TheoDisc Podcast

In this episode, Kenny is joined by Nigel Langford, and they go on an exploration of theological understanding and revelation of God’s character through Nigel and his wife, Nicky’s adoption story. Enjoy!

Welcome to TheoDisc episode 27! In this episode we welcome Prof Sandra Glahn of Dallas Theological Seminary. Kenny and Sandra explore her new book, Nobody’s Mother, and the implications of archaeological, cultural, historical, literary, and biblical evidence for our understanding of Paul’s letters, and in particular the passage in 1 Tim 2:15.

In this episode of TheoDisc, Kenny was in conversation with Aaron White, and they addressed these questions and more... Is it possible that the narratives, themes and words that we see in our popular culture can be avenues for God to speak? How can we engage film, literature, music and more with our ears open to the gospel of the Kingdom? And can our engagement with art help us to minister in the world more effectively?

At WTC, we believe that theological education should be accessible to everyone, not just those in paid ministerial work. As a result, more than half of our student body aren’t in paid Christian ministry, but are working in the marketplace, education, health, trades, and other venues. Our guest on this episode, Marijke Hoek, believes that professionals should be viewed as those on kingdom mission in the world and should be supported, equipped, and learned from in their communication of the gospel. This was such an interesting and thought-provoking discussion and we hope you enjoy it.

In recent years we’ve seen a crisis of leadership in the western Evangelical world. We can all name names and shake our heads, but perhaps we ought to step back and think more widely about the models or leadership we’ve adopted and put into practice. In this episode of TheoDisc, Kenny talks with Professor Andrew Parker about the ways in which we need to re-engage with and train people in the kind of leadership modelled by Jesus - servant leadership. Enjoy. This is our 24th episode of TheoDisc, so if you haven’t heard all our previous episodes, please dig into our back catalogue. You can receive all future episodes by subscribing to TheoDisc on whatever podcast platform you use.

In this episode of TheoDisc, Kenny chats with Alister Wallace about how the books of Judges and Ruth ought to be read together, and how women and the treatment of women are vital to the theological trajectory of these books. Our often simplistic presentations of Biblical figures like Gideon and Samson can obscure the fact that the book in which they feature, Judges, is a grim exploration of Israel’s inability to remain faithful to their covenant with God and the resulting consequences. By contrast, the book which immediately follows Judges is Ruth, a book brimming with displays of covenant faithfulness.

On today’s episode, Kenny had a conversation with the wonderful Dr Carmen Imes. Carmen holds a PhD from Wheaton College and is the Associate Professor of Old Testament at Biola University in California. In her work, Carmen shows a real passion to help everyone engage with the Old Testament and to discover how it is still relevant for us today. She does this through her Torah Tuesday Youtube Podcast and through her books ‘Bearing God’s Name’ and her most recent work ‘Being God’s Image: Why Creation Still Matters” where she explores what it means for us to be made as the image of God. Kenny had a chance to talk with Carmen about her latest book and we hope this will provoke your own thinking about how you live out this core identity. Enjoy.

In this episode, Kenny chats with Scot McKnight about his latest publication - The Second Testament - a new Bible translation of the New Testament. Enjoy! Episode 21 Outline: Start-01:37 - Introduction. 01:37-04:20 - Welcome to Scot and 3 questions. 04:29-13:39 - What was your motivation for The Second Testament behind the translation project? How does this Bible translation differ from other more familiar ones? How have you resisted compromise by staying close to the Greek text? 13:48-28:33 - When translating from the Greek, how do you consider the history of established English tranlations in the process? Was this familiarity an issue for you? Your use of 'new' words for well-known ones, is very interesting, so how did you make these decisions? Discussing examples of these, including 1 Cor 11. 28:41-36:10 - As a translator, you make certain decisions that have consequences, so how do you make the choice in a faithful way? For those who don't speak or read Greek, how can you reassure them that the translation process is being faithful to the text? 36:18-End - Close and further information.

In this episode, Kenny chats with Rev Nick Crawley about engaging with the Bible in meaningful ways and how this grounds our discipleship. Enjoy! Episode 20 Outline: Start-01:31 - Introduction. 01:31-04:10 - Welcome to Nick and 3 questions. 04:19-13:03 - How did Bible for Life get started? What has your own journey with the Bible been like? How can Christians engage more with the habit of studying the scriptures? 13:11-26:50 - Discussion of the book of 1 Thessalonians based on the 'whole book' idea. What are some of the ways you recommend others to dig into the Bible in this way? What are some of the tools on the Bible for Life website? 27:01-30:10 - What effect has Dallas Willard had on you personally and also on the approach of Bible for Life? 30:18-End - Close and further information.

In this episode, Jack and Kenny go on an exploration of prayer and how our understanding of the nature, attributes, and character of God gives ground to our efforts in prayer. Happy listening! Episode 18 Outline: Start-01:31 - Introduction. 01:31-04:25 - Welcome to Jack and 3 questions. 04:25-14:28 - You quote Evagrius Ponticus, who says: "If you're a theologian, you truly pray; if you truly pray, you're a theologian." What then is the connection between our understanding of God (our theology) and our prayer life? Why has the work you've done on prayer been important to you? What are the different types of prayer and their implications? 14:28-29:20 - When we expect God to act on our prayers, specifically through petition or lament, what are the underlying theologies within our expectations? What are we getting into when we're asking God to respond to our prayers? What are some of the implications? 29:20-32:35 - What does it mean for God to be omniscient and for us to have a will, in a practical sense, for us to pray? 32:35-End - Closing prayer and further information.

In this episode, Kenny and Matt Lynch discussed passages in the Old Testament like the flood and the conquest of Canaan, that on the surface contain moments of troubling violence. But Matt contends that a closer and slower reading of passages like these can actually reveal a critique of violence and show us more of the goodness and mercy of God. We hope this episode will help bring some clarity to some of the difficult questions raised when we read the Old Testament, particularly in light of the God we see revealed in Jesus Christ. Episode 18 Outline: Start-01:31 - Introduction. 01:31-04:54 - Welcome to Matt and 3 questions. 05:03-13:33 - What led you to write Flood and Fury? Is the Old Testament a language we don't understand anymore? How has our discomfort around the passages of violence contributed to our general inability to connect with the Old Testament? What kind of approach you would advocate for when reading violent texts? 13:41-30:36 - You help to sharpen our focus on the contrast between shalom and violence presented in Genesis 1–11. How does this reframe the dilemma God faces in the flood narrative? In reading the Book of Joshua, can you help us make sense of how God would command Israel to totally destroy the Canaanites, including men, women, children, and animals? 30:45-34:02 - I was struck by your observation that Jesus shows us the kind of person it’s possible to become with a deep immersion in, and understanding of, the Hebrew Bible. That must mean there’s hope for us as his disciples? How does the character of God revealed in Jesus act as a culmination of the Old Testament narrative instead of being in conflict with it? How would you encourage people to engage more with the Old Testament? 34:02-End - Close and further information.

This conversation revolves around Matthew’s latest book Why the Gospel? Matthew has contended that the “good news” of the gospel is the proclamation that Jesus is King, but why is this message necessary and what difference can it make in our lives? Enjoy. Episode 17 Outline: Start-01:46 - Introduction. 01:46-05:06 - Welcome to Matthew and 3 questions. 05:15-10:05 - Discussion about Matthew's latest book 'Why the Gospel?' and how our understanding of the Gospel has been malformed and its presentation incomplete. 10:13-18:19 - In his new book, Matthew refers to 'Christ' not being Jesus' last name, but a reference to his authority. How does this affect our sharing of the Gospel? 18:27-30:38 - Why do we have the Gospel? How do you address this in the book? 30:46-34:43 - In our allegiance to Jesus the King, how can we invite others into this kingdom in a healthy way? How do we address faith and doubt? 34:43-End - Close and further information.

In this episode of TheoDisc, Kenny talks with Dr Jason Myers about how Paul’s attempts to help the church navigate life under the Imperial rule of Rome can inform our own approach as kingdom witnesses in our context. Enjoy. Episode 16 Outline: Start-01:31 - Introduction. 01:31-06:01 - Welcome to Jason and 3 questions. 06:09-16:28 - Paul was operating in the context of the Roman Empire, and we sometimes miss the nuances of what his political views were like. Could we sketch out a rough picture of what this empire was like and how Paul operated in this context? Paul seems to communicate to the church that they are an alternative society… that they are citizens of another kingdom. What kind of tension would this introduce? 16:37-26:21 - The language of Paul’s letters is so familiar to many of us that it’s difficult to see that many of the things Paul wrote had the potential to be politically inflammatory. Could we talk about some of those terms that have lost their edge with familiarity? What do you think of the pastoral language Paul uses with the church in the midst of empire? 26:29-34:52 - In our context today, what does Paul have to say to us as a church about how we need to think about the political cultures around us and how we express the kingdom of God in that and navigate it in a faithful way? 34:52-End - Close and further information.

In episode 15 of TheoDisc, we spoke about the theme of Glory in the New Testament. In the preamble to his gospel, John declares of the Son, the Word made flesh, “We have seen his glory”. We explored what this glory means in relation to God, to the early witnesses of Christ, and to us today. Enjoy. Episode 15 Outline: Start-01:31 - Introduction. 01:31-05:38 - Welcome to Adesola and 3 questions. 05:46-18:18 - To start, could we define the word 'glory' in a biblical context? When we open John’s Gospel, the prologue presents us with numerous symbols - how will John be using these throughout his gospel? What prominence does John give to the Father-Son relationship we see in terms of God's self-revelation? 18:26-28:06 - How does John flesh out throughout his gospel, how people have 'seen' the glory of the Father revealed through Jesus? When Jesus prays for his disciples in John 17:22, and says: “The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one”, what does that participation look like? 28:15-34:42 - How can we continue to participate in the story of God’s glory and how can we see God’s glory revealed in and through us to the world around us? 34:51-End - Close and further information.

*Republished episode 14* For many of us, our reading of the Old Testament has been formed in a theological environment that has obscured the often subversive nature of the Bible’s presentation of women and led to interpretations that can be harmful to women. That’s the conversation Kenny had with Ali Blacklee Whittall for this episode. With special thanks to Dr Tamara Knudson for her insightful research into the women of the Old Testament.

In episode 13 of TheoDisc, Kenny chats with Dr Ruth Perrin and Ed Earnshaw about emerging adults and how the church can be more proactive in reaching out to students in today's context... Episode 13 Outline: Start-00:57 – Introduction. 01:01-05:27 – Welcome to Ruth and Ed, and 3 questions. 05:35-15:39 – Discussion about Ruth’s research into emerging adults and looking at the differences between Millennials and Generation Z. 15:47-23:54 – What is the current attitude of students towards faith and spirituality? What are the opportunities for the church in reaching the student generation? 24:02-31:41 – How can we encourage people in our churches to invest in outreach to students in our areas? 31:50-End – Info about the Student Ministry GradDip, close and further information.

In episode 12 of TheoDisc, Kenny chats with Dr Jasper Knecht. Jasper teaches Christian Doctrine at WTC. He grew up in the Netherlands, and completed his PhD in Systematic and Historical Theology at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. His interests include the history of doctrine, and particularly the development of Christological thought in the Patristic era, Late Antiquity, and the Early Medieval Church. Jasper is married to Stefania and is a big fan of classical music. In this conversation, Jasper and Kenny talked about how the early church provides a rich field of study of the Scriptures for the Charismatic church of today. Topics like exegesis, sola scriptura, allegory, and historical critical method abounded in our discussion, and it was truly fascinating. We hope you enjoy it!

In episode 11 of TheoDisc, Kenny chats with Christine Westhoff. Chris serves on the Int’l team for 24-7 Prayer, and is the founder of Akouo Missions. She is also the author and developer of ReFraming the Prophetic, a biblical reflection course on the gift and purpose of the prophetic. You can find out more at reframingtheprophetic.com In our conversation, Chris unpacked some of the misapplication and misunderstandings of prophetic gifting that she sees in churches, and speaks about her passion to see this vital gift flourishing across the church in a healthy, scriptural and vibrant way. We hope you enjoy this episode!

In episode 10 of TheoDisc, Kenny chats with Danny Hampson. Danny and his family live and minister in Ibiza as part of 24/7 Prayer and, he is also completing a Masters with WTC. In our conversation we talked about the real Ibiza, the necessity of continual prayer for our awareness of God’s kingdom at work, how theological awareness impacts day to day ministry, and Danny’s MA dissertation which focuses on a trinitarian perspective on peace. We hope you enjoy it! Episode 10 Outline: Start-00:59 - Introduction 01:07-03:11 - Welcome to Danny and 3 questions. 03:20-10:35 - Tell us about your work with 24/7 Prayer in Ibiza... How did you end up there with 24/7 Prayer and what is the Ibiza you have experienced? 10:42-21:45 - What are some of the things you are involved in with 24/7 Prayer on Ibiza? What does it look like on a practical basis? 21:53-28:42 - Tell us about your Masters with WTC and your dissertation on a trinitarian perspective on peace. 28:50-End - Close and further information

In episode 9 of TheoDisc, Kenny chats with Bev Murrill about emerging from, and feeling the effects of, the pandemic on church life and practice. They ask what lessons have been learned from that time, and what might church leadership and community look like going forward? Enjoy! Episode 9 Outline: Start-00:59 - Introduction 01:07-04:55 - Welcome to Bev and 3 questions. 05:02-15:23 - Tell us about your own leadership journey and about what you felt God saying to you at the beginning of and during the pandemic. What are some of the lessons you've learned during this time? 15:30-29:54 - Can you tell us more about social cohesion erosion as a result of the pandemic in church communities? Has this led to the death of the 'church machine' and a sense of disillusionment? How can we encourage church leaders who are struggling now? 30:02-33:47 - What does the future of church and church leadership look like for you? 33:55-End - Close and further information

In episode 8 of the TheoDisc Podcast, Kenny chats with Dr Steve Watts about the cultural arrogance borne from ignorance of the context of church history, contrasted with the potential for humility, self-aware insight, and faithful witness. They look at how we can be empowered by a healthy engagement with church history. Enjoy! Episode 8 Outline: Start-01:20 - Introduction 01:24-07:01 - Welcome to Steve and 3 questions. 07:09-16:06 - How does our knowledge of history affect our perspective on it? Why has our abandonment of engaging with the history of the church come to be seen as a virtuous and spiritual shedding of a stale and deathly religious expression? 16:15-31:31 - In what ways do we gain a healthy perspective on church history while maintaining a posture of humility? 31:39-36:00 - How can we shift our attention from the heroes and villains to a more holistic view of history? 36:10-45:28 - How can we become more self-aware in our knowledge and also apply it to our witness in our world today? 45:37-End - Close and further information

In this episode, Kenny chats with Janey Lawry-White about why it's important to study theology in today’s climate. Janey not only oversees all operations full-time at WTC, she has also studied on the GradDip and is currently doing the MA, so really knows what she’s talking about! Episode 7 Outline: Start-01:20 - Introduction 01:24-04:14 - Welcome to Janey and 3 questions. 04:23-07:33 - Discussion about the accessibility of theological study. 07:42-15:00 - What was your own experience of studying theology and what were some obstacles to study? How transformative has it been for you to study theology? 15:09-21:23 - What are some of the key theological nuggets you've discovered on your own journey? 21:32-30:21 - How have you experienced academic study and the work of the Holy Spirit working together? How would you encourage others who feel they have enough 'Bible things' in their lives? What are the things that have brought you closer to God through your studies? 30:28-32:55 - What would be your encouragement be for those who definitely think that to study theology is not for them?. 32:55-End - Close and further information

For our Christmas special TheoDisc episode, Kenny Innes and Lucy Peppiatt had a chat with Tim Mackie from BibleProject at 24-7 Prayer's 'The Gathering' in Belfast. They found out more about his journey from being purely a biblical scholar, to gaining a deeper understanding of Systematic Theology and looking at the early church fathers and mothers, and how it plays such a significant part in shaping and influencing our faith. Enjoy! Episode 5 Outline: Start-01:20 - Introduction 01:24-05:01 - Welcome to Tim and 3 questions. 05:01-09:33 - Lucy and Tim, how did you guys meet? 09:33-18:05 - What are some of the conversations you've been having around Christology, particularly, and how have your disciplines of Systematics and Biblical Studies overlapped? 18:05-25:56 - In the context of the Incarnation, what were people's conceptions of God, particularly from an Old Testament perspective, and how did the person of Jesus influence them in that context? 25:56-38:40 - Tim, what are your thoughts on the way in which the early church viewed Jesus' incarnational nature and the church fathers who then defended a high Christology? 38:40-46:29 - Tim talks about a big misconception he'd had about the early centuries of the church and how it became very personal for him. 46:29-50:48 - Kenny tries to wrap up the conversation... And then Tim and Lucy talk more about Christology, but in our different contexts today. Tim finishes by talking about where to start when attempting to read the church fathers. 50:48-End - Close and further information

In episode 5, we look at how Christian Nationalism is a present danger in the US and to some extent the UK in its pursuit of power and exclusion over love and service. Bob also has a podcast called Disciple. You can listen to it HERE. Episode 5 Outline: Start-01:20 - Introduction 01:24-04:30 - Welcome to Bob and 3 questions. 04:30-07:31 - What do you mean when you talk about 'Christian Nationalism? 07:31-12:04 - How do you see the idea of Christian Nationalism being played out in the USA, particularly in the church, at the moment? 12:04-16:36 - How does assigning a divine value on a nation state affect how we view Jesus and his kingdom? How does the idea of justice fit into us exalting our nations? 16:36-19:23 - In what ways has Christian Nationalism united groups that were previously fairly divided? 19:23-24:15 - Can we look at ways in which we can resist this notion that our nation's future is wrapped up in the future of the Kingdom of God? How can we practically and prophetically speak and work against that? 24:15-30:00 - Do you think that if our focus is on a centralised national power, does it pull us away from the margins where we see Jesus at work in the Gospels? 30:00-End - Closing prayer and further information

In episode 4, we look at how developing awareness of the interplay between New Testament and Hebrew scriptures with regards to literary and narrative links and how reading with this in mind can open our eyes to fresh ways of understanding the text for our world. We do hope you enjoy listening to our fourth episode of the TheoDisc Podcast! Read the BONUS Blog Post HERE! Episode 4 Outline: Start-01:20 - Introduction 01:24-06:30 - Welcome to Tobias and 3 questions. 06:38-11:51 - What does a narrative approach to Scripture look like and how does this compare and contrast to other views, like the historical approach? 12:00-15:42 - Looking at the biblical writers as literary authors in their own right, and not only writers of historical fact, with various examples. 15:50-23:17 - How do we read the Gospels narratively? Reference is made to specific stories in the Old Testament through two examples. 23:26-26:57 - How do we deal with this idea of the unity of Scripture? In what ways can we make the narrative approach to the Bible more accessible? 27:05-32:33 - Thinking of how the idea of 'one meaning' to a biblical passage is often proclaimed, how can we, through a narrative approach, find our stories within the overall Story of the Gospel itself? 32:33-End - Closing information

In episode 3, we springboard from Freddy’s PhD work in Lamentations to talk about the ‘right to reply’ that is provided for God’s people, and how this can provoke us to rethink the place of lament and being honest with God in our church communities and personal journeys. Freddy speaks from a deeply lived knowledge of God and the Scriptures with humility, compassion and a genuine invitation to explore together with him. We do hope you enjoy listening to our third episode of the TheoDisc Podcast! Episode 3 Outline: Start-01:20 - Introduction 01:24-06:04 - Welcome to Freddy and 3 questions. 06:04-14:10 - Overview of the journey of Freddy’s work in Lamentations – how it came to be the focus of PhD, and the ideas that emerged. 14:10-26:41 - Using Lamentations 1 as a springboard, we can discuss the ‘laments’ or ‘complaints’ that arise in the context of a ‘right to reply’, but also as they reveal the breadth of expression open to God’s people. 26:41-35:05 - How do we navigate faithfully through what Jesus has done for us in his redemptive work, to a place of genuine lament within moments of difficulty? 35:05-39:15 - How do you see the changes happening within our sung worship to incorporate lament and an honest crying out to God? 39:15-End - Closing information

In episode 2, which follows on from the conversation in episode 1, Kenny and Lucy talk through different models of thought concerning the doctrine of the Imago Dei, and how our understanding of the doctrine can have transformative potential in the way we live practically. Episode 2 Outline: Start-01:20 – Introduction 01:24-02:31 – Brief recap / introduce direction for this episode on the Imago Dei. 02:31-07:49 – Description of Substantialist / Noetic perspectives. 07:49-12:32 – Looking at ‘image’ and ‘likeness’ and the movement towards God. 12:32-21:30 – Description of Functional / Vocational / Missional perspectives. 21:30-26:33 – Definitions and Outline of Relational Models as influenced by the Renaissance and Reformation. 26:33-30:15 – Modern perspectives on the Imago Dei, which includes issues like embodiment, diversity – race / gender / disability, and also sexuality and desire. 30:15-34:38 – How do we then take the ideas from your book, The Imago Dei, and apply them to our lives and the people around us? 34:38-End – Closing information

In our first ever Theodisc episode, Kenny hosts a discussion of Lucy Peppiatt’s book, The Imago Dei, through an exploration of the doctrine of the Imago Dei and its implications. Part 1 covers a broad exploration of what it means for us to be 'made in the image of God'. Episode Outline: Start-01:20 – Introduction 01:24-04:38 – A few of Lucy’s favourite things. 04:38-07:19 – What led to the writing of this book? 07:19-09:16 – Why is the doctrine of the Imago Dei so important for us to wrestle with? 09:16-12:04 – ‘What does it mean to be made in the image of God?’ feels like a fundamental question without a simple answer. Why do you think this is? Is this a function of how wide-reaching the doctrine is to human existence? 12:04-16:16 – As you sifted through some of the history of thought on the Imago Dei, what were some discoveries you made? 16:16-25:11 – Your book opens with a series of questions – perhaps we could touch on some of those and the issues they raise. 25:11-29:49 – We seem to learn something of God by looking at ourselves, and of ourselves by looking at God. How can we push into this while still maintaining a healthy and necessary distinction between God and humanity? 29:49-34:15 – What does being made in the image of God say to those personally who do not feel worthy or that they have any value? How can the Imago Dei be a life-giving doctrine? 34:15-End – Closing information