Amanda Oster is my first ever Podcast guest interview, and I want to thank her for being a part of the show and sharing her thoughts, experiences, and some great stories with us. This interview kicks off this 8 episode series that I’ve named “Women In The World: Voices and Perspectives In Their Own Words.”

In this episode, Amanda shares about her experiences with Community. Specifically, she dives into the idea that it’s not necessarily hard to find community, but communities can be challenging to build. We must take the first step and it’s all about engagement. Certain aspects of community including reciprocity and commonality are also discussed.

Amanda breaks down her Core Practices of Worship, First Fruits related to Excellence and Stewardship, Hospitality, Community, and Service.

We discuss the role and impact of the Christian faith in her life. As a young believer growing up, she saw her faith as her identity and viewed God as her therapist.

One of the principles that she gained from being a very active and involved participant in her faith from a very young age is the ability to live boldly, and to be vocal and outspoken. Amanda points out that speaking our minds is a helpful reminder of what it is that we care about and what we’re standing for.

In the later stages of Part 1 of our conversation, we began to talk about how her faith evolved as she got married, moved away, and began working in various ministry roles. We also explored the idea of speaking up to injustices and the kinds of questions she began asking more often as her faith shifted and changed. Some of those questions include:

“What are we doing all this for?”

“Where do all these ideas come from?”

“What kind of condemnation are we placing on people?”

“What kinds of things are we saying?”

The idea that rigid religious systems discourage questioning theology is discussed along with the harsh realities, loss of community, and shunning that so often comes to those who explore doubts and ultimately embrace a more liberal spirituality that is bigger, more expansive, and more inclusive than the faith we originally inherited.

You don’t want to miss Amanda’s perspective as she compares and contrasts traditional faith frameworks that often adhere to a Belief-Behave-Belong model. In a more open and inclusive faith lens, she shares how putting Belonging at the beginning of that model can positively change the way people love and care for each other.

Connecting with Amanda:

Amanda held her first Lyra Connect Event in March of this year and is working on other ones for the summer and fall. The specific dates for those events will shared in the near future. More information on this ministry project can be found here.

https://www.lyraministries.org

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