Is Spirituality Compatible With Modern Life? - Rob Bell - #245

**Chris Williamson** (0:00)
Hello, friends, welcome back. I'm coming to you from a very hot and sunny Dubai. Me and George haven't managed to kill each other or ourselves yet, and the podcasts are still coming. Today, my guest is Rob Bell, who is a MegaChurch pastor and author. MegaChurches are a unique feature of American life, and they involve huge congregations, sometimes up to 10,000 people, which gives Rob a particularly unique insight into human spirituality. So today, expect to learn how spirituality can be compatible with a modern rational life, how Rob breaks the preconceptions of pastors, why our emotions feel so spiritually compelling, why we can learn insights from our heart and not just our head, and much more. In other news, this episode of the podcast is brought to you by The Protein Works. I am still living on the Protein Works out in Dubai. I've transported out the vitamin D3. Rona is happening. You need vitamin D in your life if you're not somewhere as hot and beautiful and sunny as I am at the moment. I've brought my multivitamins out with me. I've brought my fish oil capsules, and I wasn't able to bring my super greens, which makes me quite sad. You are not getting enough vegetables in your life, and you know it. Even if you're vegan or vegetarian, you're still not eating enough. So the easiest way to supplement those micronutrients is by using a super greens drink like The Protein Works, and it is by far the best that I've found. Easily mixable, great tasting. Take it once a day, and it gives you a fantastic base to build the rest of your diet on top of. Other things that I wish I had with me, their protein crunkies are fantastic, and would really help. I'm just at the beach. I would love a cross between a protein bar, a granola bar and a chocolate bar. Thankfully, you can still get it in the UK, and you can get 35% off everything with the code MODERN35. Simply head to theproteinworks.com/modernwisdom to see absolutely everything that I use and recommend from protein powders to supplements, treats, foods, and a lot more, with 35% off using the code MODERN35, theproteinworks.com/modernwisdom. Go and pick yourself up some fantastic supplements today. But for now, it's time for the wise and wonderful, Rob Bell. Oh yeah, PS. Obviously, I am on a slightly mobile setup out here in Dubai, so for the next couple of weeks, you may have to accept a slight change in the old recording quality, sometimes in episode, sometimes at the beginning in the intro. But I will do my best to continue bringing the highest quality that I can. Peace.
Can you tell, for the people who don't know, give us your background, how did you end up here?

**Rob Bell** (3:00)
How did I end up here? I, from a young age, was utterly fascinated with the big questions of what we're doing here, how does this whole thing work, what is this wondrous, strange experience that we are having on a ball of rock hurtling through space at 67,000 miles an hour. And in the world I came from, if you're interested in those things, you become a spiritual teacher, a pastor, you help people explore the big mysteries. That's what I did, that's what I've been doing for a long time now, and I love it. So books, tours, films, events, however I can help create spaces where people can discover who they are and what we're all doing here. I'm in.

**Chris Williamson** (3:54)
You could have gone down a couple of routes there, couldn't you? You could have been psychology, philosophy, physics, mathematics, public service in some form or another.

**Rob Bell** (4:04)
Yeah, and it was interesting, my dad was a judge for 44 years. So he woke up every morning, put on a suit, went to a courthouse and presided over trials.
So he had this old school sense of public service. You know what I mean? There's this proper, dignified role that you play in society. You know what I mean? Where you give yourself to the greater good as an act of service, in his case, the administration of justice. So I grew up in this setting where you're here to help contribute. Like that was like baked into the DNA of the home I came in, came up in. Yeah.

**Chris Williamson** (4:51)
Where are you from? Where is home?

**Rob Bell** (4:54)
I grew up in Michigan. So in between Chicago and Detroit.

**Chris Williamson** (4:58)
Okay. Is that quite typical to have this wholesome sort of...

**Rob Bell** (5:03)
Oh yeah. Oh yeah. It was Midwest. You go to soccer practice, although you properly refer to it as football.