Let's talk about Waylon, Willie, and a lot about tobacco farming. Jennifer and I talked for so long we needed a part 2! Also, for some reason, I feel the need to define cowboys and we explain life before cell phones. Dr. Jennifer Moe is Associate Director and Post-Doctoral Fellow of the Young Adult Initiative at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. She received her PhD in Christian Education and Congregational Studies from Garrett in 2018. Jennifer’s research interests include the ways in which young women and girls are taught to be “good Christian women” in a variety of Christian religious subcultures and young adults in the United States and their faith practices, including how they are connected (or not) to faith communities. Dr. Moe has served as adjunct faculty in the Religious Education field at Garrett and in the Theology field at North Park University in Chicago. She lives in Chicago, Illinois. Our playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2qnPKxunKlRsAvqUD6hqdY?si=c2ec849a7df442e9 Our bookshelf : https://jlemaster-smith.com/bookshelf/ Our Social Media: Facebook and Instagram: @RustyWaterTowers | Twitter: @rustytowerspod | [email protected] jlemaster-smith.com/rustywatertowers

SEASON 2 PREMIERE Shannon drops by to play some music, talk about songwriting, and ground us in place. Find her: DeaconShannon.org Facebook: @shannon.lemastersmith Instagram and Threads: @breathe.sing.love Our playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2qnPKxunKlRsAvqUD6hqdY?si=c2ec849a7df442e9 Our bookshelf : https://jlemaster-smith.com/bookshelf/ Our Social Media: Facebook and Instagram: @RustyWaterTowers | Twitter: @rustytowerspod | [email protected] jlemaster-smith.com/rustywatertowers

Rusty Water Towers is a podcast in search of Faith and Hope in Rural Life and Ministry. Each episode includes a guest sharing stories and experiences of their rural life. My hope is that this podcasts reveals the creative potential latent in rural life. Audio by Jonathan LeMaster-Smith Theme song "Hildebran" by Shannon LeMaster-Smith Find us on social media! Facebook, Instragram, Threads: RustyWaterTowers Twitter: RustyTowerPod j.lemaster-smith.com

In which I get so excited to celebrate country music and 500 plays that I forget that I already covered Hank Williams, but it still works. Also, I confess to things about Randy Travis and Pop Country icons. Our playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2qnPKxunKlRsAvqUD6hqdY?si=c2ec849a7df442e9 Our bookshelf : https://jlemaster-smith.com/bookshelf/ Our Social Media: Facebook and Instagram: @RustyWaterTowers | Twitter: @rustytowerspod | [email protected] jlemaster-smith.com/rustywatertowers

This week's episode takes us very close to my churches. Johnny and I talk about the experiences of a new pastor in rural ministry and all his twists and turns. There's also some John Wesley, fried bologna, and a biscuit on the way out the door. Johnny Norton is a retired licensed local pastor in the Western North Carolina serving at First UMC Stanly as Minister of Connections. Johnny is a former student and now friend and colleague. He’s had me at his churches to teach about all sorts of Methodist things. Connect with johnny: [email protected] Our playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2qnPKxunKlRsAvqUD6hqdY?si=c2ec849a7df442e9 Our bookshelf : https://jlemaster-smith.com/bookshelf/ Our Social Media: Facebook and Instagram: @RustyWaterTowers | Twitter: @rustytowerspod | [email protected] jlemaster-smith.com/rustywatertowers

This week we get into nineties country, whether my guest, Amber Laffey has the magic touch, meat lockers, Budweiser horses and more. Amber Laffey is an LLP (hopefully soon to be commissioned as a Deacon) in the Dakotas Conference of the UMC and serves a congregation of about 40 people and also serves as the conference secretary. She currently lives in a small town in South Dakota with her husband, four kids and obnoxious Cockapoo MacGyver. Amber's Facebook Show: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100071463797809 Kate Bowler's Podcast: https://katebowler.com/podcast/ Our playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2qnPKxunKlRsAvqUD6hqdY?si=c2ec849a7df442e9 Our bookshelf : https://jlemaster-smith.com/bookshelf/ Our Social Media: Facebook and Instagram: @RustyWaterTowers | Twitter: @rustytowerspod | [email protected] jlemaster-smith.com/rustywatertowers

This episode is an exploration of three Christmas songs, six holiday traditions, and, apparently, ambulance sirens. We explore mistletoe, kissing balls, Christmas caroling, Christmas boogering, fruitcake, and holiday treat bags. We also see Dr. J realizing he would much rather host than provide commentary. Also, we learn that Dr. J does listen to things besides country. If you're listening live in December of 2022, there will be a two week break between this and Episode 14. Sources: https://www.ambius.com/blog/the-curious-kisstory-of-mistletoe/#:~:text=The%20mistletoe%20tradition%20holds%20that,person%20who%20said%20%E2%80%9CNo.%E2%80%9D https://www.agecrofthall.org/single-post/kissing-ball#:~:text=The%20kissing%20ball%2C%20or%20bough,to%20represent%20the%20baby%20Jesus. https://www.grunge.com/260670/the-bizarre-history-of-caroling/ https://issuu.com/wayne.kmherald/docs/cherryvilleeagle11_24_21 https://www.fodors.com/world/north-america/canada/newfoundland-and-labrador/experiences/news/are-mummers-allowed-in-the-newfoundland-holiday-tradition-where-disguised-visitors-drink-dance-and-swing-your-granny https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/the-misunderstood-fruitcake-has-a-magnificent-shelf-life-and-history#:~:text=Fruitcake%20is%20an%20ancient%20goody,dried%20fruit%2C%20often%20pomegranate%20seeds. http://www.appalachianmtnroots.com/2016/12/appalachian-traditions-christmas-plays.html Our playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2qnPKxunKlRsAvqUD6hqdY?si=c2ec849a7df442e9 Our bookshelf : https://jlemaster-smith.com/bookshelf/ Our Social Media: Facebook and Instagram: @RustyWaterTowers | Twitter: @rustytowerspod | [email protected] jlemaster-smith.com/rustywatertowers

This episode almost becomes a food podcast as we talk about the life and hope in rural spaces and how every community has to have a festival. We speak to the realities of traveling speakers, learning to use a bobcat, and how church buildings really are assets in the community. Becky McCray is a lifelong small-town entrepreneur. As co-founder of SaveYour.Town, she shares insights from her real-world experience as a business owner and cattle rancher. Her practical perspective is featured at her highly-ranked website, Small Biz Survival, and in her award-winning book, Small Town Rules. She’s been featured and quoted in books, newspapers, magazines, blogs, podcasts and university publications. She makes her home base in Hopeton, Oklahoma, a community of 30 people. Her goal is to deliver practical steps you can put into action right away to shape the future of your town. Iowa State University Study https://smalltowns.soc.iastate.edu/ Webster City turnaround  https://squareup.com/us/en/dreams/webster-city James Decker, Stamford, Texas, https://westof98.substack.com https://SaveYour.Town https://BeckyMcCray.com/connections https://smalltownrules.com Our playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2qnPKxunKlRsAvqUD6hqdY?si=c2ec849a7df442e9 Our bookshelf : https://jlemaster-smith.com/bookshelf/ Our Social Media: Facebook and Instagram: @RustyWaterTowers | Twitter: @rustytowerspod | [email protected] jlemaster-smith.com/rustywatertowers

This episode is two people talking about barbecue, chairs, death, life, and so much more. There's even a part where we talk about the difference between hamburgers and cheeseburgers in the rural Carolinas. Allen Stanton is the Executive Director of the Turner Center for Rural Vitality at the University of Tennessee Southern where he oversees rural economic and community development work for the university. Allen is the author of Reclaiming Rural (Rowman and Littlefield, 2021), and is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church. He is a native of rural North Carolina, and holds degrees from Wake Forest University and Duke University. Allen now lives in rural TN with his wife and two daughters. Twitter: @atstanton Email: [email protected] Our playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2qnPKxunKlRsAvqUD6hqdY?si=c2ec849a7df442e9 Our bookshelf : https://jlemaster-smith.com/bookshelf/ Our Social Media: Facebook and Instagram: @RustyWaterTowers | Twitter: @rustytowerspod | [email protected] jlemaster-smith.com/rustywatertowers

In this episode, Shannon LeMaster-Smith, the multi-talented writer and singer of our theme song (who also happens to be my wife) joins me on the podcast as we travel down the highway to visit family for Thanksgiving. We talk about life, ministry, music, and much more. You'll here us and the sounds of the road as we travel. One thing I will note, there is some wonky editing because of the microphone giving us problems. Shannon LeMaster-Smith is the Minister of Discipleship at First United Methodist Church in Newton North Carolina and the Youth Ministry Strategist for the Western North Carolina Conference. She lives in Hildebran, NC with her husband (the host of this podcast), their four dogs and one cat named Cat. https://deaconshannon.org/ [email protected] Our playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2qnPKxunKlRsAvqUD6hqdY?si=c2ec849a7df442e9 Our bookshelf : https://jlemaster-smith.com/bookshelf/ Our Social Media: Facebook and Instagram: @RustyWaterTowers | Twitter: @rustytowerspod | [email protected] jlemaster-smith.com/rustywatertowers