Context Matters

By Dr. Cyndi ParkerSociety & Culture Documentary Religion & Spirituality Christianity Education

Context Matters episodes

February 26 The Soul as Wax
This is a re-edit conversation from 2024 with Dr. Lanta Davis. Her book Becoming by Beholding is a wonderful conversation partner with some of the recent podcast episodes.
Her book will prompt you to think about the connection between art, imagination, and theology. How did the historic church think about the imagination and spiritual formation, and can we do a better job of that in today's environment? Are we aware enough of what we "behold" and how that creates an impression on our lives? And how did the Protestant church lose its ability to gaze on images and allow them to stoke our imagination?
You can find Lanta Davis' book HERE
Read more about Dr. Davis HERE
Contact Cyndi Parker through Narrative of Place.
Join Cyndi Parker's Patreon Team!
23 min
February 19 The Winding Road
Today we continue the conversation with Arrabon's founder, David Bailey. We talk about what the "Gospel of the Kingdom" means along with several of Arrabon's resources to equip all kinds of audiences for understanding Scripture and spiritual formation. There are so many tools available to help a diverse group of Jesus followers, despite their differences, learn to grow and mature as God's people.
Find out more about Arrabon HERE
Download Arrabon's free Lent resource The Winding Road
Explore Arrabon's resources on Spiritual Formation
Contact Cyndi Parker through Narrative of Place.
Join Cyndi Parker's Patreon Team!
27 min
February 12 Public Theology with David Bailey
David Bailey is the Founder and Chief Vision Officer of Arrabon. As a public theologian, David helps to bring wisdom, theological imagination, and moral imagination to the way that Christians show up in the world. He created Arrabon as a way to equip Christ's followers to actively, creatively pursue healing in their communities, to be a foretaste of the kingdom of God, an agent of healing, and an agent of reconciliation in their community.
Find out more about Arrabon HERE
Download Arrabon's free Lent resource The Winding Road
Explore Arrabon's resources on Spiritual Formation
Contact Cyndi Parker through Narrative of Place.
Join Cyndi Parker's Patreon Team!
27 min
February 05 Trauma Informed Reading of Isaiah 40-55
When two contradictory commands about remembering past events refused to be reconciled, Dr. Megan Roberts began exploring new theories to help her exegetical work. Trauma theory helped explain the Israelites engagement with memory. And working on what God's comfort can say to traumatized people hit a deep and personal cord in her own life.
Read more about her work in Isaiah HERE
You can find many of her sermons and teaching at Prairie College on their YouTube channel HERE
Contact Cyndi Parker through Narrative of Place.
Join Cyndi Parker's Patreon Team!
28 min
January 29 Remembering Isaiah 40-55
Biblical texts can be hard to read for several reasons - the poetry or images are challenging, or the emotion is strong, or the text seems to contradict itself in strange ways. In this episode, Dr. Megan Roberts from Prairie College tells us what draws her to these challenging texts and how they have a personal impact on her own life.
Read more about her work in Isaiah HERE
You can find many of her sermons and teaching at Prairie College on their YouTube channel HERE
Contact Cyndi Parker through Narrative of Place.
Join Cyndi Parker's Patreon Team!
30 min
January 22 Women in the Salvation Story
Last week Dr. Faro introduced us to the significant literary theme of women who advance the story of salvation. Today we hear example of the Matriarch Sarah and how she and Mary the Mother of Jesus share some common characteristics. We also talk about Hannah's song and about a little known figure named Jehosheba. How do these unexpected women play critical roles in the salvation story?
Discover more about Dr. Faro HERE
Explore her new book HERE
Contact Cyndi Parker through Narrative of Place.
Join Cyndi Parker's Patreon Team!
29 min
January 15 Redeeming Eden
Dr. Ingrid Faro joins us today to talk about the "highway" that runs through the literary structure of the salvation story. Seeing women as crucial players in moving the story of God forward is not common, but Dr. Faro introduces us to why this is so important for readers of the biblical text. Today we begin a conversation about her new book Redeeming Eden: How Women of the Bible Advance the Story of Salvation.
Discover more about Dr. Faro HERE
Explore her new book HERE
Contact Cyndi Parker through Narrative of Place.
Join Cyndi Parker's Patreon Team!
29 min
January 08 Bringing Heaven Here
Brad Nelson and Brad Gray from Walking the Text continue their conversation about the rich theology embedded in every phrase of the Lord's Prayer. How does "Holy be Your name" involve the community of believers? Why is receiving and giving forgiveness so essential? This is only a taster for their new film called "The Lord's Prayer" and their recently released book titled Bringing Heaven Here.
Explore the wealth of resources at Walking the Text
Watch the movie trailer for The Lord's Prayer
Purchase the book Bringing Heaven Here
Instagram / Facebook: @thesacredthreadtv
Instagram / Facebook: @angel
Instagram / Facebook: @evolvestudios
Contact Cyndi Parker through Narrative of Place.
Join Cyndi Parker's Patreon Team!
25 min
January 01 Our Father in the Heavens
So many of us memorized the Lord's Prayer. Some congregations quote it together every week. It is so familiar that we don’t always stop to think about the theologically rich statements it is making. Today, helping us slow down to think about the prayer are Brad Gray and Brad Nelson from Walking the Text. They recently released a film called "The Lord's Prayer" and wrote a book titled Bringing Heaven Here.
Explore the wealth of resources at Walking the Text
Watch the movie trailer for The Lord's Prayer
Purchase the book Bringing Heaven Here
Instagram / Facebook: @thesacredthreadtv
Instagram / Facebook: @angel
Instagram / Facebook: @evolvestudios
Contact Cyndi Parker through Narrative of Place.
Join Cyndi Parker's Patreon Team!
31 min
December 25, 2025 Christmas in Jerusalem
Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but that is not the only significant location in the Christmas story. Dr. Jack Beck joins us again to talk about how the geography matters in the way we understand how Luke introduces his readers to Jesus. The origin story continues all the way to Jerusalem where we meet Simeon and Anna. We talk about why the location of this encounter matters and the beauty of the words spoken matter to all of us.
Discover more about Dr. Beck, his books, and videos HERE
Watch the wealth of options on Dr. Beck's YouTube channel HERE
Discover Dr. Beck's books HERE
Contact Cyndi Parker through Narrative of Place.
Join Cyndi Parker's Patreon Team!
26 min

About Context Matters

From the publisher's feed

This podcast is for people who are curious about the ancient context that influenced the final shape of the Bible…AND ALSO…how our modern context influences the way we understand the Bible and God and…