Alister McGrath is the master of apologetics. With three doctorates under his belt and ranked among the '20 most brilliant Christian professors', he's publically locked horns with the likes of Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins. “In the past, we tended to say it’s important to stress Christianity is right. Today it think it’s very important to stress that Christianity works – in other words, that it really can engage with experience and also with the deep questions of life that we wrestle ...
Nov 09, 2014•48 min•Ep. 85
Richard Rohr is a Catholic priest and a Franciscan Friar. He is well connected and respected across Christian traditions (including the emerging church), so he seemed like the perfect person to speak to about what the emerging church can gain from Catholic spirituality. “The Protestant Reformation pretty much reacted against the right brain and they’re only coming to realize that now. You can’t communicate great mystery merely by sermons, which keeps you in the left brain, keeps you argumentativ...
Oct 09, 2014•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 84
Phyllis Tickle has her finger on the pulse of the emerging church like no one else. So if you're interested in why the emergence of a new kind of church is both inevitable and necessary, and the vital role of the Holy Spirit in this, then tune in. “For some reason, every 500 years Christianized culture goes through a huge upheaval...the whole of society goes ‘whoop’ and tosses everything into the air. We’re in the 21st century and this is what’s being called ‘the Great Emergence.” - Phyllis Tick...
Sep 23, 2014•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 83
Sara Miles was an atheist. Then one day, out of idle curiosity, she wandered into a church, had a bite of bread and a sip of wine and God came crashing into her life. Her response was to take the principles of communion and set up a food distribution centre around the altar of her church for anyone and everyone to enjoy. So tune in for some fascinating insights into what it means to eat at God's table. “I think the way that communion changes everything is precisely because of the universality an...
Sep 17, 2014•59 min•Ep. 82
Dave Andrews has committed his life to serving the poorest and most marginalised people through small, local Christian communities. He's clearly a man who knows Jesus intimately, and has gained tremendous experience and wisdom. So why doesn't he consider himself, or even strive to be, a 'great man of God'? “I have deliberately chosen to locate myself in my local community and see myself not as a great man of God, but as a little brother of Jesus – trying to do little things with lots of love, wh...
Sep 10, 2014•51 min•Ep. 81
Dr. Bex Lewis is a research fellow in social media at Durham University and author of the popular book Raising Children in the Digital Age . So we thought we'd have a chat with her about what it means to live well in a digital world. “It is very easy to go into a discussion and not know when to let go. So, if you’re chatting in a pub with someone and they just get really rude, you can maybe go, ‘I’m not going to talk to you anymore.’ Online, people just kind of keep going.” - Bex Lewis Books, qu...
Aug 25, 2014•49 min•Ep. 80
Robin Parry is an evangelical, but unlike the majority of evangelicals he doesn't believe that Hell and death is the end of the story for the majority of humanity. Instead he believes the Bible teaches that we will all ultimately be reconciled to God and enjoy eternity with him. Tune in for a fascinating conversation. “Universalism occupies this space between heresy and dogma. So, it’s not heretical – it’s not outside the bounds of orthodoxy – but nor is it a central issue for orthodoxy. It’s so...
Aug 08, 2014•50 min•Ep. 79
Krista Tippett has built a career on listening. Through her award-winning public radio show and podcast, On Being , she listens to people from all religious and spiritual traditions, learning about what it means to be human and how to live life. So she seemed like the perfect person to speak to about the lost art of listening. “The thing about listening – about real listening – is that it involves vulnerability. If you are really open to asking an honest question and you really want to hear the ...
Jul 09, 2014•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 78
David Benjamin Blower is a prophet in the Old Testament tradition. Using music and the written word, he creatively and insightfully points the finger at himself and the world around him railing at the injustices he sees. “I think the image of God is rooted in the love of other and to base the economics of your society on self-interest creates a very uncomfortable place for me to live in as someone who’s trying to follow the two greatest commandments: love God and love your neighbour as yourself....
Jun 24, 2014•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 77
Gail Dines is a professor of sociology and women's studies. She has been studying porn and its effects on society for over 20 years, and has become one of the world's leading anti-porn activists. Why has she dedicated so much of her life to this one issue? Because she believes the effects of porn is one of society's main public health issues. “If you use porn and you become addicted to porn, what you do is you give up the ability for intimacy and connection – the very things that make us human. ...
Jun 05, 2014•42 min•Ep. 76
Richard Wilkinson is professor of social epidemiology (that's the distribution of disease within a society, in case you were wondering!). His book, The Spirit Level has caused quite a stir, because he believes he's answered a very long-standing question. Why are we increasingly blighted by so many social problems when we're materially better off than we've ever been? Tune in to find out the answer! “People have misunderstood the importance of inequality for a long time. They’ve thought of it as ...
May 23, 2014•57 min•Ep. 75
Nadia Bolz Weber is anything but boring, Raised in a fundamentalist church, she rebelled, immersed herself in a hedonistic lifestyle, found faith again, and now leads House for all Sinners and Saints . Tune in for a fascinating interview, full of insight, wisdom, and gritty honesty. “I’m why we have bishops. Someone like me should have a bishop. I shouldn’t be doing my own thing out there. I would give it three months before it turned into a ‘Heart of Darkness’ situation.” - Nadia Bolz Weber Boo...
May 09, 2014•57 min•Ep. 74
Bob Ekblad serves immigrants, inmates, homeless people and people struggling with addiction in the US. What's even more interesting about Bob though is how he seamlessly combines social justice with a miraculous healing ministry! “What’s happening that’s most exciting to me in the larger body of Christ is the cross-pollenization and the coming together of people from different camps to learn from each other for the benefit of the world, for the benefit of the unreached and the marginalized.” - B...
Apr 24, 2014•43 min•Ep. 73
Lecturer in evangelism, theology and Chrisitan spirituality and author of The Mystic Way of Evangelism , Elaine Heath joins us on the show. We chat with Elaine about contemplative prayer, and the healing and outreach that naturally flows from it. So tune in if you want to know how to experience God and change the world. “We have been so captured by rationalism since the enlightenment – it’s really shaped how we think about our faith. And we’ve bought into the idea that to have faith is to ascrib...
Apr 10, 2014•59 min•Ep. 72
Theologian, church leader, and author Greg Boyd is back on the show. Greg believes a call to non-violence is at the heart of the gospel. He also believes this call impacts how we relate to animals. That's right, Greg's a vegetarian. Check out the interview to find out why. “Legalism sees the rules as an end in and of themselves and therefore there are no exceptions, whereas a holistic life principle always has love as the driving thing – what’s the loving thing to do? Usually, the loving thing t...
Mar 10, 2014•41 min•Ep. 71
Sharon Baker is a theologian and author of the controversial Razing Hell . Sharon takes issue with the traditional understanding of a violent atonement and hell, and instead holds to universal reconciliation where all people are refined by God's love. “I don’t believe that God desired the violence of the cross. I think that the violence of the cross was our doing. It was a human endeavour and not required or desired by God at all, because that in itself is a grave injustice. And I don’t think Go...
Feb 07, 2014•50 min•Ep. 70
Pete Rollins is a philosopher, writer and founder of the Ikon community. Pete believes that unless we die to certainty and embrace doubt then God becomes just another consumer product. God, in effect, becomes an idol. Sounds interesting! “Often the church looks at the Bible or theology and says, ‘What’s the right answer?’ When really, perhaps we should look at it more like a work of art and say, ‘It’s about engaging with a conversation with the work of art, seeing its beauty, being open to being...
Jan 09, 2014•45 min•Ep. 69
Paul Kerensa is a stand-up comedian and BBC scriptwriter for shows like Miranda and Not Going Out. S o he seemed like just the chap to talk to about the relationship between humour and religion, and to ask 'What would Jesus laugh at?' “You’ve got to always think, ‘Who’s the victim of this joke? And if the victim were me, would I mind?’ And so, I try not to do jokes which have an overall victim. Often the victim of the joke is me.” - Paul Kerensa Books, quotes, links → The creation of Nomad’s tho...
Dec 20, 2013•52 min•Ep. 68
Michael Hardin is a theologian, founder of Preaching Peace , and author of The Jesus Driven Life . He's got a rather colourful background and doesn't mince his words, which always makes for an interesting interview. So we asked him whether God is really as violent as the Old Testament makes out, and whether he really had to kill his own son in order to forgive us. “Every ‘penal substitutionist’ at some point has to engage in a tit-for-tat logic. No matter how they play their theory out, forgiven...
Dec 10, 2013•49 min•Ep. 67
We've somehow managed to persuade Tom Wright, one of the world's leading New Testament theologians, to come on the show for a third time! We ask Tom to summarise his 1680 page 'Paul and the Faithfulness of God', and ponder whether if he met him whether he'd actually like Paul? “What Paul does is not give a blueprint for what everyone must do on all possible occasions. He teaches them how to think Christianly and then says, ‘Now, go figure it out. Where do you live? What does the gospel look like...
Oct 11, 2013•44 min•Ep. 66
We at Nomad recently had a revelation, perhaps we can learn from non-Christians as well as Christians. So we headed down to London and visited the Sunday Assembly , or The Atheist Church as it's become known. After 'worshipping' with 300 atheists, we chat with Pippa Evans one of the founders of what's becoming a global movement, and try to figure out what the Church can learn from the friendlier face of new atheism. “What I used to love about church was wherever I am – wherever in the country – ...
Oct 09, 2013•43 min•Ep. 65
Steve Chalke is one of the UK's most influential evangelicals and he recently blessed a same-sex civil partnership. Needless to say, this caused a bit of a stir! So we caught up with him and asked him what led him to take this controversial step. “If the Bible’s right that ‘God is love’ and ‘God is truth,’ then truth is love. Therefore, any message that sends people into depression, that sends people to throw themselves under trains, that drives people from churches, that tells them that in the ...
Sep 24, 2013•51 min•Ep. 64
Mark Wakeling is a man with a conscience and a man that's got the energy and creativity to follow it. He's a social entrepreneur who has founded Global SeeSaw , which sells ethical and Fair Trade products made by women in India exploited by human trafficking. So we asked Mark to begin to unpack the issues surrounding the social impact of the clothes we buy. “Unless we’re uncertain, we don’t listen. And when we stop listening, we do things to people, not with people.” - Mark Wakeling Books, quote...
Sep 09, 2013•35 min•Ep. 63
Scot McKnight is professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary, Illinois, a prolific author and founder of the hugely popular Jesus Creed blog. Scot recently wrote a book called The King Jesus Gospel , so he seemed like the man to help us understand the real meaning of the good news. “The question I would ask is this: is there any evidence in the New Testament that the apostles or Jesus evangelized by awakening people to the prospect of Hell when they died? I don’t see it.” - Scott McKnight Bo...
Aug 09, 2013•46 min•Ep. 62
As well as life coaching, creative project management, tea making, and helping run the popular ReJesus website, Bruce Stanley has also helped pioneer the Forest Church movement. Forest Church is an experiential community group that helps people connect with God in creation. Check it out, it's really rather interesting. “What’s unique about forest church is that we’re actually participating with nature. Instead of just doing what you could have been doing inside and moving it outside, we’re actua...
Jul 09, 2013•43 min•Ep. 61
Stuart Murray is chair of the Anabaptist Network in the UK and author of The Naked Anabaptist. So we ask him what's so special about the Anabaptists tradition, and what the it has to say to our post-Christendom culture. “The table is a place of community building, of friendship, of openness and of equality. Things happen around the table. They don’t happen when you’re sitting in rows of pews. And so food and the sharing of hospitality has been a particularly important aspect of community buildin...
Jun 10, 2013•48 min•Ep. 60
Brian McLaren is an internationally recognised and sort after author, speaker and activist. In this episode we're chatting with Brian about his latest challenging and provocative book that explores the vital topic of Christianity's relationship with other religions. “We Christians already know how to do two things well: we know how to have a strong Christian identity that’s hostile toward people of other identities, and we know how to have a weak Christian identity that’s tolerant or benign towa...
May 10, 2013•41 min•Ep. 59
Carl Medearis worked as a missionary for many years in Beirut, Lebanon and as a result is recognised as an international expert in Muslim-Christian relations. Carl has some fascinating insights into cross-cultural mission from his years of working with Muslims, and he believes these principles are just as relevant in our Western context. I'll give you a hint, it's all about Jesus! Definitely an episode worth listening to (even if we do say so ourselves!). “I’m not a fan of Christianity...I think...
Apr 10, 2013•45 min•Ep. 58
Alastair Gordon is a professional and accomplished artist who exhibits around the world. He's also a follower of Jesus. Apparently following Jesus and being a professional artist is a rather tricky thing these days, so we spoke to Ally about this tension and what mission in the world of art might look like. “Today, to call yourself a sincere religious believer kind of equates you with fundamentalists, radicalists – a bunch of people that artists really, really don’t want to be associated with…fo...
Mar 09, 2013•37 min•Ep. 57
John Polkinghorne has spent more years than we've been alive inhabiting the world of science and faith. He's a theoretical physicist, theologian and Anglican priest. He's been Knighted by the Queen and has received the coveted Templeton Prize for his exceptional contribution to affirming life's spiritual dimension. So who better to ask a few questions about life, the universe and everything?! “I often like to say that I’m two-eyed: I view the world through the eye of science and through the eye ...
Jan 09, 2013•32 min•Ep. 56
