Some of our best podcasts have been with historians, and today will be no exception. This is a great conversation. Beth Allison Barr is The James Vardaman Endowed Professor of History professor at Baylor University, specializing in Medieval and Early Modern England, Women’s History, Medieval Sermons, and Church History. She received degrees from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Baylor University. While she has written extensively on the historic role of women, especially in medieval England, her best selling books have focused on women in the evangelical world. If you haven’t read The Making of Biblical Womanhood, that’s a must read. And releasing in March … on pre-order through Amazon .. is Becoming the Pastor’s Wife: How Marriage Replaced Ordination as a Woman’s Path to Ministry. I’ve had a chance to preview the book, and my goodness … what an insightful study of the relationship between the decline of women’s ordination and the rise of the pastor’s wife. 

Oh, and we reference a blog I wrote some time ago on the ESV. Find it here. 

We had Dr. Tim Gaines on the podcast last fall, after I discovered him while speaking at a Salvation Army event. Tim is a professor of religion at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, where he teaches courses in theology and ethics and directs the graduate program in theology and biblical studies. He also serves as a pastor at Trevecca Community Church and as the director of The Center for Wesleyan-Holiness Formation, which serves the Church by advocating for scholarship in the Wesleyan tradition. Dr. Gaines has coauthored and co-edited multiple previous titles, including Walking the Theological Life, Kings & Presidents (a book on politics and the Kingdom of God), and a book simply called Christian Ethics. I knew when we talked last time that we’d want him back so this time we'll talk about moral formation, ethics, the reason for theology, and even get a second dose of secularity.  

Brian Russell is a fine academic, a strong leader, a giving spirit, a remarkable multi-tasker, and man of deep prayer. That mix of gifts and traits makes him a rare treasure in this field called the Body of Christ. He is also an author, blogger, coach, mentor to many, and among the most accessible academics we know. He is a professor at Asbury Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida, who has authored a book on the devotional reading of scripture called Astonished by the Word … and he has also written and modeled extensively the practice of centering prayer … including a book called Centering Prayer: Sitting Quietly in God’s Presence Can Change Your Life. On his website, brianrussellphd.com, he makes the bold statement, “I can help you thrive and flourish as the person God created you to be.” And that’s his mission. It is to help the rest of us flourish as followers of Jesus. We are having him back today because his gifts were the requests of those being mentored this semester … and also because he has so much to offer. 

Today’s conversation is with Dr. Grant Wacker -- academic and author, and distinguished professor emeritus at Duke Divinity. His studies have focused on American Christian History, particularly on Pentecostalism and American culture. Today, we are talking to him about the Pentecostal life, and also what we might learn from the significant ministry of Billy Graham about how to do evangelism in the 21st century. Dr. Wacker has written two books on that topic – America’s Pastor: Billy Graham and the Shaping of a Nation, and One Soul at a Time: The Story of Billy Graham.

Linda Adams serves as a Bishop in the Free Methodist Church. She first served in the U.S. and now serves in Canada. In this episode, we talk about doing evangelism in a thoroughly post-Christian or secular culture, and also about prophetic gifts, and secularity, and some other things, too. As our producer said of this episode, this one "spanned just about everything.  Such wise and humble insight into every topic she spoke about." Oh, and we referenced that amazing talk on holiness that Miriam Swanson did at New Room a few years ago. Listen to the link after you listen to the podcast!

Bishop Keith Cowart has served as a bishop in the Free Methodist Church since 2019. With has degrees from Asbury Theological Seminary and a very warm heart toward the Global Methodist movement, Keith brings a lot of affinity to this conversation. He is a Methodist-minded follower of Jesus who gets us. I am finding some of the best wisdom comes from friends in other tribes and it was one of those conversations with Bishop Cowart that made me realize just how much we can learn from each other. So I’ve asked my good friend to come and share with us what the Free Methodist Church has learned about healthy denominational systems. 

J.D. Walt is one of my smartest friends and he's been here before. He has served as Dean of the Chapel at Asbury, and as Chief Sower at Seedbed. He's the creative genius behind so many good things happening in the Methodist stream. As a mutual friend says of him, "If you cut JD, he bleeds Jesus and vision!" Amen to that! In this conversation, we talk about the marks of a movement. Watch for the blog that covers his list, so you can print it out and make it part of your own ministry. Its just good stuff. 

Bishop Leah Hidde-Gregory is a leader in the Global Methodist Church, serving as both Conference Superintendent (Mid-Texas Conference) and General Bishop. She served as chair of the Transitional Leadership Council when the GMC was just coming online, and she has inspired so many toward vocational ministry. Our conversation with her today is about challenges and opportunities for women in spiritual leadership. A great conversation with someone who has taken a non-traditional path into spiritual leadership. I hope you listen.  

Today’s conversation with Dr. Joe Dongell is part two of a discussion about holy love. Listen for part one on the October 21 AoH episode. Joe, as he prefers to be called, is part of the team at  Asbury Theological Seminary, where he serves as Professor of Biblical Studies. Dongell has several books to his credit, including a commentary on the gospel of Mark (must-read) and a small but packed book called The Most Excellent Way, at seedbed.com. Brilliant and faithful and easy to listen to … if you like thinking deeply about biblical concepts, you’ll love this one!

In today's episode we kick off a new project for 2025. I'm combining mentoring with podcasting, with the hope that we might all work together to raise up three women into spiritual leadership while we all enjoy the same amazing conversations we've grown used to at AoH. Want to learn how it all fits together? Listen to this episode!