The Living Church Podcast

There's been some talk that American mainline Protestants are starting to outpace American Evangelicals in church growth. The numbers may reflect real growth in mainline churches; they may also, according to the Public Religion Research Institute, reflect white evangelicals, who might have previously called themselves evangelical, shying away from the label these days; or maybe both. Anglicanism can contain both of these groups, as well as muddle the boundaries between them, and mix in other categories as well. But why has there been such energy behind this statistic? The point is, even though reality is a lot more complex, we often think of there being, in a given cultural context, two major groups of Christians at odds with each other: Catholic vs. Protestant, mainline vs. evangelical, conservative vs. liberal/progressive. And the distinctions split off, become exceedingly fine, etc., etc. How they manifest may range from good-natured jokes about each other to ignoring or deploring the other's existence. But working together, much less worshipping together, can be messy. So where am I going with this? Well, if you know anything about the Living Church, and if you know that this episode is about ministry, climate, and creation care, asking questions about divisions in the body of Christ should not come as too much of a surprise. Fortunately, today we've got a great conversation partner. Dr. Mark Purcell is the Executive Director of A Rocha USA, a Christian conservation organization in the international A Rocha network. (We'll talk more about who they are in the episode.) Mark and I dig into the work of climate and creation care from the perspective of a Christian organizer who works with Christians across the theological and denominational spectrum, in an organization with evangelical roots. We'll talk today about what they do, but also about how Mark has learned to communicate and build relationships cross-traditionally, and how other Christian leaders from mainline or liturgical perspectives can build connections over creation care with evangelical and "non-liturgical" Christian leaders. You want ecumenical work? You want climate change action? Mark says, start with your neighbors. Check out the Living Church Institute --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/support

Understanding trauma and how it works can be an invaluable tool in the emotional and spiritual toolbox. Navigating life and ministry in the second half of 2021, how can we understand and love better the people in our lives who have experienced or are experiencing trauma? How is a traumatic experience unique from other difficult experiences? How does it affect communities and churches? And how can we move into God's gifts of healing? As we'll explore in our conversation today, the Church has a lot to offer here. Today we welcome Dr. Warren Kinghorn for conversation about trauma, ministry, and healing. Warren is the Esther Colliflower Associate Research Professor of Pastoral and Moral Theology at Duke Divinity School; Co-Director of the Theology, Medicine, and Culture Initiative; and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center. Final note: In talking about trauma today, we do not go into any explicit detail about forms of trauma or traumatic experiences. But even talking about the topic of trauma may evoke strong feelings in folks who are trauma survivors. So for our listeners, please make sure it's the right time for you for this episode. We hope you enjoy the conversation. Sign up for The Living Word Plus and get the first month free (Coupon code LISTENUP at checkout) --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/support

As we're looking toward Lambeth 2022 (Lord willing), we all know one of the biggest issues on Archbishop Justin's mind, one of the biggest topics we'll be addressing: climate change. With this in mind, we're working here at the podcast on producing a series of interviews with organizers, artists, scientists, scholars, and pastors to talk about climate urgency, creation, and how protecting and stewarding it intersects with our various leadership roles and our vocations as Christians. Today we'll hear from the Rev. Dr. Rachel Mash. Rachel is the environmental Coordinator of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. She works with the Green Anglicans Movement, which we'll be discussing today. She is also the secretary to the Anglican Communion Environmental Network and sits on the steering group of the Season of Creation group. Our conversation today concentrates on how we go from hearing and knowing about climate change to getting the issues in our heart space (not always an easy leap), how Christians are responding in various ways around the globe, and how a deeper care for creation might be integrated into devotional practices, liturgy, and Christian rites of passage. We also talk about grounding ecological action in Scripture, and I pose to Rachel some questions many of us may be asking: like when does minute attention to single use plastics and planting trees distract from the church's main mission to preach the gospel? Does it have to? Check out Green Anglicans Check out the Anglican Communion Environmental Network Learn more about the ecumenical Season of Creation Donate to the Living Church --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/support

Today we bring you a reading in our Classic Texts series, an excerpt from a great work by a great author, ancient or contemporary -- this one from the holy orator, St. John Chrysostom. Today is a bit shorter than usual. We're taking it a little easier this week. Like many of you, I'm sure, we're transitioning from one season to another, from summer to a slightly busier fall, and we'll be back in two weeks with our regular-length episodes. For now, enjoy this sweet treat of a reading by our very own summer intern in residence, William Hargrave. William came to us from Sewanee, where's he's finishing his undergraduate studies. He kept us in conversation, wit, icons, excellent stationery, and Latin declensions all summer, and we will miss him and his seersucker jackets as he goes back to school. Speaking of school, in time for the return to class, whether you're a professor, parent, or student yourself, today's reading from Chrysostom is a homily and a bit of a scolding, maybe you could say an authoritative encouragement, about why we send our kids to school, and how we should teach them to live. Enjoy! Sign up for The Living Word Plus and get the first month free (Coupon code LISTENUP at checkout). --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/support

Small groups are a growth edge for a lot of us. Even those committed to the church and leadership. And maybe especially for those in liturgical contexts. We may be tempted to think that Sunday morning, and maybe some volunteer work thrown in there, is all we need for spiritual flourishing. But all Christians need community, and whether small groups particularly work for us or not, we have to seek out and stick with others who walk with us along the path, turning the wedding feast of Sunday into the marriage of the everyday habits and transformations that are the Christian life. Small groups are a time-tested way of building that community, and they're seeing something of a revival in recent days. They're also incredibly adaptable to different churches and cultures. "Hey, the 90s called and they want their small groups back." That's not the way it needs to be. Today we're going to talk to two people who have successfully implemented small group ministries in their very different church contexts and hear how small group ministry can be done, what it contributes particularly to Anglican and Episcopal contexts, how small groups relate to church growth, how to avoid cliques in small parishes and disconnection in large ones, and other expert advice on leading and implementing this model of discipleship in your parish. Our guests today are Brooke Holt and the Rev. Canon Robert Sihubwa. Brooke is a lay leader at St. John the Divine Episcopal Church in Houston Texas, and executive director of Bible Study Media, a small group curriculum company. Her passion is teaching God's Word and equipping believers to build the Kingdom. She also ministers through healing prayer and Holy Yoga. She has seen small groups transform community in her parish, even during the pandemic. Fr. Robert is rector of St. Peter's Anglican Church in Lusaka, Zambia. He also serves as the Anglican Province of Central Africa's youth and children ministry leader. He is a preacher, evangelist, and Christian educator, and hosts a radio show on Radio Christian Voice, an independent station in Lusaka. He also leads the discipleship and missions team for the Anglican Communion part of a global FB group, Jesus Shaped Life. And he has used small groups to support other discipleship efforts in his parish, growing from 200 average Sunday attendance to over 1,000 in a few years. Here are some resources Fr. Robert and Brooke mention in our conversation today: Bible Study Media (resource Brooke mentions) Building Intentional Small Groups (resource Fr. Robert mentions) Sign up for The Living Word Plus and get the first month free (Coupon code LISTENUP at checkout) --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/support

We're still maybe not flocking back into movie theaters, but that's OK. We thought we'd bring a little of the arts and entertainment world to you today. A couple months ago the Living Church made a friend in producer Mary Beth Minnis, a documentary filmmaker from Austin, Texas. In various ways, Mary Beth has dedicated her life to tell stories that reveal truth and bring hope. After over a decade in college ministry and mentoring with the organization, Cru, Mary Beth jumped headlong into the world of filmmaking, which you'll hear about in today's episode. Mary Beth has served as producer on seven films so far, including the short film TOWER, which won the 2018 Emmy for "Best Historical Documentary," and is currently at work on the documentary, Clarkston, with co-producer Katie Couric. Today we'll talk about how and where Mary Beth sees the Lord at work in the film industry and in the lives of those she works with, the kinds of stories that she loves telling, what the craft of filmmaking can teach us about God, and what her job looks like day to day, which, I found, seems to involve a lot of the aspects and require many of the same virtues as working in ministry. Learn more about Mary Beth's films: Return to Mogadishu: Remembering Black Hawk Down Imba Means Sing Mama Rwanda TOWER JUMP SHOT: The Kenny Sailors Story Imperdonabile/Unforgivable CLARKSTON: The Most Diverse Square Mile --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/support

What hath Pentecost to do with Wall Street?  Or, for that matter, what do the drudgery and stress of balancing checkbooks, checking spreadsheets, and making financial decisions, in your parish, diocese, or at home, have to do with the Holy Spirit's creative, enlivening presence? As Christians we often do have an idea of how our personal finances are or at least should be guided by prudence, simplicity, justice. Dave Ramsey. Got it. But how do our economic lives as human beings, even on a national or international level, relate to the revelation of Jesus Christ, or to the life and vocation God has given to the Church? Is it even possible to have such a vision, or to do anything about it? We've got a conversation today with guests who bring two different and very unique perspectives to the table, to help us get a theological vision for God's purpose for our common life together and how economics and the Christian life might intersect. Our first guest is Dr. Daniela Augustine. Daniela is currently Reader in World Christianity and Pentecostal Studies at the University of Birmingham UK, with a previous background in economics. Her focus is in ethics and public theology and engaging Eastern Orthodox theology in conversation with Pentecostal theology, especially in liturgy, theosis, and the event of Pentecost as a paradigm for social transformation. Her latest book is The Spirit and the Common Good: Shared Flourishing in the Image of God. Our second guest is The Rev. Dr. Nathan McLellan. Nathan worked as an economist in the New Zealand Treasury for over six years before a hunger for theological education led him to a Ph.D. in Christian ethics. He is currently CEO and Teaching Fellow at Venn Foundation, an education institution helping Christians explore the depths and riches of the Christian tradition for the good of their homes, workplaces, churches, and communities in New Zealand. He is passionate about helping others deepen their integration of faith and life, especially in the areas of economics, business, and leadership. The conversation is moderated by Dr. Dallas Gingles. Dallas is the Site Director of the Houston-Galveston Extension Program of Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, where he teaches courses in moral theology, systematic theology, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and bioethics. His current work includes a co-edited volume on the future of Christian realism. Donate to the Living Church Go to Rome with the Living Church! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/support

We are heading to Toronto! Toronto, Ontario is a center of multinational life, education, commerce, the arts, and food. It's also full of thriving churches. How do urban and rural Canadian Christians thrive? Where is the church growing, and why? And what can the rest of us learn from what Anglicans in Toronto are learning about ministry, multiculturalism, and community? Today I speak with the Rt. Rev. Jenny Andison and the Rev. Dr. Jeff Boldt about these questions and more. They give me a little taste of life in this fascinating city, and a glimpse at how they've experienced immigration, ethnic diversity, and Indigenous life building up the body of Christ. The Rt. Rev. Jenny Andison is rector at St. Paul's Bloor St in Toronto. She is the former area bishop of York-Credit Valley in the Diocese of Toronto and has served in Toronto for many years. Bishop Jenny has also served in the Diocese of London (UK), and the Diocese of Tokyo. The Rev. Dr. Jeff Boldt serves as a priest in the diocese of Toronto. Jeff grew up as a Mennonite and has a previous career as an animator. Jeff has contributed to several volumes of Anglican theology, most recently in The Bible and the Prayer Book Tradition. Just a note, I want to mention that we recorded this episode before the horrifying news broke, about the unmarked graves of hundreds of Indigenous children found on the grounds of former church-run schools in British Columbia and Saskatchewan. Though honoring multiethnicity and a growing church is where our conversation today will focus, we also acknowledge the history in North America, a history shared by Canada and the U.S., not only of ethnic tensions that naturally arise in diverse contexts, but of terrible abuses within the Church, a history that still cries out for repentance and healing. Lord, have mercy. Thanks for joining us for this conversation. Shoulder your knapsack. And Let's head to Toronto. Travel to Rome with the Living Church and Nashotah House. Give to the Living Church. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/support

Live streaming and worship. Zoom and Bible study. Outreach and TikTok. For the average congregation, we used to think, never any of these twains shall meet. Now, if you work at a church, you'd better be on your iPhone and Facebook game. And, if you're ordained, you had better know how to use a tripod. Right? A couple of weeks ago we started a series on "Hybrid church." What is hybrid church, should we embrace it, is it theologically sound in part or in whole, who seems to be responding to it? Which technologies might work best for certain contexts, and how? Today we talk to someone whose journey might be helpful to other digital ministry skeptics. The Rev. John Mason Lock is rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Red Bank, New Jersey, and he is passionately committed to traditional Anglican worship and liturgy, with a particular respect for the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. And this is his story, his words of advice for rectors and other church leaders on how and why to adopt digital techniques for ministry today. And we also get his theological take on why it might be good still to keep the side-eye on all this hybrid stuff, so our tendency to avoid the challenges of embodied experience doesn't get out of control. Give to keep this podcast going! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/support

Preachers, teachers, and Christians across the globe have found the passionate, pastoral, and psychologically astute writings of St. Augustine of Hippo fresh and relevant century after century. New City Press asked themselves, um, why hasn't anyone produced a really rock star translation of all of Augustine's sermons in English? And of course, being a publishing company, they did something about it. Their latest in this series is a new translation of St. Augustine's Homilies on the Gospel of John. (See link below.) June 8 TCLI co-hosted a master class and live Q+A session with Rowan Williams and Augustine scholar John Cavadini, focusing specifically on Augustine as a preacher, what we can learn as preachers from him, and on his homilies on John 6. Today we're pleased to present the audio of this master class to you. Our moderator is the Rev. Dr. Paul Kolbet. he is the author of a book on Augustine’s preaching, Augustine and the Cure of Souls: Revising a Classical Ideal. He is also Lecturer in the History of Christianity at Yale Divinity School, Co-Chair of the Augustine and Augustinianisms Group of the American Academy of Religion, and Interim Rector of All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Chelmsford, Mass. Our first guest is Dr. John C. Cavadini, Professor of Theology at Notre Dame, where he also serves as McGrath-Cavadini Director of the McGrath Institute for Church Life. He specializes in patristic theology and in its early medieval reception. He has served a five-year term on the International Theological Commission (appointed by Pope Benedict the 16th) and received the Monika K. Hellwig Award for Outstanding Contributions to Catholic Intellectual Life. Our second guest is the Most Rev. Dr. Rowan Williams. He served as Archbishop of Canterbury from 2002 to 2012, and then as Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge until 2020.  He has published numerous books on theology and spirituality, including On Augustine (2016) and Christ the Heart of Creation (2018). A new volume of Collected Poems will be published later this year. Read new translations of Augustine by New City Press. Explore the Living Church. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/support