Show Notes
How do you know when it’s time to leave a community you love but no longer believe in? And what happens when your body knows before your mind does? Steve Schallert grew up the child of missionaries in a quiet, Quaker-ish corner of Germany, found Jesus through the radical peace activist Daniel Berrigan at 19, and then spent a decade inside YWAM, an organisation he says he never really agreed with. In this honest and generous conversation, Steve shares why he never “deconstructed,” what it cost...
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What does a 2,000-year-old book about a talking statue have to say about ChatGPT? And can AI form us, or only perform for us? Pope Leo XIV chose artificial intelligence as the subject of his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, and presented it with Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah, at his side. What do we make of this unique moment? In this episode, Will is joined by biblical scholar Robyn Whitaker and professor of Learning Informatics Simon Buckingham Shum to dig into what this moment is...
In the latest episode of our Future Church Series, Will and Caro listen to two short excerpts from Rev Dr Sally Douglas’s keynote: one on silence and prayer as listening, and one on the names we use for God. Sally argues that much of what passes for prayer is us talking at God, and that our busyness can be a quiet way of keeping God at a distance. She also makes a bold claim: addressing God only as male is a form of idolatry. And the tradition gives us plenty of other alternative ways of add...
Will, Caro, Mitch and Becca unpack the purity culture they grew up in: Focus on the Family books, True Love Waits banquets, journals of letters to a future spouse, and the very real fear of dying in your sleep after masturbating. But this isn't just a look back. They explore what changed their minds, what (if anything) was worth keeping, and what might a better sexual ethic look like now? Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message her...
Wes Crawford is a church historian and pastor of twenty years, currently vice provost and associate professor of church history at Abilene Christian University. His new book One Nation Over God names what sociologists call "civil religion" — the way a nation, in the absence of a shared faith, starts borrowing the shape of one: sacred texts, rituals, symbols, calendar days, revered people — and traces how that borrowing, in American life, has tangled love of country with love of God to the poi...
Will Small is joined by Steff Fenton, Kelly Woods and Jono Ingram to discuss the complex nature of hope, the work of cultivating an alternative imagination and a vision of how it might look in community. With beautiful opening words from Alisha Fung and Paul Banks, and a closing benediction from Matt Cutler this was a rich and memorable evening that may just restore a little hope where it's needed. Presented in partnership with Simba Sessions, Sonderverse, Beyondering Podcast and Northcote U...