New Creation Conversations

Welcome to episode seventy-one of New Creation Conversations. I apologize that we missed an episode last week, we were hosting a denominational conference at our church last week, and it took up all my extra space last week. The good news is that it gave me the opportunity to sit down with a couple of the guests at the conference and have face-to-face conversations with them about their writing and work. I get to share one of those conversations with you today. Rev. Caleb Cray Haynes is church planter and co-pastor with his wife, Emily, at Kalaeo Church in Nashville. He is also the co-founder of Nazarenes for Creation Care. Caleb grew up in the hills of rural Tennessee where the love of God’s creation grew deep roots in his early life and experience. Tending to gardens and wandering in the woods are still part of Caleb’s story. Following a call to ministry, he attended Trevecca Nazarene University and received a degree in Religion and Philosophy. Afterward, Caleb served as a volunteer Nazarene missionary through Mission Corp in Mainz, Germany, aiding in church planting with (one of our previous guests Philip Zimmerman) Church in Action. He is currently working on a Master’s Degree in Theology and Ecology from Nazarene Theological College in Manchester, UK.We focus our conversation not only on his work with Nazarenes for Creation Care but also on his recently published book, Garbage Theology: The Unseen World of Waste and What It Means for the Salvation of Every Person, Every Place, and Every Thing. It’s not only a thoughtful book but an important conversation that – as those created to be reflections of God’s care and dominion of creation – the church desperately needs to have. I’m really thankful for young leaders like Caleb helping us have that conversation, and I’m glad you’ve joined us for this great conversation. Here is my New Creation Conversation with Pastor Caleb Cray Haynes.

Welcome to episode seventy of New Creation Conversations. I’m delighted to get to share a second conversation with Dr. Andrew Root. Andy is Professor and Carrie Olson Baalson Chair of Youth and Family Ministry at Luther Seminary. Andy is an alum of Bethel College in Minnesota. He has both an MDiv and ThM degrees from Fuller Seminary and a PhD from Princeton Seminary. He’s written several books on youth ministry, spiritual formation, and even on the grace of dogs.Our conversation centers on his most recent book Churches and the Crisis of Decline: A Hopeful Practical Ecclesiology for a Secular Age (from Baker Academic). This latest book is the fourth in a series of six books Andy is writing on ministry in a secular age. I read quite a bit and so I rarely go back and read books twice. I have found Andy’s series so significant that I have read and the re-read each of the first four books in this series. It’s hard for me to pick, but I think this most recent book is my favorite in the series so far. In its pages Charles Taylor intersects with Karl Barth and both speak to the current challenges of ministry. Andy is in high demand these days and is on the road often. I feel privileged that he made the space a second time to have a conversation with me about his fascinating and significant work. I love this conversation. It’s a little longer than normal, but I had so many things I wanted to talk about, and I still didn’t get to all my questions. I think you will like this conversation a lot also. 

Welcome to episode sixty-nine of New Creation Conversations. I’m excited to get to share with you today my recent conversation with Dr. Brent Waters. Brent has just recently retired after serving for several years as Professor of Christian Social Ethics and Director of the Jerre L. and Mary Joy Stead Center for Ethics and Values at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. Brent is an alum of the University of Redlands. He has both an MDiv and DMin degrees from Claremont School of Theology and has a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Oxford. Brent has written eight books and dozens and dozens of articles and papers on Christian economics, bioethics, technology, genetic research, and even the ethics of family life.Our conversation primarily focusses on his new book Common Callings and Ordinary Virtues: Christian Ethics for Everyday Life (from Baker Academic). Every day, we do commonplace things and interact with ordinary people without always reflecting deeply on those interactions. In this book Brent reflects deeply and theologically about the ethical significance of our daily activities and relationships – especially about how practices that seem mundane are actually expressions of love of neighbor and are vitally important to our wellbeing. In other words, our faith gives our ordinary life meaning. It’s a wonderful book and a thoughtful conversation. 

Welcome to episode sixty-eight of New Creation Conversations. I’m excited to get to share with you today a second conversation with Dr. Myles Werntz. Myles is the Director of Baptist Studies and Associate Professor of Theology at Abilene Christian University, where he directs the Baptist Studies Center in the Graduate School of Theology. He is the author and editor of several books in theology and ethics and writes broadly on the Christian ethics of war and peace, immigration, ecclesiology, and discipleship. We had a conversation a few months ago with is friend David Cramer about their co-authored book A Field Guide to Christian Nonviolence. In this conversation Myles and I discuss his brand-new book, From Isolation to Community: A Renewed Vision for Christian Life Together – published by Baker Academic.Like many others, the works of Dietrich Bonhoeffer have been deeply influential. Bonhoeffer’s Letters, Ethics, and The Cost of Discipleship have been important formative works in my journey. However, perhaps the work that I have returned to repeatedly is his little tract Life Together. In his new book, Myles takes Bonhoeffer’s work and reflects on the theme of isolation as one of the key problems of our age. Profoundly, Myles reflects on how the church, even while meeting together lives into and exacerbates the problem of isolation. He even points to the ease with which most congregations were able to navigate the separation created by the pandemic as a sign of the way isolation has taken hold of our imaginations. Like Bonhoeffer himself, Myles goes beyond analysis and offers theological depth and describes the practices that might heal our isolation. It is a thoughtful book that resonated deeply with me, and I know you’ll find this conversation helpful as well.

Welcome to episode sixty-seven of New Creation Conversations. I’m excited to have a second conversation today with my good friend Dr. Michael Lodahl. Mike is Professor of Theology and World Religions at Point Loma Nazarene University. Mike is an alum of Northwest Nazarene University, has an MDiv from Nazarene Theological Seminary, and a PhD from Emory University. Mike has written extensively on narrative theology, holiness, and the relationship of Christian and Islamic faiths. Our conversation is centered on his most recent book Praying with Jesus: Meditations on the Lord’s Prayer – published by The Foundry Press.Mike is one of my favorite people to chat with anytime, but I really did love this conversation on prayer. His reflections on the Lord’s Prayer – and what we learn about the nature of character of God from it – are helpful. But I love that The Foundry has not only published the book but has turned it into a resource for pastors for preaching and have created resources for children and youth to participate in the series as well. It is well done, and I know it will be a blessing to those congregations who journey together through it. Mike is a great storyteller and a rich and thoughtful theologian. My challenge in my conversations with Mike is keeping it to an hour. I think you will love his reflections on prayer – and I get a couple of good thoughts in this week also. Thanks for leaning into these New Creation Conversations. 

Welcome to episode sixty-six of New Creation Conversations. I’m excited to be joined in today’s conversation by Dr. Mark Teasdale. Mark is the E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism at Garrett Theological Seminary. Mark is an alum of The American University, has both MDiv and DMin degrees from Wesley Theological Seminary, and has a PhD from Southern Methodist University. Mark has written extensively on evangelism. Our conversation is centered on his most recent book Participating in Abundant Life: Holistic Salvation for a Secular Age – published by IVP Academic.In his new book, Mark argues that our world is hungry for salvation, but we don't always know how to talk about it. Christians agree that God cares about people's lives both in this world and into eternity. But the ways we describe salvation often separate these two spaces: the spiritual from the material. Many groups emphasize one at the expense of the other, limiting the picture of what God has to offer. Mark works to bridge the gap by taking up Jesus' language of abundant life. The abundant is something Jesus invites us to participate in―to seek both for ourselves and for others. The abundant life is rich and multidimensional, not splitting spirits and minds from bodies and material needs. By connecting a vision of “holistic salvation” to contemporary concepts of well-being, Mark’s book attempts to show how Christians can both better communicate in secular settings as well as partner with all people regardless of their faith to seek the common good.As Mark and I will discuss, evangelism can be an often-overlooked discipline in the Christian academy, and an overlooked practice in the local church. The abundant life in Christ is not meant to be kept to ourselves, it is meant to be extended to others. I really appreciated Mark’s book and his holistic perspective, and I think you will glean a great deal from our conversation. So, thanks for leaning into this week’s New Creation Conversation. 

Welcome to episode sixty-five of New Creation Conversations. I’m excited to be joined in today’s conversation by Dr. Mark D. Baker. Mark is Professor of Mission and Theology at Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary. Mark is an alum of Wheaton University, has a master’s degree from the New College for Advanced Christian Studies (Berkely) and a PhD in Theology and Ethics from Duke. Mark has written extensively in theology and ethics, but the primary focus of our conversation is his most recent book – published by IVP Academic – Centered-Set Church: Discipleship and Community Without Judgmentalism.A few years ago, I was asked to speak at the regional gathering for the Church of the Nazarene and in that message I shared an often-repeated story about an American rancher and sheepherder who got the chance to spend time with other ranchers and sheepherders in the outback of Australia and New Zealand. He noticed quickly that they didn’t have many fences keeping the herd or the flock in place. When he asked about it, the herders from down-under remarked, “We learned decades ago that if you dig really good wells the sheep and cattle won’t wander from them, and you don’t need as many fences.” In these very divisive times, both inside and outside the church, I have grown to love that simple illustration and return to it often to think about how we might work for unity within the very diverse Body of Christ. Mark’s research and writing on “Centered-Set Church” takes the beauty of that story and fills it out thoughtfully and helpfully. As readers of the book (and listeners to our conversation) will discover, the challenge to creating a “centered-set” community is not just what Mark will call “divided set” ways of identifying as a people, but also the ways “fuzzy-set” forms of identification also become problematic. It is a very helpful and timely book, and a very relevant conversation. So, thanks for leaning into this week’s New Creation Conversation. 

Welcome to episode sixty-four of New Creation Conversations. I’m delighted to be joined in today’s conversation by Dr. Susan Harris Howell. Susan is Professor of Psychology at Campbellsville University in Kentucky, where she has taught for twenty-eight years. She is an alum of Campbellsville and has both a master’s degree and a doctorate in Education (with emphases in counseling and development) from the University of Louisville. She recently wrote and published a book entitled, Buried Talents: Overcoming Gendered Socialization to Answer God’s Call (published by IVP Academic). The book emerges out of a couple of decades of Susan’s research and teaching on gender and gender socialization. In it she argues that the small percentage of women in parish ministry is not just the result of theological problems, but it is also the consequence of a broad intersection of social formation connected to gender, and its implications. The book is not just a fascinating analysis of how gender socialization happens through childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, but it also offers helpful and practical ways for us to reflect the new creation in the ways we relate to and encourage one another as men and women. I found the book not only helpful for young women who are wrestling with God’s call upon their lives, but a beneficial book as a church leader, a parent, and mentor to both young women and young men. It is a great book and an important conversation.

Welcome to episode sixty-three of New Creation Conversations. I’m delighted to be joined in today’s conversation by Erica Young Reitz. Erica is an alum of Messiah College and has an MA in Higher Education from Geneva College. In recent years, Erica has been serving as the director of Senior EXIT, a one-year experience at Penn State University that prepares graduating college seniors for the transition into the next phase of life. She is the author of After College: Navigating Transitions, Relationships and Faith (published by InterVarsity Press).  Last week I talked to Michael Lindsay about “Hinge Moments,” and since we are in the middle of graduation season and many of you are in the midst of transitions or have young people in your life that you are helping to navigate their way into adulthood, I thought it would be good to have a couple of conversations with people who have thought and written extensively about these moments of significant life transitions. Erica’s book is an excellent resource for parents, pastors, or campus leaders. I have four children in their twenties who are going through their own important life-trajectory decisions. I ordered a stack of Erica’s books to give to them and to the several graduates in my life. No matter where you are in life, I think there is much to glean from this conversation. 

Welcome to episode sixty-two of New Creation Conversations. It is an honor in today’s conversation to be joined by Dr. D. Michael Lindsay – President of Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. Michael is an alum of Baylor University. He has an MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. in Sociology from Princeton University. Michael started his academic career teaching and doing academic research at Rice University. Then he accepted the call to serve as president at Gordon College in Boston for a decade before now taking the leadership role at Taylor.Michael has written several scholarly publications and numerous books, including two award-winning books that emerged out of major research projects – Faith in the Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the American Elite and View from the Top: An Inside Look at How People in Power See and Shape the World. Both books are insightful about not only what motivates and shapes people of faith in key places of cultural influence and formation, but also, as a church leader, both books have helped me understand how to motivate and missionally-connect those in my congregation who have a great deal of giftedness and resource into the mission of the church.The bulk of our conversation centers around his most recent book, Hinge Moments: Making the Most of Life’s Transitions (from IVP). In it, Michael takes the great research he has done with great leaders and applies that not only to young people making key life choices, but to all of us as we face important moments of transition in life. I found the book not only valuable as a gift to the many young people in my life, but even at 56, I found several things in the book helpful as I think about the potential and unavoidable changes out ahead of my own life. It’s a great book and I think you will find this a very insightful conversation.