Shifting Culture

Today, our guest is Munther Isaac, Academic Dean of Bethlehem Bible College and pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem. Munther’s family have been shepherds in the same hills as the shepherds who heard from the angel of God that first Christmas. And although the world is fighting to dehumanize the Palestinian people and the people in Gaza, the words of the angel are still true. Jesus is good news for all people. Every human is made in the image of God and is worthy of love, dignity, and life. You know, when you are at a distance, it is easy to get caught up in the headlines and the latest violence. But we need to go deeper to see what is happening. And that’s what we are doing today. Reverend Munther takes us back through the history, showing how this conflict has roots going back decades. It didn’t just start with October 7th. Munther calls us to see the humanity in all the people caught up in this. He shares a haunting poem by a Palestinian professor killed in the violence - a man who wanted his death to bring hope, not vengeance. It's a powerful reminder that behind the headlines, there are real people, with dreams and fears just like our own. This is a conversation that won't let you look away. But it also opens up a new way of seeing - one rooted in the radical compassion of Jesus, who calls us to love even our enemies. This Advent, Christ is still in the rubble. He sees the children, the women, the men of Gaza and Palestine with love and compassion. Will we?

Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac is a Palestinian Christian pastor, theologian, and writer, known for his role as the pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem and as the academic dean at Bethlehem Bible College. He is also the director of the Christ at the Checkpoint conferences and has been a vocal advocate for peace and reconciliation in the region. His work often intertwines faith with the political realities of life in Palestine.

Munther's Book:
Christ in the Rubble

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My guest today is Phil Moore, author of the book "The Forgotten Manifesto of Jesus." Phil is a former megachurch pastor in London who went through a major shift during the pandemic. See, Phil was leading this thriving church, doing all the things we're told to do to grow a big, successful congregation. But then COVID hit, and everything changed. Why? Because Phil started asking some hard questions - is what we're doing really working? Is this the way Jesus wants us to make disciples? What Phil discovered by connecting with disciple-making movements in places like Iran and India completely upended his approach. He realized the key to mature disciples of Jesus isn't about gathering big crowds, but about empowering everyday believers to make disciples who make disciples. It's a radically decentralized, reproducible model. As Phil will share, when we rediscover the simple, revolutionary teachings of Jesus in Matthew 10 and Luke 10, it has the power to transform not just our churches, but the very way we think about the Great Commission. This is a conversation that could be a real game-changer for how discipleship works in the body of Christ. So join us as we learn how to make disciples that make disciples. 

Phil is an author, speaker and teacher based in London, UK. Phil came to faith as a student at Cambridge University and was trained within the Newfrontiers family of churches. He serves as a teacher, speaker, DMM leader and encourager of churches, both in the UK and beyond. He is the author of "The Bible in 100 Pages", "The Forgotten Manifesto of Jesus" and the "Straight to the Heart" series of devotional commentaries.

In his latest book, "The Forgotten Manifesto of Jesus", Phil has the privilege of telling the story of underground house church movements across India, Iran, Afghanistan and the Middle East. The leaders of these movements are skilled at hiding their identities, but they were able to communicate securely with Phil so that he could pass on their amazing story of God's faithfulness to the world.

Phil is married to Ruth and they have four young children. Together, they love eating strange and exotic food, as well as anything to do with campervans. They also love Roald Dahl, which makes Phil's children complain that his own books do not contain enough pictures, talking animals or chocolate factories.

Phil's Book:
The Forgotten Manifesto of Jesus

Phil's Recommendation:
Spirit Walk


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Today, I’m excited to welcome Anna Morgan to the show to talk about growing women in ministry. Anna is a pastor, academic, and author who has done incredible research on the unique challenges and opportunities that women face in leadership roles within the church. Anna has an amazing personal story that really sets the stage for this discussion. She experienced tremendous tragedy early in her marriage when her first husband was killed in a car accident. But through that, God opened up this unexpected leadership path for Anna, and she found herself stepping into roles and responsibilities that she never could have imagined. As Anna started to mentor other young women in ministry, she realized there was a real gap in the resources and support available to help women navigate their leadership journeys. That led her to pursue doctoral research on this topic, and the insights she's uncovered are just so valuable. We're going to dive into what Anna has learned about the internal and external factors that shape women as leaders - things like the importance of seeing potential, the confidence gaps that often hold women back, and the critical role of mentorship and sponsorship. And we'll talk about how churches and ministry teams can be more intentional about creating environments where women can thrive. This is a conversation that I believe has huge implications, not just for women, but for the whole body of Christ. When we empower female leaders, we unlock so much potential for the kingdom. So I'm really excited for you to hear Anna's perspective on all of this. So join us.

Anna Morgan has been in local church ministry since 1999 as a youth pastor, worship pastor, executive pastor, lead pastor, and church consultant. Dr. Morgan co-pastors Word of Life Church, an international, Assemblies of God church in metropolitan Washington, D.C. Morgan is vice president of academics at Ascent College. Morgan’s dissertation examined female leadership development in theologically egalitarian local churches. She is an affiliate associate professor of leadership at Fuller Theological Seminary. She has trained leaders and teams at Pentecostal and charismatic churches throughout the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Morgan is an ordained minister through the Australian Christian Churches.

Anna's Book:
Growing Women in Ministry

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Patriarchy is a power that steals, kills, and destroys. But in the darkness, the Spirit of God hovers, waiting to give birth to new life. Danielle Strickland joins us today to shed light on this critical issue facing the church. Danielle unpacks how patriarchy has deeply distorted our view of God, the scriptures, and the flourishing of men and women together. She shares how this male-centered ordering of the world has undermined women's confidence and value, and how it stands in stark contrast to God's design for mutual flourishing. Yet Danielle also offers hope. She calls us to see the powerful witness of women throughout scripture - from Hagar to Mary Magdalene. And she challenges men to step up, to confront the systems of patriarchy, and to disproportionately invest in empowering women. This is a conversation that gets to the heart of the gospel - a message of life, not death; a vision of mutual empowerment, not domination. Danielle's words have the potential to shift the very culture of the church. So join us.

Danielle lets Love lead her to inspire, challenge, provoke and disrupt the present, and to live the future now. Having lived in different cultures and contexts around the world she celebrates diversity and deeply longs for wrong things to be made right. Danielle practises following Jesus daily. This pursuit has led to exciting entrepreneurial exploits (like co-founding multiple charities and non-profits) and a whole host of failures (that we don’t as often talk about). All of this has convinced her of the deep need we all have for hope, faith, and love. Her deepest longing is to demonstrate what living that boundless life looks like.

Danielle has written six books (the latest is The Other Side of Hope), has a podcast called The Right Side Up (which recently celebrated half-a-million downloads), and speaks to people at events all over the world. Danielle leads Boundless Communications Inc. which launches creative exploits like Women Speakers Collective (liberating voices of women around the globe), IMBY (a tiny home movement IN MY BACKYARD), Brave Global (preventing human trafficking), Infinitum (a way of living deeply), and Hagar’s Voice (support and advocacy for survivors of abuse). Danielle lives in Vancouver, Canada with her three sons and husband Steve. Danielle loves getting outside, doing new things, physical adventures, and she can’t seem to turn down a free lunch.

Danielle's Book:
Need to Know

Danielle's Recommendations:
The Power

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Today we have a conversation with Pete Portal, author of the book "How to Be (Un)successful" (or "Stop Trying to Be Successful" for our American listeners). Pete has spent the last 15 years living and working in the township of Mannenberg, South Africa, a community plagued by gang violence, drug addiction, and systemic injustice. What Pete has learned through this experience flies in the face of much of our conventional thinking about success, achievement, and the role of the church. He argues that true success in the kingdom of God is not about what you accomplish, but who you become - a life of faithfulness, vulnerability, and reciprocal relationship, even in the face of deep betrayal and suffering. Pete shares powerful stories of how God is at work, often in the most unexpected places, to raise up the valleys and humble the mountains. He challenges the notion of "culture wars" and the church's tendency to try and "invade and occupy" systems of power, instead calling us to a "seven valleys mandate" - to pervade the forgotten, marginalized spaces of society with the humble, self-giving love of Christ. This is a conversation that will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about success, the role of the church, and how the kingdom of God breaks into our world. It is deeply inspiring and profoundly hopeful. So join us.

Pete Portal serves on the Core Leadership Team of Tree of Life, a 24-7 Prayer Community based in Manenberg, Cape Town. He does life with young men coming out of gangsterism and drug addiction and helps these young men find faith, freedom and wholeness. He's on the board of 24-7 Prayer South Africa, and spends much of his time growing relationships and networks across racial and socio-economic divides, as well as speaking at churches and organisations both locally and internationally on matters of faith and social transformation.
Pete holds Masters degrees in Theology (Edinburgh) and Theology, Politics and Faith-based Organisations (Kings College London); He's written articles for The Guardian, The Telegraph and The Times.
Pete has written two books - No Neutral Ground, and How to be (Un)successful.

Pete's Book:
Stop Trying to Be Successful

Pete's Recommendations:
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing
The Critical Journey

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Today we have a conversation about rediscovering the true meaning of Christmas. Our guest is AJ Sherrill, author of the book "Rediscovering Christmas." AJ takes us back 2,000 years to unpack the rich cultural context and deeper significance behind the Christmas story that we often miss in our modern celebrations. AJ explains how the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem - the "house of bread" - where he was laid in a feeding trough, is a profound symbol of him being the "bread of life" come to nourish our deepest hungers. He also highlights the stories of characters like Zechariah and Anna, who models patient longing and faithful waiting for the Messiah's arrival. AJ challenges us to approach this Advent season not just as a nostalgic tradition, but as a time to cultivate our own longing for God's kingdom to come in fullness. He encourages us to create space in our hearts to encounter the God who searches for us, even as we search for him. This conversation invites us to rediscover the wonder and significance of Christmas in fresh ways. So join us and rediscover Christmas.

Serving as Lead Pastor for two decades in churches across the country from Southern California to New York City, I am thrilled to call the Low Country home. Having earned several Masters degrees in theology and a Doctorate in the area of spiritual formation, I teach courses on preaching and also the Enneagram at Fuller Theological Seminary, as well as workshops on spiritual formation and personality theory. Most importantly, I am a disciple of Jesus, husband to Elaina, and father to Eloise. Least importantly, I am an unfortunate Michigan fan, thus winning seldom, but often gaining humility.

AJ's Book:
Rediscovering Christmas

AJ's Recommendation:
In Search of God's Will

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You know, when you think about the Christmas story - the birth of Jesus, the angels, the shepherds, the wise men - it's easy to get caught up in the sentimentality of it all. The cozy nativity scene, the baby in the manger, the promise of peace on earth. But what if I told you that the real story of Jesus's birth is much grittier, much more rooted in the harsh realities of human suffering and oppression? That's the perspective Kelley Nikondeha brings to the table. Kelley is the author of a book called "The First Advent in Palestine," and as the title suggests, she's looking at the Advent narrative through a very different lens - one shaped by her own experiences and the people she’s met along the way. You see, Kelley is married to someone from Burundi, which has its own long history of colonization and trauma. And when she looks at the story of Jesus's birth, she doesn't just see the tender moments - she sees the generational pain and political upheaval that formed the backdrop for that pivotal event. It's a powerful reframing of a story we think we know so well. Because the truth is, the world Jesus was born into was a world of oppression, a world where the powerful trampled on the weak. And Kelley helps us understand how that context shaped the very nature of Jesus's mission and ministry. This is a conversation that's going to challenge the way you think about Advent and the Christmas story. It's going to ask you to look beyond the sentimental trappings and really grapple with the gritty realities of human suffering. But in doing so, it just might open your eyes to a deeper, richer understanding of the hope that Jesus brought into the world. Join us as we enter Advent.

Kelley Nikondeha is a liberation theologian and feminist, author and development practitioner. Authored Adopted: The Sacrament of Belonging in a Fractured World, Defiant: What the Women of Exodus Teach Us about Freedom, and The First Advent in Palestine.

Kelley's Recommendation:
The Message

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Our guest is Anjuli Paschall, author of the new book "Feel: A Collection of Liturgies Offering Hope for Every Complicated Emotion." We have a conversation about the power and importance of our emotions, and how to engage with them in a healthy, transformative way. Anjuli has such an insightful and nuanced perspective on this topic. She talks about how she grew up in a Christian culture that often viewed certain emotions as "bad" or something to be suppressed. But she's come to see how crucial it is to name, feel, and bring our full range of emotions to God. We discuss how language and culture shape the way we experience and express our feelings. Anjuli shares powerful examples of how simply naming an emotion can be the first step towards healing and growth. And she walks us through the "liturgies" or guided prayers in her book - ways to authentically bring our messy, complicated emotions to the Lord. Our emotions are so central to the human experience, and to our spiritual lives and Anjuli offers wisdom and practical tools for embracing the full breadth of what we feel, and allowing that to draw us closer to God and one another. I think you'll find this discussion really insightful and helpful. So join us.

Anjuli Paschall grew up in San Diego. She studied psychology at Point Loma Nazarene University and earned her graduate degree from Talbot Seminary in spiritual formation and soul care. She has been married for close to twenty years to her childhood friend Sam. Together, they founded Sojourn and Sage, a retreat and residency home for the weary. They have five beautiful children: Manoah, Samuel, Noelle, Hannaly, and Mea. Anjuli is the author of Stay and Awake. As a pastor’s wife, writer, and spiritual director, she learned that feelings are the pathway to prayer. She loves chai tea, golden hour, and the color orange.

Anjuli's Book:
Feel

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In this conversation, we dive into how Jesus read and engaged with scripture - and how that should inform how we, as his followers, approach the Bible today. It’s not something I’ve thought about explicitly. This is a much needed conversation. My guest is Michael Pahl, author of the book "The Word Fulfilled," and he brings a really thoughtful, nuanced perspective on this topic. One of the key things that emerges is how Jesus didn't just see scripture as a flat, equal text, but rather prioritized certain passages - like the book of Isaiah - that spoke to his core mission of bringing God's love and justice to the world. Jesus didn't just memorize scripture, but read it through the lens of loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself. And that has huge implications for how we should approach the Bible. Rather than just looking for rules or proof-texts, we need to ask how the scriptures are calling us to a deeper ethic of compassion and concern for the marginalized. It's not about winning arguments, but about being transformed by the radical love that Jesus embodied. Pahl also gets into the challenges of actually living out that kind of non-violent, self-giving love in the face of a culture that often prizes power and retaliation. But he points to inspiring examples, like the civil rights movement, of how that way of Jesus can actually bring about profound social change. It's a rich, thought-provoking conversation that I think will really challenge us to rethink how we engage with the Bible. So join us.

Michael Pahl is executive minister of Mennonite Church Manitoba. He has a PhD in biblical studies from the University of Birmingham in the UK. His professional journey has moved between academic teaching and congregational ministry. He previously served as lead pastor of Morden Mennonite Church and has published and edited multiple books, including The Beginning and the End: Rereading Genesis’s Stories and Revelation’s Visions. He lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, with his wife Larissa, their two dogs and cat, and occasionally one or more of their four adult children.

Michael's Book:
The Word Fulfilled

Michael's Recommendation:
Faithful Presence

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It’s a privilege to be in conversation with Diane Langberg today, a psychologist who has spent over 50 years working with victims of abuse, particularly within the church. Langberg has seen firsthand the devastating impact when the very institutions meant to protect and nurture God's people end up harming them instead. Diane believes that the solution lies not in better policies or procedures, but in a deeper reorientation towards Christ-likeness - a radical commitment to love, truth, and obedience that must permeate every corner of the church. She argues that too often, we've made the institution, the building, the reputation the priority, rather than faithfully following our true head, Jesus. She pulls no punches, recounting harrowing stories of abuse covered up in the name of protecting the church's image. But she also offers a vision of hope - that by facing these painful truths head-on, by listening to the 'least of these,' the church can be transformed to truly reflect the heart of the Savior it claims to follow. This is a challenging, sobering, and ultimately hopeful conversation that I believe every Christian leader needs to engage with. Langberg's wisdom and experience offer a clarion call for the church to get back to its biblical foundations - not as an institution to defend, but as the living, breathing body of Christ.

Diane Langberg (PhD, Temple University) is an internationally recognized psychologist with more than 50 years of experience. She chaired the advisory board of the American Association of Christian Counselors until 2021 and cofounded the Global Trauma Recovery Institute, which trains therapists to assist trauma victims across the world. She is the founder of Langberg, Monroe & Associates, which provides counseling services in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, and consults with Christian organizations around the world. Langberg is the author of seven books, including Redeeming Power. Her books have been translated into 11 languages.

Diane's Book:
When the Church Harm's God's People

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