[Season 1] Episode 3: Belonging
Belonging is a core human need that expresses our deepest longings to be known and accepted. When we consider where we feel the most belonging, for many of us it’s what or where we call home. Home and belonging are promised to us in the gospel, yet in our present lives we struggle to hold in tension our heavenly citizenship and the call to proclaim to the world that home is also promised to them. Listen as guests Suzette Lee and Jen Pollock Michel take us through their contemplations on how we as Christians understand and live out our true belonging.
Guests
Suzette Lee is originally from Singapore. She accepted Jesus Christ as her personal Savior at age 30 at Sunset Church where her husband Abe and her were members for over 15 years. They moved to Chicago in 2018 and now attend the Church of the Beloved’s Wicker Park campus. She’s currently the U.S. director of Hands at Work in Africa (www.handsatwork.org), which seeks to mobilize local churches in Africa to care for the orphaned, widowed and dying in partnership with international churches. She enjoys urban and nature hikes, hosting, audiobooks, puzzles, board games and is a big Star Wars fan.
Jen Pollock Michel is the award-winning author of Surprised by Paradox: The Promise of “And” in an Either-or World, Teach Us to Want, and Keeping Place. She writes widely for print and digital publications and travels to speak at churches, conferences, and retreats. Jen holds a B.A. in French from Wheaton College and an M.A. in Literature from Northwestern University. She is married to Ryan, and they have five children and live in Toronto. You can find more at www.jenpollockmichel.com or follow Jen on Twitter @jenpmichel.
Introduction
interview: Suzette Lee
[02:47] The many places of “home”
[04:34] Making a decision to uproot (again)
[08:11] Creating belonging in a new place
[11:30] Encouraging others to create a sense of belonging
[14:17] The example of Jesus Christ in “housekeeping”
[18:39] What “home” means
interview: Jen pollock michel
[21:36] Recognizing rootlessness and homesickness as a condition
[26:24] Encouraging good “housekeeping” in the church
[33:40] The promise of home embodied as both singles and married
Scripture
Application
Asking yourself what belonging looks like in your present life
Creating “home” for others by being intentional in where God has placed you
Thinking relationally through hospitality whether single or married
OTHER RESOURCES
”Keeping Place: Reflections on the Meaning of Home” by Jen Pollock Michel