TheoDisc Podcast

How the church participates in the ongoing healing work of the Holy Spirit On this episode, Kenny speaks with Dr David C Wang about Trauma, the Holy Spirit, and Spiritual Formation. How does Trauma affect us as whole beings, and how does the Holy Spirit offer us hope for spiritual formation when we experience its long term effects? What if those effects include spiritual trauma that damage our relationship with the church and with God? May this episode be helpful to you. Read David's paper 'Trauma, the Holy Spirit, and Spiritual Formation': HERE Find out more about David and his work: HERE

Reclaiming the importance of the ascension Jesus’ incarnation, death and resurrection are core to our understanding of the gospel. But his ascension can often be treated as a postscript, or even a kind of sad ending to the gospel narratives where Jesus disappears–to where we’re not entirely sure–and we are left with the hope he will one day return. Our guest on this episode, Ross Hastings, has observed that the ascension is not often taught or preached about, and consequently, we miss the magnitude and implications of all that it consummates in Jesus’ kingdom mission, all that it continues to mean for us now, and all that it promises in the future. His book, The Glory of the Ascension, threads numerous theological themes through this event in an attempt to reclaim its importance for Christian communities. Enjoy! SHOW NOTES Find Ross’ books: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Ross-Hastings/author/B00DWG2L3I Follow Ross on Social Media: https://x.com/WRossHastings

The Assurance of Hope in Christ's Return Terror and dread are often how we can still feel about Jesus’ return. Talk of the end times sounds either like the world’s worst conspiracy theory, or feels just too complex to figure out. And yet, the Scriptures talk about the coming day of the Lord... Kenny's guest on this episode of TheoDisc is Dr Sydney Tooth, and she says that 1 & 2 Thessalonians have a particularly rich message of hope in the coming of Christ, and that they are texts that should be opened more by the church. So they have been talking about Paul, Thessalonians, and the return of Jesus. Enjoy! Show Notes Read Sydney’s Thesis: https://era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/36797 The Two Cities Podcast: https://thetwocities.com

Spiritual Flourishing in a Productivity-Driven Culture Wine isn’t instantaneous, and neither is our spiritual formation. This is why Jesus describes us as branches connected to him as our vine and our source. If Jesus uses this metaphor for our discipleship, then perhaps we should invest a little bit of time in learning how vine branches bear healthy fruit that is in season. That’s the focus of the latest book from Bette Dickinson, who has written The Art of Vinemaking: Spiritual Flourishing in a Productivity-Driven Culture as a call to disciples of Christ to discover or return to the rhythms and cycles that God intends for us to blossom in fullness of life. Her ultimate goal is to create safe and sacred spaces for people to encounter the boundless love of God, and that is evident from her chat with Kenny in this episode of TheoDisc. Enjoy! SHOW NOTES Bette’s website: https://www.bettedickinson.com/ Get Bette’s books: https://bit.ly/3MSa3YV   

A Christian Response to Polarisation How do we love our enemies in a polarised world? It’s difficult to engage with those we have deep disagreements with, and doing so can often feel like compromising on our own convictions. This is particularly true with religious or political groups, and Christians can often become entrenched in their positions and unable to meaningfully connect with those we disagree with. On this episode, Kenny is speaking to Dr David Stuart about his Doctoral thesis entitled: Learning to Love - a Theological Response to our Polarised World. He proposes a way to love our enemies as Christ commands us to, and open ourselves to seeing them and ourselves in a new, more clear light - even becoming more faithful to our own commitment to Christ in the process. Enjoy! SHOW NOTES Read David’s thesis: https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/handle/10023/32013 Find out more about David: https://wtctheology.org.uk/locations/scotland/  Contact David: david.stuart@wtctheology.org.uk   

How Interpretation Shaped Our View of Women On this episode of TheoDisc, Kenny's guest is Mary Thomason, who is currently engaged in doctoral work about re-establishing a trust in the divine voice within Scripture which undoes the common ways women have been made to feel less than men, and by telling a redeeming narrative of women who are chosen and trusted by God. Her heart is that women and men would be released to be empowered by God without the burden of harmful interpretation which harms both women and men. We know you will enjoy this episode!  

Kenny's guest on this episode of TheoDisc is Revd Dr Hugh Osgood, who has been working to bring about unity between African, Caribbean, and majority-white congregations since the 1980’s. His book, Evangelical And African Pentecostal Unity, details the challenges and successes of such efforts up until the year 2005. Kenny and Hugh spoke about what has happened in the intervening years, and Hugh’s sense of next steps for a united church across the UK. Enjoy! SHOW NOTES Hugh’s website: hughosgood.com ‘Evangelical and African Pentecostal Unity’: amzn.eu/d/4AGfcyg Hugh’s books: hughosgood.com/books Churches in Communities International: cicinternational.org/  

Communion, the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist – whatever you call it in your church tradition, we’re asking the question today about the place it plays in our gathered communities and our expectation of the work of the Spirit in and through this sacramental meal. In this episode of TheoDisc Podcast, Kenny is joined by Florian Simatupang, a pentecostal theologian from Indonesia whose latest book, The Eucharistic Spirit, explores the ways the Spirit engages the people of God through our taking of the bread and wine. These are the ingredients, so to speak, that can empower us to remember the past, experience unity and missional purpose in the present, and look forward to the future coming of the Kingdom. Enjoy! SHOW NOTES Florian’s Book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/author/B0F2ZB35ZY/ More about Florian and Christ the King Church: https://ctkchurch.id/oyan

In this episode of Theodisc, Kenny speaks with Mark Glanville, a professional jazz musician, theologian and preacher, about the evolving landscape of preaching in a post-Christian culture. They discuss the importance of creativity, community, and curiosity in preaching, as well as the metaphor of jazz as a way to approach the art of preaching. Mark emphasises the need for preachers to adapt their methods to connect with contemporary audiences while remaining rooted in scripture. This is also the first TheoDisc guest who has played an instrument live on the show! SHOW NOTES Find Mark’s Books: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Mark-Glanville/author/B0CHY78JFW Visit Mark’s website: https://www.markglanville.org/   

God at Work in Prisons This episode of TheoDisc comes to you during Prisons Week which takes place each year from the second Sunday of October and encourages the church to pray for prisoners and their families, those victims of and affected by crime and those working in the criminal justice system. It also aims to focus the Christian community on how we can join with what God is doing in prisons, where WTC has begun to provide theological training. It was in, what he calls "the pit", that Steven became a Christian, and after his release he studied theology with WTC and is about to matriculate at the University of Oxford. They spoke about his life experience, his reflections of prison, and the hope he has for more prisoners to come into a deep connection with God through theological study. Joining them in the conversation is Sarah Coppin, the Programme Director for WTC’s prison programme.   SHOW NOTES Find out about WTC’s Prison Programme: https://wtctheology.org.uk/prison-programme/ Participate in Prisons Week: https://www.prisonsweek.org/