Homepage / Pivot Podcast /#75: How to have Spiritual Conversations with Your Neighbors: Let’s Talk about the Difference Jesus Makes

#75: How to have Spiritual Conversations with Your Neighbors: Let’s Talk about the Difference Jesus Makes

Discover how to talk about Jesus with neighbors of different beliefs with guests Danielle Cummings and Mike Wu.

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Wondering how to have good conversations about your Christian faith with neighbors and friends who aren’t Christian? Many of us can think of examples of how not to do this. But how can we do it lovingly, faithfully, and respectfully? Church leaders often ask us, “how can I help people in my congregation have good spiritual conversations with their neighbors?.”

Watch this Pivot podcast interview to learn from an artist and evangelist working in New York City among secular artists as well as a church planter in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. If you want to learn how to talk about Jesus with your neighbors who are spiritual but not religious, tune into this episode and discover how to share the difference Jesus makes in your life.

Show Notes

  • Guest Mike Wu mentions listening to people's longings and losses as a way of finding hope. Check out this Faith+Lead article by Dawn Alitz for a free download to lead this practice in your community.

Featuring

Danielle Cummings
Guest in Pivot Podcast

Rev. Danielle Cummings is the very extroverted, very excitable director of ReNew York, a NYC arts ministry under A.C.T Int’l. She’s an aspiring novelist and an award-winning playwright with a B.A. in English from UT Austin and an M.A. in “Ministry in the Global City” from City Seminary of New York. She actually grew up in a Chinese church and as a result was discipled by Asian American faith leaders. She loves communication, event-planning and above maybe everything else, learning from people who think differently. Her ministry is mostly relational care, but she and her ministry partner Amy Pan also host at least two events each month: one to equip Christian artists and one to respond to art (eg: movie night) with an interfaith spiritual discussion. Ask her about New York City, hand-copying the Bible, or her amazing friends!

Host

Faith+Lead Headshot of The Rev. Dr. Dwight Zscheile, VP of Innovation, Luther Seminary.
Dwight Zscheile
Professor of Congregational Mission and Leadership, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota

The Rev. Dr. Dwight Zscheile is professor of congregational mission and leadership at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.

He is the author of Embracing the Mixed Ecology (with Blair Pogue, Seabury Books, 2025), Leading Faithful Innovation: Following God into a Hopeful Future (with Michael Binder and Tessa Pinkstaff, Fortress Press 2023), Participating in God’s Mission: A Theological Missiology for the U.S. (with Craig Van Gelder, Eerdmans 2018), The Agile Church: Spirit-Led Innovation in an Uncertain Age (Morehouse Publishing, 2014), People of the Way: Renewing Episcopal Identity (Morehouse Publishing, 2012) and The Missional Church in Perspective: Mapping Trends and Shaping the Conversation (with Craig Van Gelder, Baker Academic 2011), editor of Cultivating Sent Communities: Missional Spiritual Formation (Eerdmans, 2012), and co-editor (with Ed Olsworth-Peter) of The Starter’s Way: Leading New Contextual Christian Communities (Church Publishing, 2025).

A graduate of Stanford University (BA), Yale University (MDiv) and Luther Seminary (PhD, Congregational Mission and Leadership), Dwight previously served congregations in Minnesota, Virginia and Connecticut. Dwight’s experience growing up in a secular home in California has shaped his commitment to helping the church cultivate Christian community with neighbors in today’s changing world.

About Pivot Podcast

Join us on Pivot Podcast, where we journey beyond church-as-usual to discover how God is reshaping ministry for today’s world.

Each week, we dive into conversations with innovative leaders and practitioners who are navigating four game-changing pivots: shifting from quick fixes to deep listening, from membership to discipleship, from rigid models to creative ministry ecosystems, and from clergy-centered leadership to unleashing everyone’s gifts.

Whether you’re a member of the clergy seeking fresh inspiration or a volunteer stepping into new leadership territory, Pivot Podcast equips you with the insights and practical wisdom to follow Jesus into a faithful future.

Through their work with diverse cohorts of preachers, they’ve discovered that the most compelling sermons aren’t necessarily the most polished – they’re the ones where preachers have learned to listen deeply to both God and their congregations. Learn practical tools for gathering meaningful feedback, understand why vulnerability matters more than ever in preaching, and discover how shifting from evaluation to understanding can deepen your sermon’s impact. Plus, hear why reimagining God’s agency in preaching might be the key to unlocking more powerful proclamation.

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Featuring

Danielle Cummings
Guest in Pivot Podcast

Rev. Danielle Cummings is the very extroverted, very excitable director of ReNew York, a NYC arts ministry under A.C.T Int’l. She’s an aspiring novelist and an award-winning playwright with a B.A. in English from UT Austin and an M.A. in “Ministry in the Global City” from City Seminary of New York. She actually grew up in a Chinese church and as a result was discipled by Asian American faith leaders. She loves communication, event-planning and above maybe everything else, learning from people who think differently. Her ministry is mostly relational care, but she and her ministry partner Amy Pan also host at least two events each month: one to equip Christian artists and one to respond to art (eg: movie night) with an interfaith spiritual discussion. Ask her about New York City, hand-copying the Bible, or her amazing friends!

Host

Faith+Lead Headshot of The Rev. Dr. Dwight Zscheile, VP of Innovation, Luther Seminary.
Dwight Zscheile
Professor of Congregational Mission and Leadership, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota

The Rev. Dr. Dwight Zscheile is professor of congregational mission and leadership at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.

He is the author of Embracing the Mixed Ecology (with Blair Pogue, Seabury Books, 2025), Leading Faithful Innovation: Following God into a Hopeful Future (with Michael Binder and Tessa Pinkstaff, Fortress Press 2023), Participating in God’s Mission: A Theological Missiology for the U.S. (with Craig Van Gelder, Eerdmans 2018), The Agile Church: Spirit-Led Innovation in an Uncertain Age (Morehouse Publishing, 2014), People of the Way: Renewing Episcopal Identity (Morehouse Publishing, 2012) and The Missional Church in Perspective: Mapping Trends and Shaping the Conversation (with Craig Van Gelder, Baker Academic 2011), editor of Cultivating Sent Communities: Missional Spiritual Formation (Eerdmans, 2012), and co-editor (with Ed Olsworth-Peter) of The Starter’s Way: Leading New Contextual Christian Communities (Church Publishing, 2025).

A graduate of Stanford University (BA), Yale University (MDiv) and Luther Seminary (PhD, Congregational Mission and Leadership), Dwight previously served congregations in Minnesota, Virginia and Connecticut. Dwight’s experience growing up in a secular home in California has shaped his commitment to helping the church cultivate Christian community with neighbors in today’s changing world.