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David is a member of the community and he is also the person who gave Jeff the book, One Thought Scares Me, by Richard Dreyfuss. If you haven't listened to episode 4 you probably want to go back and start there. In this episode Lucas, Jeff, and David begin by discussing Dreyfuss' book but the conversation touches on several other topics as well.
In this episode Jeff introduces a book about Civics written by Richard Dreyfuss called, One Thought Scares Me. The book was given to Jeff by his friend David Devine and the plan is to have David on a follow up episode to discuss the book further. In the meantime, Jeff gives a brief overview of the book and reads from Chapter 17 which is directly relevant to the purpose of Living on Common Ground. You can learn more about what Richard is doing by going to his website: https://www.thedreyfussinitiative.org/
In this episode Lucas and Jeff resume a discussion which began in a small group at Jeff's house a couple of weeks earlier. The groups was discussion Richard Rohr's book, Universal Christ. Lucas made the argument that God cannot be a god if God does not exist prior to and apart from all other existence. Jeff didn't agree with this conclusion. The debate continues.
This week Lucas and Jeff visit with Gil Pollard. Gil was born in Louisiana and as a young boy moved back and forth to eastern Texas. Graduating from high school in 1962, Gil found himself immersed in all the 60’s had to offer. A wanderer at heart, his story takes us from east Texas, to Virginia, California, South Korea, Alaska, Hawaii, New York, back to Houston and finally lands in Nashville, Tennessee.
With this episode Lucas and Jeff begin “season two.” This season they talk with members of their community who share their stories, life experiences, and insights they have gathered through a variety of experiences. These conversations give us a glimpse into the community Lucas and Jeff have been referring to from time to time. First up is Larry Ward who has been at Grace UMC for 13 years. He was born and raised in Alabama, moved all over the country, and now lives here in Mount Juliet, Tennessee with his wife, Kay. We know you will enjoy getting to hear some of his story.
A discussion which meanders through topics such as Rome, Ancient Greece, World War II, The novels “1984” and “A Brave New World,” the Rise and Communism, Spanish and Portuguese Conquistadors, culminates in a claim that the United States is the modern equivalent of an empire. While Lucas and Jeff disagree about some of the details, they seem to both agree we live in and are citizens of the greatest empire the world has ever seen. The question is, what responsibilities do we have as citizens of this great country?
Lucas and Jeff explore the impact our words (and actions) have on our relationships. Lucas suggests Wounding is only possible when the hurt comes from persons you consider to be part of your group. If we continue to try and isolate ourselves from potential hurt we will continue to shrink our group. The ultimate conclusion becomes isolation which is not healthy and does not provide a long term solution. And while it may be true that Wounding can only happen when the hurt comes from persons in our group, there are still consequences for the things we say and do which go beyond our self identified community.
Lucas and Jeff discuss the current debate regarding the United States' southern border. The politicizing of the issue has clouded the reality. Both Republicans and Democrat politicians appear to be willing to use the border as a political weapon against their opponent while not offering any realistic solutions or address real issues. Fear wins the day. While Lucas has some suggestions and Jeff has questions, they can both agree there is a real issue.
In this episode Lucas and Jeff are joined by Krysta who is a licensed therapist whose specialty is PTSD and Trauma. Together they exlucasandjeff@livingoncommonground.complore the role the church has in being a place for people to process and recover from trauma as well as the role the church plays in creating trauma and spiritual wounding. If you yourself have experienced spiritual wounding and would like to talk further you can email lucasandjeff@livingoncommonground.com and they will get you connected.
Meet Mike. Mike and his wife, Jan, have been part of the Grace UMC community for about 3 years. They serve the community in a variety of ways including leading our efforts with the organization, Helping Hands, here in Wilson County. Mike spent time in the newspaper business and loves to write. You can read some of his stuff here: https://www.a-country-for-old-men.com/