The Shock Absorber

Joel, Stu and Tim continue to review the culture of 2010s and 2020s, this time through the lens of Kanye West (now known as Ye). They explore if Christians should embrace or critique the ideas Kanye raises through his music of power, consumerism, wealth, materialism and mental health while also being wary of syncretising culture. There is always though, the unchanging nature of God and how He helps us to have conversations around such prevalent issues.

03:24 Cultural Artefact: Kanye's Sunday Service Choir
06:16 Background on Kanye West
15:07 Displays of power and anti-institutionalism
19:42 Being wary of syncretising culture
23:48 Kanye's shifts with culture and mental health
29:15 Kanye's Christianity
36:25 How consumerism plays out in Australian society
41:39 How do we have conversations about such issues?
1:00:03 God remains the same

DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE

Polyphonic channel
How Kanye West Shaped the 2010s, by Polyphonic
What is Kanye West's Sunday Service?
Kanye interrupts Taylor Swift at 2009 MTV VMAs
The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill
Ian Hussey
Don't Waste Your Life, by John Piper
Australia II wins America's Cup
Psalm 73
John D. Rockefeller

CONTACT US

Email: [email protected]
Discord: https://discord.gg/pv5bQgbs
Website: shockabsorber.com.au

Joel and Stu sit down for a deep and challenging discussion with Michael Duckett, Pastor of Macarthur Indigenous Church. Michael's wisdom, faith and leadership around Indigenous issues is invaluable.  We learn that words are cheap when not backed up by action, what churches can be doing and that only true reconciliation can happen through the redemptive cross of Christ.

01:29 Michael's ministry
05:30 Michael's testimony
08:54 How Soul Revival and Macarthur Indigenous Ministry connected
14:05 Michael's painting
19:15 What Indigenous people have experienced
23:59 What progress looks like
29:58 Recognising the past and what the church can do
39:00 The Stolen Generation and its impact
43:50 The differences in cultural mindset and community
54:21 Getting our answers from Jesus
1:05:55 How can we move forward together

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DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE

Michael's message about Australia Day
The killing times: the massacres of Aboriginal people Australia must confront

CONTACT US

Email: [email protected]
Discord: https://discord.gg/FP2cbBSr
Website: shockabsorber.com.au

Kendrick Lamar is a highly influential artist in recent times, capturing significant parts of culture and expressing them via his musical talent. Tim, Stu and Joel look at Kendrick's observations and talk about how we the church can respond to issues such as race relations and speak the gospel to multicultural Australia.

01:17 The world continues to change
09:20 Cultural Artefact - To Pimp A Butterfly
25:24 Kendrick's background
27:20 Multiculturalism in Australia
36:08 The church's response to issues around race
47:01 Response to is The Bible Racist? article
53:19 Kendrick's faith, an environment of listening and catechisms of the world
1:03:50 QUESTION from Michael

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DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE

David Bowie episode
Taylor Swift episode
Beyonce episode
How Kendrick Lamar Shaped the 2010s, by Polyphonic
To Pimp A Butterfly album cover
Control ft. Kendrick Lamar & Jay Electronica, by Big Sean
Ian Hussey
DNA, by Kendrick Lamar
Is the Bible racist? from The Bible Society
Alright, by Kendrick Lamar

CONTACT US

Email: [email protected]
Discord: https://discord.gg/FP2cbBSr
Website: shockabsorber.com.au

Teaching Pastor at Soul Revival Church, Karen, joins Joel and Stu to continue looking at ministering in 2010s and 2020s. Seminal artist Beyonce provides the frame of reference in discussing certain social issues that she aligns with. For Christians, the challenge is to provide a space where cultural issues can be discussed and whether we should embrace or critique them. In answering a question from Callan, we see that the Shock Absorber provides an ongoing, long-term, low key and relational approach to developing a higher level of discipleship.

02:06 Cultural Artefact - Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It), by Beyonce
05:35 Beyonce background and discography
10:21 The three stages of Beyonce's career and her self-discovery
18:22 Beyonce's influence on 2010s
25:39 Control of the narrative and the BeyHive
35:29 Beyonce's identity and her alignment with social movements
51:47 Critiquing and embracing culture - post-modernism and pluralism
59:42 Providing a space to discuss cultural issues and bringing the Bible to bear
1:08:13 Question from Callan about discussing culture
1:17:55 Christianity isn't cultural, it's counter-cultural

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DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE

Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It), by Beyonce
Polyphonic channel
How Beyoncé Shaped the 2010s, by Polyphonic
Crazy in Love ft. JAY Z, by Beyonce
03' Bonnie & Clyde ft. Beyonce, by JAY Z
Run the World (Girls), by Beyonce
Don't Hurt Yourself ft. Jack White, by Beyonce
Homecoming on Netflix
Diana: The Musical on Netflix
Inside the BeyHive
Beyonce performance at Super Bowl L
If I Were A Boy, by Beyonce
I Have A Dream, by Dr Martin Luther King Jr
Malcolm X speech on police brutality
The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense
The Top 100 Beyoncé Songs, Ranked
Ian Hussey
Love on Top, by Beyonce
Party ft. J. Cole, by Beyonce
Royal Commission in Aboriginal Deaths in Custody

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CONTACT US

Email: [email protected]
Discord: https://discord.gg/Vb6g4JzD
Website: shockabsorber.com.au

Stu, Tim and Joel continue to look at ministering in the world that we live in through the lens of the most influential artists of the time, in particular, Taylor Swift.

Taylor's actions, impact and influence throughout the 2010s and 2020s give further credence to the idea of how social movements have caused ideas to replace economics in the structure of society. The church's response to these shifts, such as the myth of egalitarianism, the place of consumerism and wealth in society and anti-institutionalism depends on how we engage and/or embrace culture.

03:48 Cultural Artefact - Look What You Made Me Do, by Taylor Swift
08:40 Taylor's background and her cultural presence
12:07 Ian Hussey's framework for cultural analysis
20:19 Taylor's egalitarianism and anti-institutional stance
29:02 How the Bible helps us understand egalitarian and hierarchical structures
33:03 Social movements. Ideas replace economics
45:00 The church's response and the role of the Shock Absorber
55:55 The Bible's picture of the egalitarian-hierarchal dynamic

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DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE

Polyphonic's take on Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
Look What You Made Me Do, by Taylor Swift
Ian Hussey
Every Single Album: Taylor Swift, by The Ringer
Taylor Swift's letter to Apple
Taylor Swift, Scooter Braun, her back catalogue
The Billionaire Space Race
Jeff Bezos
Amazon workers' rights
Jeff Bezos & Tom Hanks going to space?
Exclusion and Embrace, by Miroslav Volf
Chrissy Teigen's social media
May '68 Paris Riots
Miss Americana
Taylor Swift sexual assault court case
Kesha court case
Me Too Movement
Philippians 2

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CONTACT US

Email: [email protected]
Discord: https://discord.gg/Vb6g4JzD

Season 4 begins as The Shock Absorber analyses the 2010s and 2020s through the lens of musical artist that shaped the time.

Joel, Stu and Tim begin take a deep dive into David Bowie and his impact on the broader culture. They look into the rise of individualism and Bowie's role within it and how Jesus changes our individuality to be more collectivist.

01:54 Season 4 Intro
08:25 Cultural Artefact - Blackstar by David Bowie
11:27 David Bowie
17:07 Bowie, youth culture and the Homogeneous Unit Principle
22:32 Individualism and culture
27:20 Ian Hussey's 5 Cultural Dimensions
37:18 Collectivism vs individualism
39:29 Jesus determines our identity
46:34 Do we need to kill off our versions of church?
51:07 We can live out an individualism and a collectivism at the same time

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DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE

Ian Hussey
Polyphonic channel
David Bowie
David Bowie on Polyphonic: How Cohen and Bowie Faced Mortality, How David Bowie Said Farewell (Twice), How David Bowie Shaped the 2010s
David Bowie's characters/personas
1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything
Albums of 1971
The 27 Club
Understanding Church Growth, by Donald McGavran
Alice Cooper
Exclusion and Embrace, by Miroslav Volf

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CONTACT US

Email: [email protected]
Discord: https://discord.gg/Vb6g4JzD

Tim rejoins Stu and Joel on the Shock Absorber to wrap up season 3. A season that started with the question: Does the church have an image problem? By looking over multiple ministry approaches since the youth quake of the 1960s up until the present day, they delved into that problem. In this episode, the guys share their reflections and thoughts from the season, investigate how Christians should engage in culture and look forward into the future.

REGISTER FOR THE SHOCK ABSORBER CONFERENCE

01:08 The Shock Absorber Conference (REGISTER NOW!)
03:53 Cultural Artefact - Squid Game
18:19 Courage to sometimes say 'no'
24:01 The metric is faithfulness
26:49 Reflections on children's ministry
38:12 Reflections on youth ministry
58:06 Reflections on adult ministry
1:07:29 Our highlights from Season 3

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DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE

Squid Game
Ian Hussey
Game of Thrones
John Wick
300 (movie)
Final Destination
The Sopranos
Oldenburg's Third Place
Third Place on The Shock Absorber
Eliminator, by ZZ Top
Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes, by Paul Simon
Growing Young, by Fuller Youth Institute
Eshay culture

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CONTACT US

Email: [email protected]
Discord

Jai McMordie, another Soul Revival pastor joins Joel and Stu to discuss Aboriginal youth ministry. They cover Soul Revival's partnerships with those ministries over many years and how it has influenced the Shock Absorber and Soul Revival's intergenerational approach.

REGISTER FOR THE SHOCK ABSORBER CONFERENCE

00:00 Intro
03:01 Cultural Artefact - Rabbit Proof Fence
05:30 How Soul Revival met Isaac & Eileen Gordon
11:22 Nan Peters
14:29 The River Conventions & Friendship Visits
21:03 Relational stories
29:50 Aboriginal Youth Ministry in 2010s
34:20 More yarns
39:46 Fingal Head youth ministry
41:12 Being intergenerational

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DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE

Rabbit Proof Fence
Ted Lasso
Juraki Surf & Culture
Budjerah Slabb
Inside Out (documentary with Isaac Gordon)

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CONTACT US

Email: [email protected]
Discord: https://discord.gg/Vb6g4JzD

Joel and Stu are joined by one of the wardens of Soul Revival Church, Leonie Stanfield, to discuss her experiences in para-church ministry, in particular university and sports chaplaincy ministries. The biggest learning is that the para-church and local church ministries don't work in opposition to each other, but improve discipleship and mission in both spaces.

REGISTER FOR THE SHOCK ABSORBER CONFERENCE

01:51 Defining what a para-church ministry is
02:36 Who is Leonie?
05:05 Cultural Artefact - The Blues Brothers
07:52 University ministry
12:43 The missional approach and it's links with para-church ministry
14:50 Sports chaplaincy
20:52 Sports chaplaincy at the Cronulla Sharks
29:42 Sports chaplaincy & getting involved
34:12 Para-church organisations offer ministry experiences outside of church
36:22 Para-church ministry and intergenerational ministry
44:32 Being a parent in local sporting community

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DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE:

The Blues Brothers - Rawhide scene, Nun scene
University of Melbourne
The Four Views of Youth Ministry, by Mark Senter III
Our chat with Dave Lovell
Sports Chaplaincy Australia
2016 NRL Grand Final
Chip lunch podcast

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CONTACT US:

Email: [email protected]
Discord: https://discord.gg/Vb6g4JzD

We are stoked to bring you this very special and very enjoyable bonus episode of The Shock Absorber with Dave Lovell from Christian Surfers. Stu and Tim chat with Dave about the prominent ministry that adopted the missional approach from the 1970s in the Sutherland Shire, and has continued to grow across the world.

01:07 Who is Dave Lovell and his role at Christian Surfers
03:20 Cultural Artefact - The Ramones at Brighton Hotel Pier
06:08 Dave's background and becoming a Christian
17:13 Christian Surfers
19:32 God's song for us
26:15 Relational passion and purpose
28:53 Surfing culture + Australian culture
36:38 Christian Surfers + relational ministry
48:07 Final words

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DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE:

Christian Surfers Australia
Christian Surfers International
Groundswell by Brett Davis
The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Story of the Tune, by Larry Norman
Tommy, by The Who
Get Back, by The Beatles
Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?, by Gregory A Thornbury
Puberty Blues, by Gabrielle Carey & Kathy Lette
Puberty Blues film (1981)
Puberty Blues TV show (2012-2014)
Tim Keller
Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry, by Andrew Root

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CONTACT US:

Email: [email protected]
Discord: https://discord.gg/Vb6g4JzD