Cultivating Belonging and Evolving Faith with Jeff Chu

Episode 51

Jeff Chu, an award-winning journalist, author, and “sort-of-kind-of farmer,” joins Jen on the For the Love podcast to discuss his book, Good Soil: The Education of an Accidental Farmhand. In the book, Jeff shares stories from his time at “The Farminary”, a twenty-one-acre working farm at Princeton’s Theological Seminary, where students explore life’s biggest questions while cultivating the earth. 

Jeff reflects on his own struggles with faith, identity, and the expectations placed upon him as a gay man raised in a conservative Christian environment. His journey reveals the challenges of cultivating, not just plants, but also a spiritual life that is authentic, evolving, and inclusive?. 

In this conversation, Jeff, Jen and Amy discuss: 

• What Jeff learned at the “Farminary” about creating “good soil,” drawing lessons from the rhythms of growth, decay, and regeneration that define life on the land
• Finding moments of grace and healing, showing that even what seems barren can become fertile with care and time
• Challenging traditional interpretations of the biblical Parable of the Sower, shifting the focus from categorizing people as “good” or “bad” soil to understanding how soil and the human soul are shaped by external forces and capable of transformation and growth
• Exploring faith, not as something static, but as something that evolves – much like soil that is constantly changing and being enriched.