to sing, I'm trying again to learn guitar, and I love geeking around with tech stuff --so this is my catch all phrase. It gives me a chance to show off some singing, experiment with mixing, etc. Who knows what else will come from this.

5. Can I be on your show?

Most likely...I'd love to have you on. But lets meet first and find out what you'd like to talk about. You can email me at bleedingpurple@gmail.com, leave a voice mail at 206-600-4556, Skype or Gizmo me at Bleedingpurple, or just leave a comment on one of my posts. I look forward to meeting you, and perhaps to having you on my show.

6. How can I keep updated about your shows, and help promote them as well?

Well, if you have a podcast receiver (itunes, ipodder, juice, etc) you can subscribe to the feeds.feedburner.com/bleedingpurple feed --there are links on my main page as well. The best way to help promote the podcast is to tell people you know --face2face, email, on discussion boards, etc. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

7. Can I donate thousands of dollars to Bleeding Purple --I think what you are doing is wonderful and has the potential to quickly usher in world peace.

I get asked this a lot, and really, I'm flattered. While my family does need some increased flow, and I would love to get paid for this, I don't currently have an easy way for you to make donations. If you are interested though, pleae email me and I might then start to make this an option.

Saturday, December 03, 2005

Announcements & Podcast Shout Outs

Exciting announcements as well as shouts for Podcast 411 and 5 Questions Podcast
Thanks to Mortal for the background sound.

Seven Fun New Exciting Nifty Changes to the Blogspot:

1) It is now readable! Purple goo is gone, standard hipster blogpage is moving in.

2) You can now listen and stream the audio live right there on the site, thanks to the PuPu player

3) You can leave comments on the podcasts

4) You can easily instantly subscribe (free of course) to my podcast using the "FEED" button

5) Cool google-maps style Frappr GUESTMAP -please sign it, its sooo easy. You'll see the link on the left. You can then see, even with an actual satellite image, where you and other listeners/friends/family are. You can also scroll through a list of pictures that people are starting to leave.

6) You can see my list of my favorite podcasts. AND you can search the audio of my podcast and others with the amazing Podscope, right there on the page.

7) You can leave voicemail or call me (and leave net voicemail) with the very cool skype or Gizmo project applications. Links on the page.

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Zinnia does the Humpty Dumpty

Need I say more?

My daughter Zinnia's first song.

Sunday, November 27, 2005

Angels, Aliens, and Artificial Intelligence: Part III

The dialogue with Ron from Awaretek continues. We start woth some political pokes but spend most of this section sharing our personal experiences and thoughts about the question: If God is infinitely transcedent, yet loving, can we expect, or at least seek, to experience God’s presence in tangible ways?

God and the truth humanity experiences and expresses about ultimate reality seem to be getting so complex, how can we sort it all out? Maybe an alien or an angel can help us? Or maybe a soon coming AI will sift through it all and tell us the answers to life's ultimate questions. See 'Hitcher's Guide to the Galaxy' for a preview to this scenario.

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Bare-ass dialogue about Jesus via yellowtail, Part II

The dialogue continues...I hope you enjoy it!

(This image is from an excellent dialogue book between conservative and liberal scholars and friends, Marcus Borg and NT Wright, titled "The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions")

Sunday, November 13, 2005

Bare-ass honest dialogue about Jesus via Yellow Tail

My friend Neil Sittler and I have a totally honest, no bullshit dialogue about where we are at with Jesus at this point in our spiritual journey.

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Aliens, Angels, & Artificial Intelligence: Part II

Second part of my interview with Ron (see below). We question the validity of supernatural experiences, and explore all over the place.

Saturday, November 05, 2005

Bleeding Purple Promocast!

Just finished my first Promo for the Bleeding Purple Podcast. I think it turned out pretty durn good. Let me know how it sounds on your end and if you have any suggestions...

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Aliens, Angels, & Artificial Intelligence

A fun, fascinating and thought-provoking conversation with Ron Stephens, host of the AwareTek Podcast. We explore the connections between the supernatural, scientific and extraterrestrial phenomena.

Thursday, September 29, 2005

Pink Coup D'Etat

My two year old daughter Zinnia and wife Anna almost upset the balance of the universe.
Pink!?

Thursday, September 15, 2005

My Spiritual Situation

So, there it is. I laid it on the line. I actually hope I don't get any 'advice', but would rather hear from people who are similarly struggling or who have come through and are finding ways of being a purple christian, or a liberal universalist charismatic....nah, none of the labels really work.

And, in summary, the struggles were:

How do I find (where does it come from?) motivation/energy/love to mature spiritually now that I reject fear whenever it comes up as my main motivation to grow?
If God is really personal, then why am I not more directly pursued --why does it seem I have to 'make the first move'?
How do I move into a new kind of purple spirituality and actually live out my new theology (like changed beliefs about the cross, the nature of salvation, mission, God, etc)
Lack of Spiriritual community. Do I 1)Find the smallest, closest church --no matter what they are like --and enter into their community life? 2)Find the spiritual community that best fits my present core beliefs and commit there? 3)Start a small group at home (or somewhere) and start being church as I understand it best to be?

Yeah, something like that.

Oh yeah, and the long, occasionaly boring recording of my spiritual autobiogaphy is here.

Friday, August 26, 2005

Update & Upcoming Shows

A very brief update with announcements of upcoming shows. Thanks to The Innocence Mission for “Where does the time go” as BGM.

Sunday, August 07, 2005

Hell's Kitchen w/ Mendozza: A dad's night out on T-town.

And now for something completely different. Check out this interview with Mendozza, a “heavy stoner-rock” band from Vancouver, BC. I like to stretch myself with new experiences –keep your mind open for some fun surprises!
Here are some pix of the evening.

Thursday, August 04, 2005

Screen Addiction: Are we becoming too dependent on tech?

This turned out well! A somewhat brief summary of my personal struggles with technology, and my thoughts on how it is effecting our culture.

Read my paper "Exploring the nature of technology through the magic within Tolkien’s myth" through the if you're interested in more.

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Stupid Church People Podcast Feedback

Theres a funny, dorky, honest, church-challenging (for the red) podcast called 'Stupid Church People'. I offer some feedback on how perhaps to get out of the us/them self-righteous labeling cycle.

Art to the left is by Josh, one of the two stupid church people podcasters.

Sunday, July 17, 2005

Goodbye Jim Shrout

Some reflection on the recent passing of my childhood stepfather –Eagles and Steve Miller Band in the background.

Thursday, July 07, 2005

Close your eyes

A fun, experimental, layered song; written in 5 min, produced in 2 hrs

Sunday, June 12, 2005

Voyage of the Dawn Treader Reading

A reading from Voyage of the Dawn Treader by CS Lewis, and some great songs. Thanks to Dawntreader, Joni Mitchell, and Iona for the tunes. This Podcast is dedicated to the kids of Camp Erin.

Thanks to Dawn Treader for the ending song, Innocence.

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

Let it Rain

I explain why this is called the Bleeding Purple podcast, and then mix my voice up for some fun sung audio experimentations.

Saturday, May 14, 2005

Interview with musician John Louviere

Interview and songs with an excellent musician and a best friend.

Here is a great song called "Honestly" from John's recording session in NY.

Saturday, April 30, 2005

Bahai Interview w/Pasha

Excellent interview with a Camp Seymour Bahai guest.
More about Bahai