You're listening to the New Evangelicals podcast.

What's up, friends? Welcome back to the podcast. In March, we are doing women leaders in the church.

And I'm so honored to bring on Reverend Blair Trigstad Stowe. She's been on TNE Connect, our community hub, a few times.

She did a whole class on the Bible. It was fantastic. And today is going to blow your mind because she is a progressive church pastor, also a theologian, and believes in evangelism. Oh, yeah. Are you triggered yet? Don't be. It's okay. We talk about it. This conversation kind of blew my mind. I think you're really going to enjoy it. Blair is so wise. and it's like, I just love what she has to say. So check out this conversation. Let us know what

you think. And yeah, I'll talk to you all next time. See ya.

Well, this will be a treat. Reverend Blair, Trigat. Oh, I messed it up. I said it before we start recording. Let me try it again. Reverend Blair, Trig Stadstow. There we go. Yes. It's good to have you on the podcast. Thanks for making time. It means the world. Yeah, glad to be with you.

You did a class for our T&E Connect

community that I was like just kind of hosting and it was so good. It was so fantastic and

kind of just like the history of kind of I don't know, it just like it gave me like a real sense of context for kind of like

where we're sitting and like how biblical inerency has, just how so many of these things have

developed over time. Give me, you know, give the audience a little bit of background. Like,

what got you into this work? I'm just so curious. Yeah. So my role in the world is twofold. I'm a pastor and I'm a theologian. And my

pastoral work is within the United Methodist tradition. I'm an ordained elder. I've served in

local church ministries. I've planted churches. I've served in small rural churches and big city

churches. And so every setting that I've

been in, people aren't sure what to do with the Bible, particularly in more progressive

church spaces, which is where I come from. That's the church I was raised in, and that's the church

kind of spaces that I serve in. And discomfort with the Bible is just one piece.

I've also found there's a lot of just discomfort with traditional Christianity in general.

And wanting to be followers of Jesus, wanting to be part of a church community, wanting to be

part of a historic tradition,

but then feeling really wonky about the things that actually go along with that.

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