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A few weeks ago, Harbor Media co-sponsored a short conference with Sojour Network, a church

planning network here in Louisville. I served on the board, and they wanted to give pastors and

ministry leaders a chance to gather and think about the idea of redemptive presence.

What does it mean for Christians to be a redemptive presence in our

communities? So I got together three people who have done a lot of writing and thinking on the topic.

It was a great event. There were talks from each speaker. They ranged from art to politics,

to what it means to be the church. And in the middle of the day, there was a panel discussion on this

idea of redemptive presence or faithful presence.

The idea was to kind of have a live episode of Cultivated. So here it is. It's not perfect.

You'll hear a couple of spots where we had trouble with mics or where mics were mics were moving around on people's clothes. So bear with us. It was our first time.

My guests were Brett McCracken. Brett is the Arts and Culture editor at the Gospel Coalition, and he's the

author of several books, including hipster Christianity and Grey Matters. His most recent book is

called Uncomfortable, and it's about how the church should be a countercultural place where all kinds

of different people come together to share life and faith. Next was Karen Swallow-Pryor, a literature

professor at Liberty University, and the author of Booked and Fierce Convictions.

You may have read articles from her in Christianity Today, the Atlantic, the Gospel Coalition, and all kinds of other places.

She's a sharp cultural critic and a great writer.

Last but not least was David Taylor.

David's a professor of theology at Fuller Seminary and the author, editor, and co-author of several books on theology and the arts.

His most recent book is called The Theater of God's Glory, Calvin, Creation, and the Liturgical Arts.

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