Lunch on The Way

How involved should Christians be in politics? Is it potentially compromising to someone's faith and witness to the world? In this conversation, Thomas Scrimgeour discusses how Christians can engage in politics and the criteria used when discerning who to vote for.

Political engagement is fraught and messy, but seems to be a necessity within the democratic system in New Zealand. There seems to be a tension between being overly zealous and not being at all engaged as a Christian towards politics. What is the right balance?

Thomas Scrimgeour joined the Maxim research team in 2024. He holds a BTh from Laidlaw College and is a graduate of the Maxim Internship Program. Before settling for a desk job, Thomas worked for five years as a landscaper, alongside prior experience working in the community sector. Thomas’ research interests include housing, social connectivity, and the future of community.

⏳ TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Teaser
00:45 - Maxim Institute
03:23 - Why does politics matters?
15:18 - Christianity and Politics ... Good?
23:20 - Examples of Christians Being Political
29:01 - The Housing Crisis
36:37 - Should Christians be zealous about politics?
43:08 - Should pastors be political?
47:48 - NZ political polarisation
53:39 - Navigating political disagreement
1:01:10 - Is MMP contributing to polarisation?
51:18 - Egalitarian & Complimentarian
1:06:25 - Who should I vote for?

🎙️ ABOUT THE SHOW
Lunch on The Way is a podcast that deeply discusses Christianity, Church, Culture, and Jesus from different starting points. This is a Practical Theology podcast.

🎧 PODCAST VERSIONS
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/lunch-on-the-way/id1650659247
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3k0zI4F5PihJ1kyMbUGDzb

Podcast hosts are Greame Flett, Jonathan Hoskin, and Joey Millington.

The opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the individuals expressing and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of any affiliated organisations or ministries.

What does the Bible ACTUALLY SAY about women in ministry. Dr. Phillip Porter explains the importance of this topic and what the Bible speaks to, while maintaining the necessary nuance.

The online space is filled with opinions on women in ministry, and many of the hot-takes are unhelpful. Phillip discusses and explains all the difficult biblical passages and then provides a new thought regarding the work of the Spirit in the mid-twentieth century.

In this episode, Graeme and Joey sit with Phillip as they seek to understand the Bible and what the early church thought regarding women in ministry.

Phillip lectures in New Testament Studies, within the School of Theology, teaching across the full range of New Testament literature. Phillip was a Teaching Fellow in New Testament at the University of Otago (2023-2024). He brings extensive pastoral practice to the role, together with missionary experience in Vietnam. Phillip studied New Testament (undergraduate and post-graduate), at the University of Otago, completing a PhD in the parables of Jesus under the supervision of Prof Paul Trebilco (University of Otago) and Prof Klyne Snodgrass (Northpark Seminary, Chicago).

🎙️ ABOUT THE SHOW
Lunch on The Way is a podcast that deeply discusses Christianity, Church, Culture, and Jesus from different starting points. This is a Practical Theology podcast.

🎧 PODCAST VERSIONS
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/lunch-on-the-way/id1650659247
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3k0zI4F5PihJ1kyMbUGDzb

Podcast hosts are Greame Flett, Jonathan Hoskin, and Joey Millington.

The opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the individuals expressing and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of any affiliated organisations or ministries.

Why the overmanaging and over control of your life is resulting in you having less resonant contact with the world and God. Joey Millington and Graeme Flett discuss the importance of Hartmut Rosa's resonance thesis and the necessity for uncontrollable experiences for all people, especially Christians, for regaining a true relationship with the world.

The modern world has been held captive by the notion that controlling material reality and one's life is the best way to get the most out of life and experience the 'good life.' Paradoxically, the more control we have of our life, the less meaning we find. Joey discusses how this maps onto the modern discipleship and formation movement, where, for some, there is a temptation to have control over our spiritual lives with God through spiritual disciplines and practices.

In this episode, Graeme and Joey outline 4 characteristics necessary to have resonant experiences, and they are basically the gospel imperative for surrender to Christ.

🔗 MENTIONS & RESOURCES
Hartmut Rosa, Resonance: https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=resonance-a-sociology-of-our-relationship-to-the-world--9781509519897
Hartmut Rosa, The Uncontrollability of the World: https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=the-uncontrollability-of-the-world--9781509543151
John Mark Comer, Practicing the Way: https://www.practicingtheway.org/course

⏳ TIMESTAMPS
1:02 - Life Updates for Joey/Graeme
9:41 - Hartmut Rosa and Resonance
15:37 - The World as a Point of Aggression
23:47 - Why "Uncontrollable Experiences" Matter
32:12 - The Paradox of Control
38:37 - Why Participation is the Answer
40:37 - Churches are Overmanaged
50:37 - Uncontrollability = Meaning
53:38 - The 4 Characteristic of Resonance

🎙️ ABOUT THE SHOW
Lunch on The Way is a podcast that deeply discusses Christianity, Church, Culture, and Jesus from different starting points. This is a Practical Theology podcast.

🎧 PODCAST VERSIONS
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/lunch-on-the-way/id1650659247
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3k0zI4F5PihJ1kyMbUGDzb

Podcast hosts are Greame Flett, Jonathan Hoskin, and Joey Millington.

The opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the individuals expressing and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of any affiliated organisations or ministries.

In this conversation, Louise, Graeme, and Joey map the history of the church growth and business strategy movement in Evangelicalism, how AI might be demonic through the dynamic stabilisation lens, and what church planting might look like in 2026 from a metaphorical perspective.

Louise Wernich is an experienced pastor from South Africa now living in New Zealand. She is going to plant a church beginning in 2027 and she helps us determine which metaphors might be most helpful for that adventure.

Graeme Flett is a Senior Coach for the Centre for Church Leadership (CfCL) through Laidlaw College. He is an experienced pastors with decades as a lead pastor.

Joey Millington is a lecturer at Laidlaw College and pastor at East City Wesleyan Church. He is a PhD student researching in the space of church strategic identity and metaphor theory.

00:00 Introduction
00:45 Joey's EPIC Monologue
18:50 Louise and Graeme's initial response
23:55 Louise is planting a church
31:05 Rightly placing significance in God.
36:03 The alternative to church growth
45:25 Who are you, metaphorically?
50:45 Live into the grand metaphor of Christianity
57:20 Practices over statements

Podcast hosts are Greame Flett, Jonathan Hoskin, and Joey Millington.

The opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the individuals expressing and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of any affiliated organisations or ministries.

In this conversation, Nigel Dixon discusses the importance of church community for being the church, how so many churches only pretend to be a community, what trends will animate the church in the coming years, and how we need to get ready for a move of God.

00:00 Introduction
00:40 From Pentecostal to Anglican ... Why?
11:25 How community actually happens in churches
19:20 Mentoring structures in church
30:22 Key trends in NZ churches
39:45 A theology of power in churches
46:40 Sign of life in NZ churches
52:19 Reliance on God in ministry
1:04:15 Relationship is the complexity of the gospel

Lunch on The Way is a podcast that deeply discusses Christianity, Church, Culture, and Jesus.
Available on ALL podcast platforms https://lunchontheway.buzzsprout.com/share

Podcast hosts are Greame Flett, Jonathan Hoskin, and Joey Millington.

The opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the individuals expressing and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of any affiliated organisations or ministries.

In this conversation, Graeme and Joey speak with Curtis Davis who just completed his MTh at Laidlaw College, where he clarified the methodology of Critical Realism for understanding reality and what the world is.

Curtis Davis graduated from Laidlaw College in 2026 and is currently a police recruit in New Zealand. He is a brilliant Christian who is passionate about evangelism and theology which relates to practical outcomes.

00:00 Introduction
00:47 Framing the conversation
08:17 Post-modernsim and anti-essentialism
13:12 The meta-modern problem
20:37 Ontology conditions epistemology
28:29 What is critical realism?
45:09 A critique of critical realism
51:00 Jesus is the key to experience
1:07:07 Curtis' S.U.R.E. methodology

Podcast hosts are Greame Flett, Jonathan Hoskin, and Joey Millington.

The opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the individuals expressing and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of any affiliated organisations or ministries.

In this conversation, Nathaniel Baldock joins us as we discuss what AI is going to Christians and our world as we unreflectively adopt it as a tool when it should truly been seen as a pseudo-person.

Nathaniel Baldock is an AI strategist, consultant, speaker, and educator based in Tauranga, New Zealand. He helps churches, schools, and mission-driven organisations navigate AI with clarity, ethics, and practical implementation.

Visit his website --https://www.nathanielbaldock.com/

00:00 Teaser
00:52 Nathaniel's journey to AI consulting
04:30 What is AI?
10:09 AI's ethical problems
15:31 The dangers of Anthropic's Mythos
25:59 AI use in 2026.
30:20 AI's inauthenticity
41:00 Will AI erase our humanity?
48:15 Should churches use AI?
57:50 Does AI distort human relationships?
1:04:08 How churches should talk about AI

Lunch on The Way is a podcast that deeply discusses Christianity, Church, Culture, and Jesus.
Available on ALL podcast platforms https://lunchontheway.buzzsprout.com/share

Podcast hosts are Greame Flett, Jonathan Hoskin, and Joey Millington.

The opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the individuals expressing and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of any affiliated organisations or ministries.

In this episode, Graeme and Joey sit down with Dr Clare Knowles to discuss the BEST and WORST Bible translations on the market.

Dr Clare Knowles is a translator for Bible Society New Zealand as a primary translator and teaches biblical hebrew at the University of Otago. She completed her PhD thesis, “Interpreting Isaiah from Isaiah: Intratextual Translation in Old Greek Isaiah”, at Otago in 2022.

Lunch on The Way is a podcast that deeply discusses Christianity, Church, Culture, and Jesus.
Available on ALL podcast platforms https://lunchontheway.buzzsprout.com/share

Podcast hosts are Greame Flett, Jonathan Hoskin, and Joey Millington.

The opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the individuals expressing and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of any affiliated organisations or ministries.

In this conversation, Dr. Donald Wallenfang explains the philosophical style of phenomenology and how getting to universal reality beginning with experience is important for Christian knowledge of truth, but not totalising.

Dr. Wallenfang, OCDS, Emmanuel Mary of the Cross, is a Secular Discalced Carmelite and Professor of Theology and Philosophy at Sacred Heart Major Seminary. He received his M.T.S. from St Norbert College and his Ph.D. from Loyola University Chicago.

Wallenfang specializes in Catholic theology and philosophy, Carmelite spirituality, phenomenology and metaphysics. His research concentrates on the work of Edith Stein, Emmanuel Levinas, Paul Ricoeur, Jean-Luc Marion, the Carmelite saints, and the New Evangelization. He teaches courses in philosophy, theology, lay ecclesial ministry, evangelization, and Catholic spirituality. His articles have appeared in Philosophy and Theology, Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture, The International Journal of Religion in Spirituality and Society, Listening: Journal of Communication Ethics, Religion, and Culture, and Pacifica, as well as in other book compilations.

00:00 Introduction
02:46 is Catholicism Ecumenical?
09:10 Why philosophy is emotional
15:15 Where did Phenomenology come from?
26:10 Can Phenomenology reveal Christ?
37:45 Paul Ricoeur's Hermeneutic Phenomenology
46:22 The tension of givenness and interpretation
56:14 Literal meaning vs Metaphorical meaning
1:07:17 Should churches discover new metaphors?
1:20:12 Phenomenology and Metaphysics need each other

Podcast hosts are Greame Flett, Jonathan Hoskin, and Joey Millington.

The opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the individuals expressing and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of any affiliated organisations or ministries.

Dr. Andrew Root from Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN, joins us again to discuss his new book called "Baal and the gods of More: Rescuing Church Growth from Idolatry."

00:00 Introduction
02:34 how modern church growth is Baal worship
09:14 How yahweh and Baal are different
14:28 The human desire for security
16:03 Why church growth is burdensome
22:33 Techno optimism and political activism in church growth
29:18 Is our church growth methodology wrong?
35:10 The unsatisfying solution to church growth
41:23 The problem with money and church
44:22 Why critical realism for practical theology?

Lunch on The Way is a podcast that deeply discusses Christianity, Church, Culture, and Jesus.
Available on ALL podcast platforms https://lunchontheway.buzzsprout.com/share

Podcast hosts are Greame Flett, Jonathan Hoskin, and Joey Millington.

The opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the individuals expressing and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of any affiliated organisations or ministries.