Nomad Podcast

Vicky Beeching was the darling of the Christian worship scene. For a decade she wrote hit albums and toured American mega-churches, leading worship for thousands of people every week. Her songs become some of the most sung around the world. But from the age of 13 Vicky had kept a secret. She was gay.   When finally at the age of 35 she came out, the evangelical Church she loved turned on her. Boycotting her music, they ended her career over night. This was backed up with an unrelenting flood of online abuse. We chat with Vicky about the importance of wholeness, vulnerability, authenticity and the radical and inclusive love of Jesus.   After the interview Nomad hosts Tim Nash and Jemimah McAlpine reflect on Vicky's story and on their own journey towards an affirming theology. Interview begins at 8m 2s 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 Reflections, and Nomad Revisited. If you’d like to join our lovely community of supporters, head over to our Patreon page. You might even be rewarded with a Nomad pen or our coveted Beloved Listener mug! If a monthly commitment isn’t possible right now, a one-off donation is always deeply appreciated—you can do that here. Looking to connect with others nearby? Check out the Listener Map or join our Nomad Gathering Facebook group. And if you're up for sharing your own story, we regularly post reflections from listeners on our blog—all with the hope of fostering deeper understanding, connection and supportive relationships. If you'd like to share your story on the blog, contact us for more information here.

"If we want our world to be more beautiful, kind and fair, then should'nt our activism be beautiful, kind and fair?" It's obvious when you hear someone say it. So why is so much activism loud and aggressive? Sarah Corbett burnt out on just this kind of activism, partly because she's an introvert, and partly because she increasingly doubted its effectiveness. So she formed the Craftivist Collective "an inclusive group of people committed to using thoughtful, beautiful crafted works to help themselves and encourage others be the positive change they wish to see in the world." Sarah's is a fascinating story. And the collective she founded is a truly inspiring and challenging movement! After the interview Nomad hosts Tim Nash and David Blower reflect on Sarah's activism journey and the role activism has played in their own evolving faith. Interview begins at 12m 36s 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 Reflections, and Nomad Revisited. If you’d like to join our lovely community of supporters, head over to our Patreon page. You might even be rewarded with a Nomad pen or our coveted Beloved Listener mug! If a monthly commitment isn’t possible right now, a one-off donation is always deeply appreciated—you can do that here. Looking to connect with others nearby? Check out the Listener Map or join our Nomad Gathering Facebook group. And if you're up for sharing your own story, we regularly post reflections from listeners on our blog—all with the hope of fostering deeper understanding, connection and supportive relationships. If you'd like to share your story on the blog, contact us for more information here.

Metropolitan Kallistos Ware is considered by many to be the leading theologian today in the Orthodox Church. He is perhaps best known as the author of the book The Orthodox Church, and more recently the companion volume, The Orthodox Way. Metropolitan Kallistos is also known as one of the great advocates of the Jesus Prayer, a prayer that countless Christians through the centuries have considered to be central to their spiritual growth. It was a prayer Rowan Williams referred to in our 2017 interview with him as being foundational to his prayer life. So we thought it was about time we learnt more. After the interview, Nomad hosts Tim Nash and David Blower reflect on the spiritual practices they've found helpful, and whether the Jesus Prayer might play a role in their evolving faith. Interview begins at 7m 27s 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 Reflections, and Nomad Revisited. If you’d like to join our lovely community of supporters, head over to our Patreon page. You might even be rewarded with a Nomad pen or our coveted Beloved Listener mug! If a monthly commitment isn’t possible right now, a one-off donation is always deeply appreciated—you can do that here. Looking to connect with others nearby? Check out the Listener Map or join our Nomad Gathering Facebook group. And if you're up for sharing your own story, we regularly post reflections from listeners on our blog—all with the hope of fostering deeper understanding, connection and supportive relationships. If you'd like to share your story on the blog, contact us for more information here.

Rachel Held Evans was brought up in the 'buckle of the Bible Belt' and inherited a conservative evangelical faith. But shaken by the realities of our broken world, cracks began to form, and questions turned to doubts, doubts to cynicism and cynicism to despair. But through this journey she continued to wrestle with the Bible, sometimes exasperated by its apparent complicity with the bloody, ugly, mess of this world, and other times challenged and inspired by it. So how does she understand this book now? How, with all its contradictions, violence, patriarchy, and bewildering images of God, can she say it's inspired? How has she found a way to love the Bible again? After the interview, Nomad hosts Tim Nash and David Blower reflect on the changing role the Bible has played in their own evolving faith. Interview begins at 11m 59s 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 Reflections, and Nomad Revisited. If you’d like to join our lovely community of supporters, head over to our Patreon page. You might even be rewarded with a Nomad pen or our coveted Beloved Listener mug! If a monthly commitment isn’t possible right now, a one-off donation is always deeply appreciated—you can do that here. Looking to connect with others nearby? Check out the Listener Map or join our Nomad Gathering Facebook group. And if you're up for sharing your own story, we regularly post reflections from listeners on our blog—all with the hope of fostering deeper understanding, connection and supportive relationships. If you'd like to share your story on the blog, contact us for more information here.

Political theologian Stephen Backhouse believes that the earliest Christians tended to see patriotism as a vice – a temptation to guard against. Now it seems most Christians assume it is a virtue. Many of us, for example, don't think twice about asking God to Save the Queen or Bless America. So we ask Stephen whether the gospel is good news for our nations, what it means for a follower of Jesus to be a good citizen, whether we should be a blessing to our nation, or an unsettling presence, and how we should respond when loving our nation rubs up against our call to love our enemies. After the interview, Nomad hosts Tim Nash and David Blower reflect on Stephen's ideas and wonder how they might shape their own evolving faith. Interview begins at 12m 28s 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 Reflections, and Nomad Revisited. If you’d like to join our lovely community of supporters, head over to our Patreon page. You might even be rewarded with a Nomad pen or our coveted Beloved Listener mug! If a monthly commitment isn’t possible right now, a one-off donation is always deeply appreciated—you can do that here. Looking to connect with others nearby? Check out the Listener Map or join our Nomad Gathering Facebook group. And if you're up for sharing your own story, we regularly post reflections from listeners on our blog—all with the hope of fostering deeper understanding, connection and supportive relationships. If you'd like to share your story on the blog, contact us for more information here.

Danielle Shroyer believes that more than any other idea, the doctrine of original sin has "slowly eroded our understanding of our relationship with God". Not only that, she believes it is unbiblical, and was rejected by Judaism and many Christian traditions, such as the Eastern Orthodox Church. So we ask Danielle how she understands sin, separation, and our relationship with God. Her answer? Original Blessing.  After the interview, Nomad hosts Tim Nash and new host Jemimah McAlpine reflect on the role Original Sin played in shaping their faith, and what a more hopeful and live-giving theology might look like for them. Interview begins at 11m 56s 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 Reflections, and Nomad Revisited. If you’d like to join our lovely community of supporters, head over to our Patreon page. You might even be rewarded with a Nomad pen or our coveted Beloved Listener mug! If a monthly commitment isn’t possible right now, a one-off donation is always deeply appreciated—you can do that here. Looking to connect with others nearby? Check out the Listener Map or join our Nomad Gathering Facebook group. And if you're up for sharing your own story, we regularly post reflections from listeners on our blog—all with the hope of fostering deeper understanding, connection and supportive relationships. If you'd like to share your story on the blog, contact us for more information here.  

Poet and priest Malcolm Guite helps us mark the death and resurrection of Jesus with poems from his series on the stations of the cross, and with his reflections on the Messianic Event. Nomad's David Blower responds to Malcolm’s poetry and thought in sound and song, and Kate Blower brings the Easter readings. Malcolm’s poems are published in the book Sounding the Seasons.  Used with permission by Canterbury Press.  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 Reflections, and Nomad Revisited. If you’d like to join our lovely community of supporters, head over to our Patreon page. You might even be rewarded with a Nomad pen or our coveted Beloved Listener mug! If a monthly commitment isn’t possible right now, a one-off donation is always deeply appreciated—you can do that here. Looking to connect with others nearby? Check out the Listener Map or join our Nomad Gathering Facebook group. And if you're up for sharing your own story, we regularly post reflections from listeners on our blog—all with the hope of fostering deeper understanding, connection and supportive relationships. If you'd like to share your story on the blog, contact us for more information here.

Professor Thomas Oord has spent years wrestling with the problem of evil. Why, if God is all powerful and all loving, is there so much evil in the world? This question has brought Thomas to the edge of his faith. In recent years, though, he has begun to consider a radical solution. Perhaps God can't stop evil? As shocking as this sounds, Thomas is careful to show how biblical this idea is, and just how much it looks like Jesus. Tune in for a mind bending episode! “If God really didn’t want something and God had the power to stop it – to prevent it – then God should do so, if God is perfectly loving. And so this idea of saying ‘God won’t stop evil’ ends up making God ultimately culpable for failing to prevent it. And so I’ve come to believe that we need to take the next step and say that God really can’t stop evil.” - Thomas Oord Interview begins at 11m 21s 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 Reflections, and Nomad Revisited. If you’d like to join our lovely community of supporters, head over to our Patreon page. You might even be rewarded with a Nomad pen or our coveted Beloved Listener mug! If a monthly commitment isn’t possible right now, a one-off donation is always deeply appreciated—you can do that here. Looking to connect with others nearby? Check out the Listener Map or join our Nomad Gathering Facebook group. And if you're up for sharing your own story, we regularly post reflections from listeners on our blog—all with the hope of fostering deeper understanding, connection and supportive relationships. If you'd like to share your story on the blog, contact us for more information here.

Georgia May's parents had an open-door policy. Literally. Most of the time the front door of their home was left open, so that people would feel welcome at any time. Consequently, Georgia grew up with a house full of people who's didn't feel they had a family of their own. This radical approach to hospitality led to many lives being transformed. But Georgia also knows first hand what can happen when radical hospitality goes wrong. So we ask her, when is radical too radical? “Radical hospitality is holding things in tension. Holding openness and boundedness in tension. And radical is too radical when you loose all sense of what boundaries are about. So, I think hospitality is too radical when you loose who you are in the process; when you are seeing boundaries as walls that just need to be removed. Cause then what happens is you’re trying to welcome people into a space that you can’t even define.” - Georgia May Interview begins at 9m 14s 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 Reflections, and Nomad Revisited. If you’d like to join our lovely community of supporters, head over to our Patreon page. You might even be rewarded with a Nomad pen or our coveted Beloved Listener mug! If a monthly commitment isn’t possible right now, a one-off donation is always deeply appreciated—you can do that here. Looking to connect with others nearby? Check out the Listener Map or join our Nomad Gathering Facebook group. And if you're up for sharing your own story, we regularly post reflections from listeners on our blog—all with the hope of fostering deeper understanding, connection and supportive relationships. If you'd like to share your story on the blog, contact us for more information here.

Jayme Reaves grew up in a home and a church that weren't safe environments. This later led to a passion to study and experience true hospitality. Through her study of church history and her experiences in the former Yugoslavia and Northern Ireland, she discovered that the hospitality we're called to goes way beyond simply welcoming the stranger. Instead we're called to protect the stranger. Tune in for an enlightening and challenging conversation.  “Hospitality has been the buzzword for evangelism or church planting as a way of getting people in the door...Welcoming others in order to affirm your own beliefs over another community or another way of doing church is problematic. I think hospitality isn’t a trick. It’s not a tool. It has to be genuine, it has to be authentic. Otherwise it’s not the real thing.” - Jayme Reaves Interview begins at 9m 45s 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 Reflections, and Nomad Revisited. If you’d like to join our lovely community of supporters, head over to our Patreon page. You might even be rewarded with a Nomad pen or our coveted Beloved Listener mug! If a monthly commitment isn’t possible right now, a one-off donation is always deeply appreciated—you can do that here. Looking to connect with others nearby? Check out the Listener Map or join our Nomad Gathering Facebook group. And if you're up for sharing your own story, we regularly post reflections from listeners on our blog—all with the hope of fostering deeper understanding, connection and supportive relationships. If you'd like to share your story on the blog, contact us for more information here.