Join me in this very interesting and pleasant conversation with Father Monty Bamford of Catholic Cathedral Parish in Christchurch as we discuss some of the main differences AND similarities we have between traditions at large. I learned a lot! Monty is very easy to talk with and to listen to, and on points of contention, I felt listened to, as well as free to challenge. And his perspective and insights to Catholic theology and the practices it leads to are very helpful for inter-religious/denominational discussion.

feel free to join our facebook page and add some thougths, questions and insights to keep the conversation going - facebook.com/thehonesttheologypodcast

Join me as I chat with Father Valentin, priest at St. Nicolas Russian Orthodox Church, here in Christchurch, NZ. I really enjoyed meeting with him and hearing about the richness and traditions, similarities and differences to the Mainline Protestant traditions that I've mostly been exposed to.

Kicking off season 4 is a special guest, Dr. Christa McKirland. Christa is a Lecturer in Systmatic Theology at Carey Baptist College in Auckland, NZ. She's the author of "God's Provision, Humanity's Need." And she's also from my home town of Fayetteville, GA!

She's become quite popular since arriving in NZ, both as a lecturer at Carey, but also as a speaker for churches, conferences, and other events.

It was quite the honour and very special to reconnect with Christa and I hope you enjoy our conversation on Baptist theology, identity, distinctives, practices, and challenges.

Christa's Bio - https://www.carey.ac.nz/team-member/dr-christa-mckirland/

Carey Baptist College - https://www.carey.ac.nz/

Order "God's Provision, Humanity's Need - https://amzn.asia/d/eGZiG3F

Check out what's in store for Season 4 - "The Branches"

For the Season 3 finale, I'm joined by my Presbytery's - The Alpine Presbytery - Executive Officer, Rev. Martin Stewart. Martin has been in ordained ministry for over 35 years and spends most of his time now serving and tending to the many needs of the Presbyterian (and cooperating ventures with a Presbyterian element) churches that exist in the greater part of the South Island of New Zealand.

In this episode we talk about how the church needs to embrace creativity and imagination more and be less concerned and less anxious about holding onto things or operating certain ways just because that's how its' always been. We talk about what the church today is being called into, and what the future of our church (and THE Church in general) might look like.

Please feel free to post any comments or questions on our facebook page www.facebook.com/thehonesttheologypodcast or email me [email protected]

You can also visit my church Linwood Avenue Union Church on Facebook (facebook.com/LAUCNZ) or @ lauc.org.nz

Cathy is a pastor of an innovative church - maybe calling it

Find out more: https://baptist.nz/series/the-changes-ahead-podcast/

Listen here (or whatever other platform you prefer) - https://open.spotify.com/show/096gD72Iy2pkHYESZhIFPW

This is part two of a conversation I had with Scott Schneiderman, who is the Pastor of Ministry Development at New Beginnings Church, Harrisonburg, VA.

We talk about the modern forms of church, particularly the way his church works, and how to manage and see through the work of a church to ensure we bring glory to God.

Scott has his own podcast called Re:quip. You can find it wherever you stream podcasts. He as also recently started playing around with uploading sessions on YouTube. (search for Scott Schneiderman).

You can also look up Re-quip.org if you're interested in more, or hit up Scott on the socials to talk to him directly or ask any follow up questions.

and as always, feel free to post any thoughts, comments or questions on facebook.com/thehonesttheologypodcast

*NOTE this is part 1 of a 2 part episode.

Listen in to a conversation I have with an old friend who helps pastor a church in a VERY different context to me, as we talk about models of church, emphases of ministry, glorifying God and how to do that in and manage a large church community, among other things.

Because we "do" church a little differently, we talked a bit more than usual, so I broke this up over two parts.

Scott is a Pastor at New Beginnings Church in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

He also hosts a podcast of his own called Re:Quip Ministries and can be found wherever you stream podcasts.

Dr. Zurlo is the Co-Director of the at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (South Hamilton, MA) as well as Visiting Research Fellow at Boston University’s Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs, founded by sociologist Peter Berger. She's a is a scholar of the history of mission and of world Christianity.

I thoroughly enjoyed talking with Dr. Zurlo about the nature of the Church Universal; the differences, the commonalities, things that are hindrances, and things to celebrate.

Find more about Dr. Zurlo:

ginazurlo.com

globalchristianity.org

https://www.facebook.com/centerforglobalchristianity

facebookcom.thehonesttheologypodcast

I've been keeping tabs on Andy's work for long time and when I was deciding on the theme for this season, he was the FIRST person I thought of to have on the show! Andrew (Andy) is the Carrie Olson Baalson Professor of Youth and Family Ministry at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. He's written a plethora of books regarding ministry (youth and all around) in the current climate, post-modernity and post-Christendom and we talk a lot about what it means that churches are "in decline" and what the mission of The Church is.

https://www.andrewroot.org (for bio, books, and other information)

his podcast (When the Church Stops Working) - https://www.andrewroot.org/podcast or search When the Church Stops Working wherever you stream podcasts

Join our Facebook community to share thoughts on our content or ask further questions. We like to keep the conversations going, so feel free to do that. It's a safe place to explore these things further. facebook.com/thehonesttheologypodcast

visit me at my church if you're ever keen or find out what we're up to @ lauc.org.nz or facebook.com/LAUCNZ