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The VergeNow Podcast is designed to give encouragement, inspiration and guidance to creatives and innovative ministry leaders. Over the last eighteen years as an experimental “arts church,” Convergence: A Creative Community of Faith has come to believe that a vibrant spiritual imagination and skillful, disciplined creativity are the keys to faithfully meeting the challenges facing our churches, our communities and our world.
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God knows we need to see him. We need to feel God’s presence. This week’s meditation invites you to reflect on the ways God is present to you in the person of Jesus and through his Church - through us; God’s kingdom on earth. Originally created by Convergence for the Spiritual Collectives, “An Undivided Heart” Scripture Meditation Series answers th…
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God is not an old man with a beard sitting in angry judgment or an apathetic witness in the clouds somewhere above. God knows our weaknesses and failings and doesn’t hold them against us. In fact, his response is always compassion. This week’s meditation invites to internalize God’s overwhelming love and let go of any voice of condemnation. Origina…
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Do you ever feel like as you worry and hurry and plan and want, you’re looking but not seeing? Listening but not hearing? Loving. But the joy is missing? This week’s meditation invites you to take a step into the joy of God’s presence by really abiding the “one thing.” Originally created by Convergence for the Spiritual Collectives, “An Undivided H…
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The idea of worshiping idols seems so primitive. Yet, when I really think about it I realize that there are many things that steal my heart from true worship. This week’s meditation asks you to consider whether or not your heart is divided and invites God to redirect the desires. Originally created by Convergence for the Spiritual Collectives, “An …
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“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Says Jesus in Matthew 5:8. “A pure heart is one that is unencumbered, unworried, uncommitted and which does not want its own way about anything but which, rather, is submerged in the loving will of God.” -Meister Eckhart Wow, doesn’t that sound good? All I have to do is let go of all my “what …
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What is the root of worry? Isn’t it usually deep down, about security, safety, control? How about - identity? The Bible makes it clear that the person I call “me” is someone whose identity is already secure, rooted, defined. Someone that God is deeply in love with and yet.. I wonder how well I really know that “me.” This week’s meditation invites y…
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Join Rev. Lisa Cole Smith from Convergence for a four-part study exploring the spectacular effort of God’s chosen people in an art project of magnificent scope. It takes the entire community of makers, craftspeople, leaders, administrators, teachers and patrons all working together under the leadership of artists to fulfill God’s command: Build a d…
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Join Rev. Lisa Cole Smith from Convergence for a four-part study exploring the spectacular effort of God’s chosen people in an art project of magnificent scope. It takes the entire community of makers, craftspeople, leaders, administrators, teachers and patrons all working together under the leadership of artists to fulfill God’s command: Build a d…
  continue reading
 
Join Rev. Lisa Cole Smith from Convergence for a four-part study exploring the spectacular effort of God’s chosen people in an art project of magnificent scope. It takes the entire community of makers, craftspeople, leaders, administrators, teachers and patrons all working together under the leadership of artists to fulfill God’s command: Build a d…
  continue reading
 
Join Rev. Lisa Cole Smith from Convergence for a four-part study exploring the spectacular effort of God’s chosen people in an art project of magnificent scope. It takes the entire community of makers, craftspeople, leaders, administrators, teachers and patrons all working together under the leadership of artists to fulfill God’s command: Build a d…
  continue reading
 
You are invited to pause, breathe deep and listen for the still, small voice. WEEK 8: We Are Image Bearers. What is your response to God’s summons to true identity and purpose? To the lover’s call to deepest intimacy? To the voice that beckons you to follow? The command to awaken and live? This original scripture meditation series is an exploration…
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You are invited to pause, breathe deep and listen for the still, small voice. WEEK 7: We Do Not Choose. We Respond. Imagine receiving your calling in life as a visceral, tangible experience. Not something you choose or even know but something that happens to you. Something of a coming alive to a reality you may not have known existed. This original…
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You are invited to pause, breathe deep and listen for the still, small voice. WEEK 6: You Are a Cherished Creation. This is the voice that’s calling you; telling you - “You are My cherished creation. You have a purpose. Follow me.” This original scripture meditation series is an exploration of the nature of "call." It was created by Convergence for…
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You are invited to pause, breathe deep and listen for the still, small voice. WEEK 5: What Are You Doing Here? Isn’t that a question we all hear at some point? Triggered by life circumstances, age, or suffering. And we wonder, “What am I doing here?” This original scripture meditation series is an exploration of the nature of "call." It was created…
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You are invited to pause, breathe deep and listen for the still, small voice. WEEK 4: Where Are You? You were designed for communion with God. This original scripture meditation series is an exploration of the nature of "call." It was created by Convergence for our Spiritual Collectives series "On Calling." Watch the video and visit our video libra…
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You are invited to pause, breathe deep and listen for the still, small voice. WEEK 3: Please Come Close. We live our lives longing to hear this voice and to respond like lovers. This original scripture meditation series is an exploration of the nature of "call." It was created by Convergence for our Spiritual Collectives series "On Calling." Watch …
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You are invited to pause, breathe deep and listen for the still, small voice. WEEK 2: "Let There Be." And The Was! God voiced into being all of creation. And as he called out, he gave us not only life but identity and purpose. This original scripture meditation series is an exploration of the nature of "call." It was created by Convergence for our …
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You are invited to pause, breathe deep and listen for the still, small voice. WEEK 1: Is Your Heart Restless? A “call,” is no mere job or task. It's a summons that beckons to something deep in each of us. This original scripture meditation series is an exploration of the nature of "call." It was created by Convergence for our Spiritual Collectives …
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If we live in a constant state of wishing for "do-overs" we are unlikely to turn in any kind of audience-worthy performance at all. In this original video series from Convergence: Created to Create, we are invited to consider our responsibility to curate and create culture not only in our churches but in our world. Production/Editing: Dan ABH Scrip…
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The mystery of God requires us to experience and trust something that needs more than intellectual understanding. Art is not luxury. Art is order. In this series, Created to Create, we are invited to consider our responsibility to curate and create culture not only in our churches but in our world. www.vergenow.org Production/Editing: Dan ABH Scrip…
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Created to Create: Giving Up and Giving In. Could giving up and giving in be the key to success and happiness? In the lectionary text for this Sunday (Genesis 21:8-21 and Matthew 10:24-29) two stories are told about giving up and giving in. In the Old Testament, Hagar is at the end of herself. Having been mistreated so badly she is hopeless and rea…
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The Cultural Mandate of Genesis 1 insists that we are to form a culture, not simply allow it to happen to us. Yet, without conscious attention, we are left with a serious deficit of artistic and creative practitioners in our faith communities leaving us ill equipped to take on the task of culture making. How and why must we prepare those who would …
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What if we believed Jesus as much as we believe in Jesus? Learning to See: Fermentation In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), Jesus describes a process of complete transformation akin to fermentation; a process by which old ideas, habits and patterns are overturned and new insights are introduced to strengthen and ensure our flourishing. In thi…
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Right now, we are all left "looking up to into the sky" just like the disciples; watching and waiting. "Drowning Process" is an invitation to go with it. (Acts 1:6-14) Why not accept this forced break as a time to catch your breath? Why not observe (perhaps for the first time ever) this holy week in the church calendar to wait and pray with the dis…
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For Mature Audiences Only from VergeNow, suggests that sometimes we may be asking the right questions but, are unwilling or unable to listen for the right answers. Are we trained well enough in our sensitivity to the symbolic to really see where God is at work in our world? (Acts 22:17-31) In this series from Convergence on learning to see through …
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A Surveyor's Map considers the well worn paths of our daily lives as an opportunity for reflection on memory as a composite of all that has been, is now, and that is still to come. In this series on learning to see through the eyes of God, you are invited to consider the ever present mystery and symbol that points to something bigger than immediate…
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"Imagine the world and all that is in it as enchanted, haunted by the Holy Spirit and the presence of grace.” Andrew Greely. Explore the idea of "God's Word" as an invitation to seeing the presence of God in every aspect of life and nature. Meditation: Lisa Smith; Music: Jay Smith; Production: Dan ABH. www.ourconvergence.org www.vergenow.org Please…
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This week, Pastor and artistic director Lisa Cole Smith at Convergence leads with a mediative exercise and thoughts based upon a song written by musician/artist Sufjan Stevens. "We Christians believe that God is worthy of worship, but I wonder how many of us are secretly uncomfortable with this idea that it is our sole reason for existence. I often…
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Our "Gather" series continues this week with a LIVE conversation from our Gather 2019 conference with our good friend Dr. Elise Edwards on the topics of ethics, architecture, and convening difficult conversations in Church. Dr. Elise Edwards teaches courses in Christian ethics and theology at Baylor University. She earned her Ph.D. in Religion at C…
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The "Gather" series continues this week with Brian Kirby and our conversation about Taize and contemplative service gatherings. Dr. Brian Kirby graduated from Wesley Theological Seminary with a Doctor of Ministry in Theology and the Arts. He has pastored in Europe, Asia, and the US. Dr. Kirby is a musician and snowboarder who minsters in the Washin…
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Our "Gather" series continues this week with Erik Martinez Resly of The Sanctuaries DC. https://www.thesanctuaries.org Rev. Erik is a visual artist, community organizer, and ordained Unitarian Universalist minister from a mixed religious family, who grew up in Frankfurt, Germany. He brings experience as a hospital chaplain, public speaker, and pane…
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"Gather" continues this week as Lisa Smith is joined by Josh Hayden and Tom Lynch of Mission Possible and First Baptist Ashland, VA Josh Hayden, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Ashland and Tom Lynch, Minister to Students and Families, First Baptist Ashland; Co-Founders of Mission Possible, a one-day conference that allows young people to explore fai…
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Lisa Smith interviews Sam Bodkin, CEO of Groupmuse on the way intimate gatherings around classical music are meeting the need for soulful community among Millennials. Sam Bodkin is the founder and CEO of Groupmuse - bringing us together to nourish and harmonize our inner lives and our social, “outer” lives. By deepening our interior worlds with tim…
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Lisa Smith of Convergence continues our series on "Gather", a current case study on re-imagining worship and gathering well in soulful community. This week we sit down with Lindsay Hayes, a Ph.D student in Learning, Design and Technology from Penn State University as she outlines how the "flipped classroom" education model might translate to church…
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Artistic Director and Pastor, Lisa Cole Smith opens up the Gather series with an introduction episode on VergeNow's current case study discussing the "How We Gather" reports, Priya Parker's "The Art of Gathering" and recognizing that change is necessary in our quest to gain insight into how Millennials are changing the way we gather and the opportu…
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