Becoming Church Kristin Mockler Young and Naeem Fazal

Humor and loss can coexist and Molly Stillman’s life shows us how in her memoir If I Don’t Laugh, I’ll Cry. After losing her mother, then squandering the quarter of a million dollar inheritance, life continued to bring experiences that made her both laugh and cry.
 
This episode explores how to have joy in the midst of grief, what God’s sense of humor is like, how to navigate complicated family relationships and how to focus on the people who choose to be in your life when others choose to walk away.
 
Content warning: As Molly shares her experiences, there is brief mention of death, depression, miscarriage - and vomit - but it’s also a really great conversation filled with hope, laughter and how to find joy in the midst of all of it.
 
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READ:
 
If I Don’t Laugh, I’ll Cry by Molly Stillman
Tired of Being Tired by Jess Connolly
 
WATCH:
 
Kristin’s message on being an axolotl
 
LISTEN:
 
Breathing through Grief with Dorina Lazo Gilmore Young
The Bible is Funny with Anthony Ramos
 
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SCRIPTURE TO EXPLORE:
Judges 3 (King Ehud’s violent bathroom break)
Proverbs 17:22
 
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HANG OUT WITH US:
 
BecomingChurch.tv
Molly on IG: @stillbeingmolly
Kristin on IG: @kristinmockleryoung Mosaic on IG: @MosaicCLT
 
#becomingchurchpodcast #becomingchurch

There are easy conversations. Then there are conversations you never thought you could have due to a lack of knowledge, information or understanding. Bri Strensrud is a human dignity advocate who helps Christians detangle immigration and refugee issues from politically partisan, dehumanizing narratives. 
If you have a heart to help marginalized people but don’t know where to start in actively making a difference, this episode will meet you right at the intersection of fear and conviction with grace and compassion. Bri will help you better understand immigration as a human dignity issue and how you can seek out a holistic biblical perspective to know how God wants you to think about migrants.
Her book, Start with Welcome, is full of information and stories to bend your heart toward the marginalized people in your community as well as educational, practical things you can do to use your voice to make a difference.
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LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE:
Start with Welcome book
Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes
Evangelical Immigration Table
Women of Welcome
Sign up for a Borderland Immersion Trip
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SCRIPTURE TO EXPLORE:
Luke 10:29-37
Romans 15:7
1 Corinthians 13
John 5
John 15
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HANG OUT WITH US:
BecomingChurch.tv
Bri on IG: @bri.stenz
Kristin on IG: @kristinmockleryoung Mosaic on IG: @MosaicCLT
#becomingchurchpodcast

Diversity leads to disagreement, which leads to division. This is why it’s so much easier to go through life with people who look like, think like, vote like and believe like you do. But Pastor and author Rich Villodas challenges us to lean in to discomfort instead of letting fear keep us isolated.
Whether your conversations of tension happen in your family or your church, whether your conflict revolves around race, politics, social justice or sexuality, this conversation between 3 pastors leading diverse, multiethnic churches, will provide you with practical ways to stay engaged. Through curiosity, you can move away from emotional reactivity into conversations that protect your relationships with people you don’t agree with.
Share this episode with someone who believes a little bit differently than you as an invitation to a healthier, stronger relationship.
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LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE:
When Naeem showed up to chat with Marty Solomon
Pre-Order Rich’s new book: The Narrow Path
Rich’s past books in our library
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RELATED RESOURCES:
Mosaic’s Mission unpacked
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SCRIPTURE TO EXPLORE:
Colossians 1:17
Psalm 139
1 Corinthians 12:27
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HANG OUT WITH US:
BecomingChurch.tv
Rich on IG: @richvillodas Kristin on IG: @kristinmockleryoung Mosaic on IG: @MosaicCLT
#becomingchurchpodcast

Grief often brings up heavy feelings of sadness and pain but this conversation is filled with hope and restoration. If you are living with grief or you aren’t sure how to best support other people in your life who have experienced loss, you will find both practicals and permission to feel in this episode.
In a surprise story of unexpected loss and grief, Dorina Lazo Gilmore-Young had her faith put to the test when her husband was suddenly faced with a cancer diagnosis that he did not survive. She shares her experience on how God met her in her pain and how she grieved as a parent with grieving children who had also lost their father. This episode focuses on celebration and life, exploring the different ways people grieve based on their culture and proposing new ways of talking about death with children to remove fear and replace it with remembrance.
———— LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE:
Breathing Through Grief
Chasing God’s Glory (grief for kids)
———— RELATED RESOURCES:
Grieving Unexpected Loss
What Good is God when Life Hurts?
Healing Trauma with a Christ-Centered Therapist
———— SCRIPTURE TO EXPLORE:
Psalms 34:18 MSG
Genesis 16:13
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HANG OUT WITH US:
BecomingChurch.tv
Dorina on IG: @dorinagilmore Kristin on IG: @kristinmockleryoung Mosaic on IG: @MosaicCLT
#becomingchurchpodcast

“Let Your Husband Love You” may have been the first words that drew attention to Kristen LaValley’s work, but she wants it to be known that her frontal lobe has fully closed since then. And she has new things to say.
In “Even if He Doesn’t,” Kristen wrote the lightest book on suffering there is. If you’re not sure if you’re angry at God or His people, if you believe God is real but you’re not sure if He’s good, if you’re afraid God is going to forsake you because of all the things you’re holding…she has some words for you.
Kristen bravely faces the much-warned-against slippery slope to face Christianese platitudes that leave you feeling worse instead of better to show where God is in present in your pain, even if He isn’t showing up the way you expected Him to.
———— LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE:
Even if He Doesn’t
———— RELATED RESOURCES:
Is there Hope after Church Hurt? with Jess ConnollyBroken Crayons Still Color with Toni CollierWhat Good is God when Life Hurts with Amanda Held OpeltRepentant Pastors for Change in the Church with Ben Cremer
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HANG OUT WITH US:
BecomingChurch.tv
Kristen on IG: @kristen.lavalley Kristin on IG: @kristinmockleryoung Mosaic on IG: @MosaicCLT
#becomingchurchpodcast

Doubt isn’t the opposite of faith. If we lean in to it instead of running away in fear of where it could lead, it can actually be a gift that leads us to a more meaningful faith than we ever imagined.
Alexandra Hoover, author of Eyes Up and Without Wavering, has experienced a lot of resistance in her spiritual life. Through unexpected loss of close family members and church hurt on the side of vocational ministry, she has been left with unanswered prayers multiple times. Yet, she continues to see God’s hand in her life and believes in His bigger story.
This episode is for anyone who has experienced church hurt, doubt, questions or who wonders if their story is important enough to have an impact in the world.
———— MENTIONS FROM THIS EPISODE:
AlexandraVHoover.comCalling Academy
———— SCRIPTURE TO EXPLORE:
1 Corinthians 3Acts 9Hebrews 11Ephesians 2Philippians 2
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HANG OUT WITH US:
BecomingChurch.tv
Kristin on IG: @kristinmockleryoung Mosaic on IG: @MosaicCLT
#becomingchurchpodcast