With Easter fast approaching, we thought it was about time we had a fresh look at the central symbol of our faith, the cross. And who better to help us than one of the world's most respected and influential theologians, Professor N. T. Wright. So we ask Tom how through the cross Jesus's revolution began, and why after 2000 year does it often look like the revolution is struggling to transform the world. “The image of the cross is not an image of God Himself doing violence, it’s an image of viole...
Mar 24, 2017•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 141
For those of us who have been through some kind of faith deconstruction, spiritual practices often take on a new significance, as we seek to connect with God without what often feels like restrictive doctrinal and organisational frameworks. Scottish theologian and activist Alastair McIntosh recently wrote Poacher's Pilgrimage about a soulful journey he took across the Islands of the Outer Hebrides. So we invited him on the podcast to explore with us the importance of the ancient practice of pilg...
Mar 13, 2017•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 140
Lent is upon us once again. A wonderful counter-cultural season where we reflect on those things we might need to give up. So we asked Brian Draper to send us something that would help guide us through this time. And he came up trumps with a reflection on the transforming power of stillness. So tune in if you're feeling overwhelmed, stressed out and frazzled, and join us as we commit to intentional stillness through Lent. If you want more from Nomad, check out our website , and follow us on Face...
Mar 01, 2017•29 min
We've been wanting to do an episode on money for a while now, so when the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby put pen to paper and wrote his first book - Dethroning Mammon - all about the dangers of money, we seized upon the opportunity and headed off for Lambeth Palace . We asked the Archbishop what his life experience has taught him about money and how it shapes what we value and where we place our identity. Tune into the podcast for a honest, humble and insightful conversation. “It’s not wr...
Feb 23, 2017•59 min•Ep. 139
In both Liverpool and Bradford, Barbara Glasson has drawn together communities that have provided safe, honest, authentic spaces for the poor, marginalised, disillusioned, and people from other faiths and none. As well as being a spiritual home for these people, she believes they have an important message for the mainstream church. So we ask Barbara how she formed these communities, and what wisdom she has gained along the way. So tune in for a conversation full of insight, challenge and humilit...
Feb 08, 2017•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 138
Priest, poet and feminist theologian, Rachel Mann is a trans-woman. From an early age she had a profound sense that her body didn't reflect her gender. After a long, frustrating and painful journey she emerged into the woman she is today. We ask Rachel to look back over this transition and reflect on what it means to be human, what place gender has in our identity, and what she's learnt from seeing the word through male and female eyes. Tune into the podcast for a fascinating and challenging con...
Jan 23, 2017•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 137
What are 21st Century educated, questioning Christians supposed to make of the Devil and evil spirits? Are they literal spiritual beings who spend their time trying to lure us into sinful acts? Or should we see them as metaphors for social injustices that we need to confront? We ask professor of psychology , author and blogger Richard Beck. Tune into the podcast for a conversation full of insight, wisdom and honesty. “Doubt and humility make us more hospitable to other people, so progressive and...
Jan 10, 2017•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 136
It's that time of the year again! We thought we'd have a week off interviewing, and so we've arranged a little Christmas reflection for you. Nicola Slee is a feminist practice theologian and poet who is currently director of research at The Queen's Foundation of Ecumenical Theological Education in Birmingham. In this podcast, Nicola reflects the implications of Jesus being born a girl. Now there's something for you to ponder over your mince pies and mulled wine! If you want more from Nomad, chec...
Dec 21, 2016•15 min
Sally Smith joins us for part 3 of our Welcome the Stranger series. In this episode we hear about the fascinating and inspiring story that emerged when Sally opened the doors of her dying church to asylum seekers and refugees. She's seen large numbers come to faith, she's reunited mothers with their children, she's personally housed refugee families, and her church has become a hub for work with the most vulnerable in Stoke. “It’s not really about doctrine, it’s about love, it’s about welcoming ...
Dec 08, 2016•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 135
Our regular listeners will remember our Welcome the Stranger refugee special where we looked at the crisis through the eyes of a Syrian refugee and a refugee charity worker. The aim was to raise awareness and money through the sale of David Benjamin Blower 's album Welcome the Stranger. On this week's podcast, we're looking at the crisis through the eyes of Dave Smith who decided to do something about it, and start The Boaz Trust, a charity that works with destitute asylum seekers. If what Dave ...
Nov 24, 2016•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 134
Gungor - a multi-grammy nominated Christian band - were the toast of the evangelical worship scene. That is until it became clear that Michael was having significant doubts about his faith. This did not go down well among evangelicals, to say the least. So we talk with Michael and his wife Lisa about the impact this faith deconstruction had on their music, their careers and, more significantly, their marriage. “If I had been working a normal job and hanging out with friends who didn’t care what ...
Nov 08, 2016•56 min•Ep. 133
Brian McLaren has a knack for articulating what many of us are feeling. For a decade he has been the voice of those Christians who are concerned about, for example, the Church's overemphasis on doctrinal belief, its lack of inclusivity, and its lack of concern for the many global issues we are facing. In his latest book - The Great Spiritual Migration - he draws together all these themes into a manifesto for a new Christian movement, one that seeks nothing less than the healing of the world. "We...
Oct 20, 2016•58 min•Ep. 132
Mark Yaconelli is - among many other things - a storyteller. Such is his belief in the power of stories that he founded The Hearth , a gathering of local people who simply share their own stories. Mark has seen this simple gathering profoundly impact his local community. So we ask Mark why it is that stories can have this effect, and what role stories played in his own 'dark night of the soul'. So tune into the podcast to rediscover the ancient practice of storytelling. "The Christian faith is n...
Oct 07, 2016•54 min•Ep. 131
Kester Brewin was founder of one the UK's most creative and innovative alternative worship communities, Vaux. He went onto write The Complex Christ , a critically acclaimed book calling for an emerging Church. But over the following years he began to realise that Christianity was just another means of trying to escape his childhood pain. Tune into the podcast for a challenging and important critique of the Christian faith. “There are God’s all over the place. There are systems and structures tha...
Sep 22, 2016•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 130
Christianity can be quite a disembodied faith. Muslim's have prayer positions, Hindu's have yoga, Buddhists have Tai-Chi, whereas Christians tend to pray with little more than a bowed head. We ask theologian Paula Gooder why Christians have separated the spiritual from the physical, and what damage this has done for the faith. And we ask how our faith might be reshaped if we approached it in a more holistic and embodied way. “If we just think that praying happens when you sit very still and do s...
Sep 09, 2016•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 129
Mindfulness has exploded in popularity over recent years, with seemingly every other community centre, school, health service and therapist offering it. But what benefit, if any, does it offer the follower of Jesus? Author , speaker and retreat leader, Brian Draper , believes it has a vital role in Christian spirituality, but only as a doorway to something much deeper, embodied and life-giving. “As we Practice stillness, as we discover more of the person, the assured, present person that God has...
Aug 23, 2016•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 128
With the dust just beginning to settle after Britain's decision to leave the European Union, we thought we'd take the opportunity to look at our relationship with politics. Was Jesus political? Should Christians engage in party politics, or be a prophetic voice from the margins? We bring these, and many other questions to political theologian Roger Mitchell . So tune in for an insightful and challenging conversation! If you want more from Roger, check out his books The Fall of the Church and Dis...
Aug 10, 2016•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 127
Is faith based purely on belief, and a strong faith holding to those beliefs with certainty? If so, what happens when our beliefs evolve and shift? Prof. Peter Enns - author of The Sin of Certainty - believes that we've misunderstood the nature of faith, and it is actually trust rather than certainty that lays at it's heart. And it is this trust that can withstand the inevitable uncertainties, questions, and doubts that come our way. So tune in for a really engaging conversation. "I think certai...
Jul 22, 2016•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 126
The question 'who is God?' used to be the starting point for religious reflection, but increasingly spiritual seekers are concerning themselves with the question 'where is God?'. We ask historian, religious commentator and author of Grounded: Finding God in the World , Diana Butler Bass , about her faith journey and how her shift from a vertical to a horizontal theology dramatically reshaped her faith and understanding of Church. "I've relocated the idea of transcendence to the horizon. Rather t...
Jul 08, 2016•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 125
Why in our multicultural society is the Church still predominantly led by, and our theology predominantly written by, white men? We head to Birmingham to meet up with one of the UK's leading black theologians, Anthony Reddie . We ask him if the Church is racist and if so what we can do about it? And, what difference would it make to our understanding of God and what he is doing in the world if we read the Bible through black eyes? "I was taught white theology, but it just wasn’t named as white t...
Jun 22, 2016•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 124
We have a humanitarian disaster unfolding on our doorstep. Many of us feel frustrated at our government's half-hearted response, yet we feel overwhelmed and powerless to do anything ourselves. In this episode we hear from Adel Hamad, a Syrian refugee who made the trip to the UK. We then hear from Naomi Jemmett, who works with refugee children who have made similar journeys. And finally we hear from musician and activist David Benjamin Blower . David has written an album - Welcome the Stranger - ...
Jun 12, 2016•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 123
Why is the Church divided into over 40,000 denominations? Why do Churches in the same town often have very little to do with each other? Why are Christians always fighting on social media? It doesn't seem much like the one new humanity Jesus came to establish! To find some answers we quiz social psychologist, Christena Cleveland , author of Disunity in Christ . “In the secular world or in the academic world, all of the research on diversity in groups shows that diverse groups might experience mo...
May 23, 2016•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 122
Professor Gary Burge joins us on the podcast to help us get our heads round the complexities of Israel/Palestine. Gary was a student at the university of Beirut, he now lecturers in the US on the New Testament and the Theology of the Promised Land. He regularly visits the Middle East and has close connections to Christian leaders from Damascus to Jerusalem to Cairo. So tune in if you're wrestling with Whose Land? Whose Promise? "I have many friends in the [Christian Palestinian] community and wh...
May 09, 2016•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 121
Apparently the vast majority of us feel uncomfortable talking about death, and haven't spoken to anyone about our end of life wishes. Jon Underwood thinks this is having a profoundly negative effect on society. So he pioneered the Death Cafe movement where people gather together, drink tea, eat cake and talk openly and honestly about death. "Death can shake us beyond cultural constraints and make us ask serious questions about what life is actually about." - Jon Underwood Interview begins at 4m ...
Apr 25, 2016•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 120
Wayne Jacobsen - author of The Shack - was a successful pastor. But as his disillusionment with the institutional nature of church grew, he decided to walk away and begin to search for the church Jesus was building. 20 years later he says this was one of the best decisions he ever made. “Structure is like our skeleton, any time you’re seeing your skeleton it’s not good. The skeleton supports the life. What happens in our institutions is the structure lives on once the life has gone.” - Wayne Jac...
Apr 11, 2016•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 119
With Pentecost almost upon us, we offer you our 7th and final refection. Associate Professor of Psychology, blogger and author , Richard Beck has the privilege of closing our this series. We hope you've found these reflections helpful. See you later on in the Church calendar. Books, quotes, links → The creation of Nomad’s thoughtful, ad-free content is entirely funded by our equally thoughtful and wonderful listeners. By supporting us, you gain access to Nomad’s online spaces—like the Beloved Li...
Apr 07, 2016•12 min
In our sixth instalment of our Pentecost for Progressives series, we bring you Roger Mitchell . Roger teaches political theology at Lancaster University and has pioneered a movement around the idea of Kenarchy , by which he means ‘self emptying power’. You can read more about this in his book Discovering Kenarchy: Contemporary Resources for the Politics of Love . But until you do, you can enjoy this refection! Books, quotes, links → The creation of Nomad’s thoughtful, ad-free content is entirely...
Apr 06, 2016•14 min
Rachel Mann brings us our fifth Pentecost for Progressives reflection. Rachel is a Church of England priest, and is poet in Residence at Manchester Cathedral. She's also transgender, and brings something of her experience of wrestling with identity and faith to this fascinating refection. Books, quotes, links → The creation of Nomad’s thoughtful, ad-free content is entirely funded by our equally thoughtful and wonderful listeners. By supporting us, you gain access to Nomad’s online spaces—like t...
Apr 05, 2016•14 min
Our Pentecost series continues with a jazz inspired reflection from Sharon Putt. Sharon is a theologian, and author of Razing Hell and Executing God . Books, quotes, links → The creation of Nomad’s thoughtful, ad-free content is entirely funded by our equally thoughtful and wonderful listeners. By supporting us, you gain access to Nomad’s online spaces—like the Beloved Listener Lounge, Enneagram Lounge, and Book Club—as well as bonus episodes such as Nomad Contemplations , Therapeutic Reflection...
Apr 04, 2016•13 min
Our journey towards Pentecost continues. This week's refection comes from freelance community theologian and author, Ann Morisy. Ann has researched and written on everything from the spirituality of public transport, through to the spirituality of ageing. But for us, she turns her attention to Pentecost. Enjoy. Books, quotes, links → The creation of Nomad’s thoughtful, ad-free content is entirely funded by our equally thoughtful and wonderful listeners. By supporting us, you gain access to Nomad...
Apr 03, 2016•12 min
