Episode 12: Contemplation & Craft Beer with Greg Richardson

Cocktail Theology

Music Credits

Confessions Of A Lesser Me Words & music by Benton Stokes. Available on Grace & Gravity at http://www.bentonstokesmusic.com.

Copyright 2018 Songs From the Basement (BMI). All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.

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Timestamp Info

0-2:15 Introduction of our guest Greg Richardson, blogger on contemplative practice on Patheos, Art Of Craft columnist for dabelly.com, spiritual director and consultant at strategicmonk.com. Plus, all the usual social media as strategicmonk.

2:15-7:14 Greg’s story of growing up to be a “right answer” guy, and while that was great for being a criminal prosecutor, it didn’t serve him in becoming himself. Why he became a lawyer: Perry Mason and presidential aspirations.

7:14- 11:50 When reality smacked into Greg: the theft of tires from a salvage yard, and the path to spiritual direction. California girls, Pasadena, the Rose Bowl, and the losing Wisconsin team.

11:50-18:30 How the practice of your faith—your spirituality—can change. The role of a spiritual director, as Greg practices: deep listening, asking questions, laughing and crying, Where counselors or therapists help you move toward an image of healthy or right; spiritual directors provide insight and practices to help you uncover new realities and openness. Spiritual practice vs spiritual discipline.

18:30-19:40 Where are you closest to God? Where is the sacred for you? When to go back to church, and when not to. Sacred is everywhere.

19:40-29:40 Interior stillness and solitude. Why it takes so long to get your head quiet, and how centering prayer teaches the rhythm, familiarity, and viewpoint of interior stillness. Greg’s experience as a Benedictine oblate as going home to silence. Stillness is within, and brings us back to ourselves.

29:40-37:00 How do you encourage community and find it for yourself? Check out Greg’s #wordstoliveby chat on Twitter Sundays, 6 p.m. Pacific. The Dream of God by Verna Dozier distinguishes between the institution of church and the practice of following Jesus. The apparent danger to others of Christian participation in civil spiritual conversation. Integrating spirituality into daily routine.

37:00-44:30 Greg schools Benton on beer, starting with the Sonoran White Chocolate Ale and Left Hand’s Nitro Milk Stout. The ins and outs of pilsners, IPAs, stouts, and porters, and nursing mothers in England. What craft beer is, maybe, and Greg’s dabelly.com column The Art Of Craft, on the spiritual aspects of brewing.

44:30-47:00 Benton fesses up to having more than one beer during the interview.

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