Hey There
This podcast is for millennial skeptics, regular Sunday church goers, those who have given up on church, pastors, and explorers just wanting to learn a little more about the big book. Rev. A.J. Houseman started this podcast a couple of years ago to answer questions from her millennial friends that have left the church and address biblical illiteracy in the church. Questions like, “why don’t we ever talk about this part of the Bible?” or “Why do some Christians believe the Earth was created in a literal seven days?” or “How can you follow a God that flooded the Earth and killed everyone?”
Details
Each week, Pastor A.J. Houseman will have conversations with guest speakers who are pastors, deacons, professors, and other rad folks who have a seminary education or have other formal education in the Bible.
We will explore the original Biblical languages of Greek or Hebrew, the historical settings, and implications of the speakers (or non-speakers) in the Bible. We will discuss the uncomfortable parts of the Bible with scholarship, grace, and authenticity.
This podcast will not offer solutions or explain things away, but rather give us an opportunity to wrestle with the Bible... the whole Bible. This gives us an opportunity to wrestle with the scripture and strengthen our faith through exploration.
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Pastor A.J. and guests will talk about a scripture passage from the upcoming week's Revised Common Lectionary. The Revised Common Lectionary is a prescribed set of readings each week to accompany the themes of the church year. Sometimes we will explore parts of the Bible outside this structure, but for those that do attend church on the reg, you can follow along on Sunday too!
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Ten Foot Pole is a ministry of the discipleship team of the Delaware-Maryland Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America! What does this mean? It means a cool church has invested in our ministry and wants to help us share this good news even farther!
A Bit About Me
Rev. A.J. Houseman
Podcast Host
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Pastor A.J. is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She has earned a Masters of Divinity from United Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg, PA and a BA in Economics and Finance from the University of Northern Iowa. Pastor A.J.'s passion for the Bible lies in her education in Biblical studies, the Greek and Hebrew languages, and history. This education changed her whole outlook on the Bible, faith, and what it means for us to call ourselves Christians in our current state of the union. And she absolutely loves talking about it!
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Pastor A.J. and her family currently reside in Summerville, SC. In her non-podcasting life, she leads Lutheran Campus Ministry at the College of Charleston and St. Matthew's Lutheran Church. She loves to ski, play guitar, hang out with her baby girl and best pup, and eat tacos.
Theological Welcome Statement
The Ten Foot Pole podcast professes that all pronouns for God are valid and Biblical. We profess that all people are made in the image of God and that God is all genders and declares that all these humans are good and made in their image. We respect and affirm the gender identity and pronouns of all of our guests and listeners.
The Ten Foot Pole podcast theology affirms that all LGBTQIA2S+ folks are valid as they are, loved by God, and affirmed in scripture. If a listener is still working on this one for themselves, the Ten Foot Pole podcast is happy to help direct listeners to books, authors, articles, podcasts, and episodes of this podcast to enhance their theology and open their hearts. All content and guests of the podcast are affirming of the LGBTQIA2S+ community.
The Ten Foot Pole podcast theology recognizes and attempts to give voice to theological approaches and perspectives that have been silenced in historical church and church doctrine. Such as women, African descent, LGBTQIA2S+, and Indigenous understandings of scripture. The podcast host and guests are workers of justice, equity, and anti-racism. The podcast strives to name racist behavior, outline new theological approaches to racist theology, and give voice to BIPOC teachers.