Kate Bowler

The prosperity gospel is a 20th century Pentecostal and charismatic teaching that God wants every believer healthy and rich and that faith is a force released by spoken words and that giving money to a ministry is a seed God is contractually obligated to multiply.

Kate Bowler said, Duke Divinity School wrote the standard history in Blessed, a history of American prosperity gospel from 2013.

Her thesis in one line kind of summarizing is the prosperity gospel is what you get when new thoughts doctrine of mind meets Pentecostalism's doctrine of faith and American capitalism's doctrine of success.

And that might be the most important line of this entire episode.

And it's something I wanted to talk about in today's episode.

I had Kate Bowler out to the painted porch in the studio recently.

If you don't know who Kate is, she's a four times New York Times bestselling author.

She has this great podcast.

But again, there is still that part of me that's, you know, if I go to a party in D.C., what do I tell people, right? Oh, wow.

Kate Bowler wrote a book called Joyful Anyways and has been doing sort of a whole series this summer.

So I think it was maybe partly just the contrast between what I've been thinking about with those emails and then getting your email.

And actually, I really I mean, I love the first part of your email talking about the woman that you saw on the streets of New York who was like singing and clapping.

Pause for Peace, A Blessing for Uncertain Times, featuring a poem by Kate Bowler.

I hope you enjoy this midweek pause for peace.

Each Wednesday, I pair an image with a poem, a little something for your heart and your nervous system.

When I came across this poem by Kate Bowler, a friend sent it to me, I just cannot imagine a more perfect poem for this moment.

A Blessing for Uncertain Times by Kate Bowler Bless you who do not know what happens next, who worry about the world we are walking toward.

May uncertainty remind you that you still have choices to make.

Bless you with courage for the small, faithful thing that is yours to do, to vote, pay attention, tell the truth, care for your neighbors, and keep showing up.

Bless you when you cannot see far ahead.

They do enormously.

So I've been wondering, what does it actually mean to treat someone with dignity when we really, really disagree with them? Is there a way to hold on to our convictions without being overcome with contempt? I'm Kate Bowler, and this is Everything Happens.

So today's conversation is a very special one.

We recorded it live in Durham, North Carolina during our annual fall event, and I was joined by my dear friend, Tim Shriver.

Okay, so I'm gonna pretend I'm doing this.

Not part of the plan, but here we are.

And when I get past Kate, that's gonna be the finish line, but you're gonna cheer like you mean it.

Like, you have to work, you're like, this is important that this athlete win.

In all this, Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing.

Our spiritual voice is Kate Bowler.

Life is a series of losses, says my father-in-law one afternoon.

What, Dad? Oh, I was just thinking about how, with age, it is one loss after another, he replies.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our concluding prayer is by Kate Bowler and Jessica Ritchie.

God, I'm fumbling around for answers, reasons, meaning.

And I found that exercise of studying the development of the prosperity gospel.

Kate Bowler had an excellent book called Blessed, where she does a great job on that.

But I found it fascinating and frustrating.

Fascinating because you get to see how all the pieces fit together.

Okay.

And I, like, tried to, like, you know, I was, like, chilling in my inner Kate Bowler or something.

Like, you know, how do I start a blessing even? Okay.

One of our graduates.