Nomad Podcast

As well as our usual interview shows we like to give you some food for thought focussed around the Church Calendar. This Easter we've asked the Jesuit Priest, Father James Martin to reflect on how he relates to the suffering and resurrected Jesus. If you want more from Nomad, check out our website, and follow us on Facebook and twitter If you're looking for other people to share this journey with, then register on our Listener Map, and see if any other nomads are in your area.  Nomad can only keep going because a small group of faithful listeners help us pay the bills. If you want to join them, you can make regular donations at Patreon or a one-off or regular donation through PayPal, the links to which you can find on our support page. As a thank you, you'll have access to Nomad Book Club, our online community The Beloved Listener Lounge, and Nomad Devotionals, where we're attempting to reconstruct worship through a creative mix of songs, music, readings, prayers and guest reflections.

Easter is upon us, so we thought it was a fine time to look at the atonement again. So we popped down to Bristol to chat with Alan Mann. Alan asks the question, what could the atonement mean for a society that doesn't consider itself sinful in any traditional sense. Rather than 'sin' Alan believes the issue we now face is shame and it is this that Jesus's death needs to set us free from. Tune in for an intriguing conversation. "I think people do understand that they're not doing this 'being human thing' in the way it should be done. For me that's where the gospel becomes relevant because Jesus did do this 'being human thing' in the way it should be done, in the way God intended." - Alan Mann Interview starts at 5m 39s 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.

Robin Parry is a theologian best known for advocating universalism (see our interview with him on this very topic). More recently he's turned his attention to writing about The Biblical Cosmos. In this book he systematically lays out all the weirdness of the biblical universe, with its flat earth, the dead residing underneath it and God residing above a solid sky dome. Oh, and there's sea monsters and angel-stars for good measure. The question is, then, how do we relate to a God who lives in this universe?  "This idea of the cosmos that you see in the bible is one in which ordinary everyday things like river and streams and moving around physical space is invested with meaning and all of these things point not away from themselves, but beyond themselves, to God." - Robin Parry 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.

On Nomad we often talk about the changing nature of culture and how the church has changed (or not) in response. But rather than continuing to rely on our own anecdotal evidence, we thought it was about time we spoke with someone who actually knows what they're talking about.  Grace Davie is a professor in the sociology of religion and wrote the influential book Religion in Britain. So she seemed like the perfect person to speak to about exactly what's going on. "In my view the church is at a turning point now... the church has really got to work out what it wants to sustain and what is a millstone that is being dragged along.” - Grace Davie Interview starts at 04:20 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.

Jamie Arpin-Ricci joins us on the latest leg of our Nomadic pilgrimage of hope. Jamie felt called to leave behind his comfortable middle class life and move to a high poverty and crime inner-city area. Obviously this presented many challenges, but none more so than being confronted by his own vulnerability. So we ask Jamie to reflect on what it means to make ourselves vulnerable before God and those around us, and how this can shape the community we're a part of. "I began to recognise how easily by the colour of someones skin I would identify them as the target of mission, that they had something to receive and I had something to give.” - Jamie Arpin-Ricci Interview starts at 5m 43s. 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.

The UN said recently that 'Gender-based violence is perhaps the most widespread and socially tolerated of human rights violations.' We spoke to philosopher, sociologist and theologian Elaine Storkey about the reasons behind this, and how the church should respond. This led on to a fascinating discussion about what it really means to be a man.  “Almost every society on earth practices some form of violence against women, which becomes institutionalised in that society. So for many [women] this is perfectly normal, there’s nothing odd about it. It’s just normal.” - Elaine Storkey Interview begins at 3m 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.

Terry Waite travelled to some of the most dangerous places in the world, negotiating with the likes of Idi Amin and Colonel Gaddafi for the release of hostages. Then while working in Lebanon he was taken hostage by Islamic Jihadists. He was held for nearly 5 years, most of it in solitary confinement, was tortured and underwent a mock execution. Tune into the podcast for an incredible story of humility, grace and finding God in the darkest of places. “One of the good things about experiencing what some might think is a rather negative period in life being trapped and in prison is that you can always turn it round.  Misfortunes very often can be turned round and used creatively. And I found that over the years to be the case.”  - Terry Waite Interview starts at 7m 41s 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.

Last year we gave you our 12 Days of Christmas refections. We're adding to that series with a refection by the director of the missional community InnerChange, John Hayes. John reflects on the contradictions inherent in our modern celebration of Christmas. See you in 2016! If you want more from Nomad, check out our website, and follow us on Facebook and twitter If you're looking for other people to share this journey with, then register on our Listener Map, and see if any other nomads are in your area.  Nomad can only keep going because a small group of faithful listeners help us pay the bills. If you want to join them, you can make regular donations at Patreon or a one-off or regular donation through PayPal, the links to which you can find on our support page. As a thank you, you'll have access to Nomad Book Club, our online community The Beloved Listener Lounge, and Nomad Devotionals, where we're attempting to reconstruct worship through a creative mix of songs, music, readings, prayers and guest reflections.  

On this edition of Nomad we thought we'd answer a few of your questions. Everything from 'Who are you two?', through to 'Is there a north-south divide in heaven?'. It's a marathon 2 hour something ride of beer fuelled banter and 'profound' insights! “Hold onto the hope that if you’re not praying and reading your Bible for a couple of years, and all you do in the evening – like me – is watch box sets and drink red wine, Jesus still loves you.” - Tim 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.

As if building a church of 10,000+, producing an international bestselling DVD series, writing critically acclaimed bestselling books, producing a hugely popular podcast, and having his own TV show wasn't enough, Rob Bell has decided to write a novel. And much to the frustration of all us lesser mortals, it's really rather good! But what does Milliones Cajones reveal about Rob's own struggle to find himself amidst all this success? “The tradition is growth. The tradition is not just repeating everything over and over again. The tradition is actually to listen to the movement of Spirit in your life and around you and in the world and then go and grow and expand and learn and explore.” - Rob Bell  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.