Fabric Podcast

A vision for human flourishing is all fine and good, but how do we get there? We’re going to spend some time talking about “social innovation” as we imagine participating in what we often call “God’s big vision of love”-- what Jesus more often called the “Kingdom of God.” What is social innovation, and how might we apply those ideas to our own relationships, workplaces, neighborhoods, and families?

Spirituality isn’t about mastering the right beliefs or achieving moral perfection. It’s about practicing love, justice, and humility in real time— over and over again. As we close this conversation, we’ll reflect on how imperfect practice can make us the kind of people this world needs.

In a divided world, too many of us avoid difficult conversations out of fear of “getting it wrong.” But growth happens in the tension. This episode explores how to show up for the hard conversations: with curiosity, courage, and compassion.

What we practice, we become. From everyday acts of kindness to intentional habits of listening, generosity, and reflection, our imperfect efforts shape us and ripple outward into the world. This episode reflects on how small, steady practices can lead to real transformation.

We live in a world that either demands perfection or tempts us toward disengagement. But what if the real invitation is to show up, as we are: unfinished, learning, in-progress? This episode explores the myth of perfection and starts imagining what progress would feel like instead.

Let's look together at what it means to be unleashed into a world that needs our compassion, our experimental presence, and our love. Fabric doesn’t gather just to feel good, but to become participants in creating a world that could be. Simple, right?

What if you didn’t have to believe the “right” things to find your place? What if showing up as your full, complicated, in-progress self was more than okay, but actually encouraged? This episode explores how belonging— real, no-performance-necessary belonging— isn’t the reward for right belief, but the soil where relationships grow, and faith/ trust can take root. 

Who makes “the church” what it is? Spoiler: it’s not just the staff, or the people with the mic. It’s all of us. This week, we’re reflecting on what we heard at the “What’s Up with Fabric?” conversation back in April, and naming the power of shared ownership in shaping church that doesn’t just exist for us, but because of us. What if church isn’t something you go to… but something we all create?

There’s a phrase the kids are using these days– to be “ten toes down” is to live and act with integrity, standing firm on what one believes. For over 18 years, Fabric has been experimenting with what it means to be church closer to the margins (read: in the ecotone!). Who’s in the sandbox with us, and what walls might we benefit from analyzing a bit further?

What might we find when we dig in the sandbox? In this episode, Ian McConnell welcomes artist, educator, and author Dave Scherer (AKA Agape*) back among us to share some reflection and frameworks for really getting in the sandbox and planting our toes in it. How do we acknowledge fear without letting it get in the driver’s seat?

When you hear the word “interfaith,” what stirs in you? We’re curious to learn more from Peter Digitale Anderson, Executive Director of Peace Catalyst about the gifts of “playing in the sandbox” with those of different perspectives and cultures.

Have you ever been repulsed by that sludgy, weedy zone between land and water? We’re going to dive into the ecological concept of “ecotones” to walk a bit closer to the edges of what may feel comfortable… it turns out, there’s some pretty rich soil in those borderlands.

The Mandalorian seems like a great way to explore how the walls created by traditionalism separate us from others, and even from ourselves. It turns out, “This” may not be the only way… 

There’s so much talk of division these days, and so much justified fear present in our minds and bodies. It seems like when fear is present, walls are built. It’s as true in churchy spaces as it is in politics, cultures, neighborhoods, and families. What would it be like to recognize that we’re all still playing in the proverbial “sandbox?”

What does it mean for a person, an idea, or a movement to have life beyond a death? It’s inspiring to witness when scraps and threads are picked up and lived out in a way that inspires not just new life, but widespread transformation. What part of the Jesus movement feels worthy of picking up and risking relative comfort to make real in our communities? This may be a good moment for us to really ask ourselves this question…

It’s one thing to talk about the virtue of vulnerability and another entirely to live it out. In this episode, Ian McConnell helps us wrestle a bit with the same thing Jesus’ disciples did: that gentle, tangible love acted out through us is as subversive and impactful as anything. It turns out, what Jesus was teaching isn’t somebody else’s job.

What kind of hero do we really want— and what kind of reality are we hoping for? On Palm Sunday, Jesus enters Jerusalem not with dominance but through a subversive act that disrupts both empire and expectation. How does the thirst for power distort our freedom— and what does it mean that Jesus refuses to play the game? Ian McConnell gets right into it!