Seminary Dropout

By Shane Blackshear: Interviews with N.T. Wright, Christena Cleveland, Greg Boyd & More!Religion & Spirituality Christianity Religion

Seminary Dropout episodes

April 17, 2017 155 – Esther Emery: What Happens When You Give Up the Internet For a Year
*Originally Posted at MissioAlliance.org
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Check out the new(ish) podcast OnRamp
Esther Emery used to direct stage plays in Southern California. But that was a long time ago. Now she lives with her husband and three children off the grid in a yurt, tending to three acres in the foothills of Idaho’s Rocky Mountains. She writes about faith and trying to live a fearless, free life at www.estheremery.com. Website: http://www.estheremery.com
Esther Emery was a successful playwright and theater director, wife and mother, and loving it all – until, suddenly, she wasn’t. When a personal and professional crisis of spectacular extent leaves her reeling, Esther is left empty, alone in her marriage, and grasping for identity that does not define itself by busyness and a breakneck pace of life. Something had to be done.
What Falls from the Sky is Esther’s fiercely honest, piercingly poetic account of a year without Internet – 365 days away from the good, the bad, and the ugly of our digital lives – in one woman’s desperate attempt at a reset. Esther faces her addiction to electronica, her illusion of self-importance, and her longing to return to simpler days, but then the unexpected happens. Her experiment in analog is hijacked by a spiritual awakening, and Esther finds herself suddenly, inexplicably drawn to the faith she had rejected for so long.
Ultimately, Esther’s unplugged pilgrimage brings her to a place where she finally finds the peace – and the God who created it – she has been searching for all along.
What Falls from the Sky offers a path for you to do the same. For all the ways the Internet makes you feel enriched and depleted, genuinely connected and wildly insufficient, What Falls from the Sky reveals a new way to look up from your screens and live with palms wide open in a world brimming with the good gifts of God. -From the Publisher
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Seminary Dropout 011: Richard Foster

143: Mike McHargue aka “Science Mike”, Author of “Finding God In The Waves”
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46 min
April 08, 2017 154 – Jamin Goggin & Kyle Strobel on the Church’s Problems with Power
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Check out the new(ish) podcast OnRamp
Jamin Goggin serves as a pastor at Mission Hills Church. He has been in pastoral ministry for eleven years, including several years as the Pastor of Spiritual Formation at Saddleback Church. Jamin speaks and writes in the areas of spiritual formation, ministry and theology. He holds two Masters degrees and is currently earning a PhD in systematic theology. He lives in Southern California with his wife, Kristin, and their three children.
Kyle Strobel is a professor of spiritual theology and formation at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University and is an emerging voice among evangelicals on spiritual formation, discipleship, and theology. Kyle speaks regularly and has written for Pastors.com, Relevant magazine (and Relevant Magazine.com), ChurchLeader.com, and DeeperStory.com. Kyle lives in Southern California with his wife, Kelli, and their two children.

The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb: Searching for Jesus’ Path of Power in a Church that Has Abandoned It
Why do so many rock-star pastors implode under the spotlight? Why do modern-day churches become so entangled in growing their brand that they lose sight of their true purpose? Because, according to Jamin Goggin and Kyle Strobel, Christians have succumbed to the temptations of power and forgotten Jesus’ seemingly contradictory path to power—first giving it up.
In The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb, Goggin and Strobel paint a richly biblical vision of power through weakness. They invite readers to join them on an adventure around the world, seeking out great sages of the faith with uncommon wisdom to offer those traveling the path of Christian life. As readers eavesdrop on the authors’ conversations with people such as J. I. Packer, Dallas Willard, Marva Dawn, John Perkins, Jean Vanier, James Houston, and Eugene Peterson, they begin to piece together the new-old reality of following Jesus today. In the end, The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb offers a compelling vision of the way of Jesus that will challenge both individual believers and the church as a whole. -From the Publisher
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Seminary Dropout 100: Jo Saxton on Post-Christendom, Discipleship, and Being a Woman of Color in Church Leadership
Seminary Dropout 71: Natasha Sistrunk Robinson on Jesus, Leadership, and Race
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1 hr 1 min
December 14, 2016 A Very Special Episode of Seminary Dropout: Announcing a Brand New Podcast – OnRamp
Hey Seminary Dropout listeners this is a very special episode in which I’m previewing to you the very first episode of a brand new podcast called OnRamp. OnRamp is hosted by myself and my friend Kerri Fisher. It’s an episode about issues surrounding race through the lens of Christian spirituality. This is has been in the works for awhile and I’m very proud of it. It’s by no mean comprehensive in it’s scope and it’s not perfect in it’s execution. I by no means have these issues figured out. It’s just a conversation, and a conversation meant for those who want to understand these issues better, but don’t have a good place to start. This is meant to be a jumping on point or, and “on-ramp”.
If you like Seminary Dropout then I think you’ll love OnRamp. You can help the show launch by 1. Subscribing in iTunes, and 2. Sharing this on social media. Thanks for listening and I hope that Christ meets you as you listen.
32 min
December 01, 2016 153: David Fitch Author of ‘Faithful Presence: Seven Disciplines that Shape the Church for Mission’
*Originally Posted at MissioAlliance.org
David E. Fitch (PhD, Northwestern University) is the B. R. Lindner Chair of Evangelical Theology at Northern Seminary. He is also the founding pastor of Life on the Vine Christian Community, a missional church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. He is the author of The Great Giveaway and The End of Evangelicalism? and is the coauthor of Prodigal Christianity. Fitch coaches a network of church plants in the Christian and Missionary Alliance and he writes, speaks, and lectures on issues the local church must face in mission including cultural engagement, leadership and theology. He has also written numerous articles in periodicals such as Christianity Today, The Other Journal, Missiology as well as various academic journals.
To enter to win a copy of Faithful Presense sign up for my email list at ShaneBlackshear.com (right hand side).

Thank you all for a great 2016! This is the last episode of Seminary Dropout for the year. Stay tuned to hear more about the “secret project” coming in December.
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Seminary Dropout 126: Nijay Gupta on Bridging the Gap Between Seminary and the Church Pew
Seminary Dropout 115: Natasha Sistrunk Robinson “When We Measure the Church by American Standards… …We Strangle the Beauty of the Cross.”
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55 min
November 29, 2016 152: Paul Pavao on Cancer, The Early Church, and Living in Intentional Community
*Originally Posted at MissioAlliance.org
Paul Pavao is a teacher at Rose Creek village, a Christian community. He is married and has six children. Paul is a Mensa member and has studied early CHristian history for over 20 years.
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Intervarsity Press has an exclusive for Seminary Dropout listeners. Go to ivpress.com/dropout to get 30% off The hair loss Road Back to You.
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134: Jessica Kelley, Author of “Lord Willing?: Wrestling with God’s Role in My Child’s Death”
140: Frank James, Logos Video Course: “Introducing Church History”
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38 min
November 19, 2016 151: Greg Boyd on How to Live in a Trump Presidency
Greg Boyd is an internationally recognized theologian, preacher, teacher, apologist and author.
He has been featured on the front page of The New York Times, The Charlie Rose Show, CNN, National Public Radio, the BBC and numerous other television and radio venues.
Greg received his Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary (summa cum laude 1988), his M.Div. from Yale Divinity School (cum laude 1982), and his B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Minnesota (1979). He was a professor of theology for 16 years at Bethel University (St. Paul, MN) where he received the Teaching Excellence Award and Campus Leadership Award.
Greg is the co-founder of Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minnesota where he serves as Senior Pastor, speaking to thousands each week.
Greg has authored or co-authored 20 books and numerous academic articles, including his best-selling and award-winning Letters From a Skeptic and his recent books Repenting of Religion and The Myth of a Christian Nation. His apologetic writings and public debates on the historical Jesus and the problem of evil have helped many skeptics embrace faith, and his writings and seminars on spiritual transformation have had a revolutionary, freeing impact on thousands of believers.
Check out Greg’s website here.
For several blog post recommendations check out the links below:
Greg on Politics
Doing the Kingdom, Not Voting It In
Greg Boyd and Jim Wallis Discuss Politics & Faith
Defending the Poor
Living With a Kingdom Consciousness
When we return to the simplicity and difficulty of the kingdom of God, the question that defines us is no longer, What are the Christian policies and candidates? No, when love is placed above all kingdom-of-the-world concerns (Col. 3:14; 1 Peter 4:8), the kingdom-of-the-world options placed before us dwindle in significance.
-Greg Boyd
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Intervarsity Press has an exclusive for Seminary Dropout listeners. Go to ivpress.com/dropout to get 30% off The Road Back to You.
If you liked this episode then you might also like…
145: Voting, Part 1 with Greg Boyd
147: N.T. Wright Talks about The Day the Revolution Began
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1 hr 6 min
November 11, 2016 150: #SheLeads: Reclaiming the Blessed Alliance for Faithful Mission – Austin Panel
*Originally posted at MissioAlliance.org
On Saturday October 29th Missio Alliance hosted She Leads: Reclaiming the Blessed Alliance for Faithful Mission. The main event was simulcast to regional venues all of the country. I had the privilege of moderating the local panel in my hometown of Austin, TX.
Our panelists were:
Latasha Morrison is a bridge-builder, reconciler, fellow abolitionist, and a compelling voice in the fight for racial justice. Having worked with youth and served as a Children’s & the Next Gen Director, she has developed an untamed passion for social justice issues across the globe. A native of North Carolina she attended East Carolina University and earned a Masters in Business from Liberty University in Virginia. She is embarking on a new role as the Director of Operations at Gateway Church Central in Austin. She is currently building a ministry to help equip those interested in racial bridge-building called “Be the Bridge”.
Tish Harrison Warren is a priest in the Anglican Church in North America, serving at Resurrection South Austin. She writes regularly for The Well, InterVarsity’s online magazine for women in the academy and professions, Her.meneutics, and Christianity Today. Her work has also appeared in Christ and Pop Culture, Art House America, Anglicanpastor.com, and elsewhere. Her first book is forthcoming with IVP.

Keith Atkinson is native Austinite who was ambushed by Jesus Christ in 1973 and has never been the same since. He has been involved in Christian ministry in some capacity since he was seventeen years of age. He serves as Pastor of Red River Church in Austin.

Kenny Green is a pastor at Gateway Church in Austin. He was a meth addict for 10 years, yet has now been clean 10 years. He leads Serve and Recovery for Gateway.

Our Sponsor:
Intervarsity Press has an exclusive for Seminary Dropout listeners. Go to ivpress.com/dropout to get 30% off The Road Back To You.
If you liked this episode then you might also like…
135: Suzanne Burden, Author of “Reclaiming Eve: The Identity and Calling of Women in the Kingdom of God”
Seminary Dropout 99: Jackie Roese on Reshaping Our View of Women in the Church
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1 hr 15 min
November 04, 2016149: Leonard Sweet talks about The Bad Habits of Jesus
*Originally Posted at MissioAlliance.org
Leonard I. Sweet is an American theologian, semiotician, church historian, pastor, and author. Sweet currently serves as the E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism at Drew Theological School at Drew University, in Madison, New Jersey; and a Visiting Distinguished Professor at George Fox University in Portland, Oregon. Sweet is ordained in the United Methodist denomination.
Check out Leonards website here.

The Bad Habits of Jesus: Showing Us the Way to Live Right in a World Gone Wrong
Did Jesus have bad habits?
In our culture, we have a tendency to describe Jesus in ways that soften his revolutionary edge. Len Sweet uncovers and presents to us the offensive and scandalous Jesus described in the Bible.
Did he disappear when people needed him most? Yes.
Did he refuse to answer questions directly? Yes.
Did Jesus offend the people of his day? Absolutely, yes.
Popular author and speaker Len Sweet examines the words and actions of Jesus and places them in context. We need to understand who Jesus really is if we are to follow him wholeheartedly. That is why it is so crucial to see the “rebellious rabbi” for who he is and not for who we may imagine him to be.
The Bad Habits of Jesus will help you see the untamed Jesus, who isn’t sanitized for our culture. That Jesus just might transform how you live out your life. -From the Publisher
Our Sponsor:
Intervarsity Press has an exclusive for Seminary Dropout listeners. Go to ivpress.com/dropout to get 30% off The Road Back To You.
If you liked this episode then you might also like…
146: N.T. Wright Talks about The Day the Revolution Began
Mike McHargue aka “Science Mike”, Author of “Finding God In The Waves”
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34 min
October 27, 2016 148: Shane Claiborne Talks “Executing Grace: How the Death Penalty Killed Jesus and Why it’s Killing Us”
*Originally Posted at MissioAlliance.org

Shane Claiborne graduated from Eastern University and did graduate work at Princeton Seminary. In 2010, he received an Honorary Doctorate from Eastern. His adventures have taken him from the streets of Calcutta where he worked with Mother Teresa to the wealthy suburbs of Chicago where he served at the influential mega-church Willow Creek. As a peacemaker, his journeys have taken him to some of the most troubled regions of the world – from Rwanda to the West Bank – and he’s been on peace delegations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Shane is a founder and board member of The Simple Way, a faith community in inner city Philadelphia that has helped birth and connect radical faith communities around the world. He is married to Katie Jo, a North Carolina girl who also fell in love with the city (and with Shane). They were wed in St. Edwards church, the formerly abandoned cathedral into which homeless families relocated in 1995, launching the beginning of the Simple Way community and a new phase of faith-based justice making.
Shane writes and travels extensively speaking about peacemaking, social justice, and Jesus. Shane’s books include Jesus for President, Red Letter Revolution, Common Prayer, Follow Me to Freedom, Jesus, Bombs and Ice Cream, Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers – and his classic The Irresistible Revolution. He has been featured in a number of films including “Another World Is Possible” and “Ordinary Radicals.” His books are translated into more than a dozen languages. Shane speaks over 100 times a year, nationally and internationally.
His work has appeared in Esquire, SPIN, Christianity Today, and The Wall Street Journal, and he has been on everything from Fox News and Al Jazeera to CNN and NPR. He’s given academic lectures at Harvard, Princeton, Brown, Liberty, Duke, and Notre Dame. Shane speaks regularly at denominational gatherings, festivals, and conferences around the globe.

Executing Grace: How the Death Penalty Killed Jesus and Why It’s Killing Us
In this reasoned exploration of justice, retribution, and redemption, the champion of the new monastic movement, popular speaker, and author of the bestselling The Irresistible Revolution offers a powerful and persuasive appeal for the abolition of the death penalty.
The Bible says an eye for an eye. But is the state’s taking of a life true—or even practical—punishment for convicted prisoners? In this thought-provoking work, Shane Claiborne explores the issue of the death penalty and the contrast between punitive justice and restorative justice, questioning our notions of fairness, revenge, and absolution.
Using an historical lens to frame his argument, Claiborne draws on testimonials and examples from Scripture to show how the death penalty is not the ideal of justice that many believe. Not only is a life lost, so too, is the possibility of mercy and grace. In Executing Grace, he reminds us of the divine power of forgiveness, and evokes the fundamental truth of the Gospel—that no one, even a criminal, is beyond redemption.

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Intervarsity Press has an exclusive for Seminary Dropout listeners. Go to ivpress.com/dropout to get 30% off The Broken Way.

43 min
October 20, 2016 147: N.T. Wright Talks about The Day the Revolution Began
*Originally published at missioalliance.org

N.T. WRIGHT is the former Bishop of Durham in the Church of England and one of the world’s leading Bible scholars. He is now serving as the Chair of New Testament and Early Christianity at the School of Divinity at the University of St. Andrews. For twenty years he taught New Testament studies at Cambridge, McGill and Oxford Universities. As being both one of the world’s leading Bible scholars and a popular author, he has been featured on ABC News, Dateline, The Colbert Report, and Fresh Air. His award-winning books include The Case for the Psalms, How God Became King, Simply Jesus, After You Believe, Surprised by Hope, Simply Christian, Scripture and the Authority of God, The Meaning of Jesus (co-authored with Marcus Borg), as well as being the translator for The Kingdom New Testament. He also wrote the impressive Christian Origins and the Question of God series, including The New Testament and the People of God, Jesus and the Victory of God, The Resurrection of the Son of God and most recently, Paul and the Faithfulness of God.

The Day the Revolution Began: Reconsidering the Meaning of Jesus’s Crucifixion
The renowned scholar, Anglican bishop, and bestselling author widely considered to be the heir to C. S. Lewis contemplates the central event at the heart of the Christian faith—Jesus’ crucifixion—arguing that the Protestant Reformation did not go far enough in transforming our understanding of its meaning.
In The Day the Revolution Began, N. T. Wright once again challenges commonly held Christian beliefs as he did in his acclaimed Surprised by Hope. Demonstrating the rigorous intellect and breathtaking knowledge that have long defined his work, Wright argues that Jesus’ death on the cross was not only to absolve us of our sins; it was actually the beginning of a revolution commissioning the Christian faithful to a new vocation—a royal priesthood responsible for restoring and reconciling all of God’s creation.
Wright argues that Jesus’ crucifixion must be understood within the much larger story of God’s purposes to bring heaven and earth together. The Day the Revolution Began offers a grand picture of Jesus’ sacrifice and its full significance for the Christian faith, inspiring believers with a renewed sense of mission, purpose, and hope, and reminding them of the crucial role the Christian faith must play in protecting and shaping the future of the world. -From The Publisher

ntwrightonline.org is your official site for information regarding online classes that are being developed by Prof. N.T. Wright of St. Andrews University, Scotland. It is our hope that you would have the best on-line learning experience featuring courses based on the teaching of N.T. Wright.
The courses contain video lecture material, written material to augment the videos, textbook recommendations, assessment tools (i.e., quizzes), and discussion sections so you can dialogue on-line with fellow students from around the world. This will help us to ‘be transformed by the renewing of the mind’.
Courses offered at ntwrightonline.org are made possible through the collaboration between N.T. Wright, Professor at St. Andrews University, Scotland, and David Seemuth, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Wisconsin Center for Christian Study.
46 min