Join the conversation as we explore spiritual, cultural, and theological issues and questions in search of a more authentic faith...
Fran Leeman
Fran grew up in the farm fields of small town Iowa and in the Chicago suburbs. He's been married to Linda for four decades, has two great kids, Luke and Joanna, and four grandchildren. Fran grew up in a loving Catholic family, but got lost in drugs and crime in his teenage years. At the age of 15 Jesus found him and began to take him on a new journey. He had several businesses when he was a young man, and has spent the last thirty years leading LifeSpring Church and giving birth to New Life for Haiti, which educates children, provides clean water, and trains teachers and pastors in one of the poorest areas on the Haitian peninsula.
When he's not preaching, reading, writing, or podcasting, Fran likes to garden, cook, remodel, play some John Prine songs on the guitar, feast with friends and enjoy a really good beer.
Fran began the Jesus at the Table podcast because he's deeply concerned about the directions Christianity has been drifting in our culture. As Christians seem to build more and more of a reputation for the things they are against and for merging their faith with political parties and leaders, Fran is one of those leaders calling for a return to a faith rooted in the teachings of the Jesus of the Gospels. He believes it's time to stop reducing the Good News to a ticket for getting into heaven and hear the message of a renewed heart, a message about a good and beautiful God whose desire is to restore us and lead us out of darkness and toward wholeness and joy.
The Team
Anchor: Fran Leeman
Cohost: Leslie Zurita, Teacher/Strategic Leader & Pastor at LifeSpring Church
Director: Todd Pierson, professional videographer/photographer (piersonstudios.com)
LifeSpring Church...
is an amazing church community in Plainfield, Illinois (Chicago area) that has been seeking a more Christlike faith across its 30 years. It has become a church that makes Jesus and his teachings central (and reads the Bible through that lens), regards love as the beginning and end of the Christian journey, welcomes all people, and cultivates genuine an open discussion around the tough topics of our day (hence this podcast). To learn more, find us on a Sunday morning, or to watch online, go to yourlifespring.org,