The second part of my recent, ongoing conversation with Isabel, a fellow spiritual seeker, with an ambivalent relationship with the catholic Christianity she grew up with. We focus in on questions of truth and narrative, doubt and testimony, with regard to the “sacred writings” that possibly inform faith, in this case the “scriptures” that Christians […]

There are different ways people undergo faith journeys or spiritual seeking. One way–a way shared between Isabel and I–is by reading books and listening to podcasts. If you are the same–or if you are just curious about interesting things to read and hear–check out my ongoing conversation with her, which we return to after a […]

We return for more conversation with Mari Joerstad, scholar of the Hebrew Bible, who reads the Old Testament through the lens of an indigenous, animist worldview. This reading creates a space for some fresh theological reflection on whether God might be understood as material (not “spiritual”), as person-like-a-river, rather than (or alongside) a person-like-a-human. It […]

In our latest episode of “Jesus-Shalom” I return to my conversation with Matty, which we began several episodes ago. If you love books, second-hand book stores, and book shelves–in other words, if you share in our spiritually complicated bibliophilia–stay tuned after the credits. Prior to that, however, we discuss a theology of place, locality, and […]

The bible speaks of the sky rejoicing, the earth being glad, and the trees clapping their hands. Mari Joerstad, a scholar of the Hebrew Bible, thinks that the best way to understand these texts is that the sky, earth, and trees are presumed, in these texts, to be persons–other-than-human persons. And she offers this reading […]

In our most recent podcast episode I have a conversation with Ali Phelps, whose shalom-activism takes form in commitment to a particular geography–and church within in–along with co-housing as a way to inhabit that geography. We also hear a bit about Ali’s faith journey, including her encounter with Anabaptism–through the work of Ellie and Alan […]

Jesus-shalom is a descendent of Workshop, a year-long programme of applied theology for everyday people that my podcast partner, Noel Moules, ran for nearly 30 years. And one of the wonderful elements of stepping into this history and legacy is the opportunity to meet fellow travelers, other spiritual seekers, who have been shaped by the […]

This is the third and final part of my conversation with Ruth Harley and Al Barrett, Anglican vicars, and authors of the book “Being Interrupted: Re-imagining the church’s mission from the outside, in.” In our conversation we explore how we might think of the church–its life and rhythms, structures and forms–differently in light of a […]

In our latest episode I continue my conversation on “receptivity to interruption” with Ruth Harley and Al Barrett, authors of a book on church in mission that explores this topic. We begin with ways to read and engage the Bible that encourages this spiritual approach, before turning to tactics (not strategies) for such active receptivity, […]

In our latest Jesus-shalom podcast episode, we begin a conversation about re-imagining the church’s–and the Christian’s–fundamental posture in the world, in a conversation with Ruth Harley and Al Barrett, Anglican vicars in Birmingham, and authors of a new book entitled “Being interrupted: Re-imagining the Church’s Mission from the Outside, In”. This is a great book, […]