TheoDisc Podcast

AJ Swoboda - A Teachable Spirit

How do we really love God with our minds? For Christians the emphasis is often on loving the Lord with our heart, soul and strength, but when it comes to our minds, there can be some reticence. There can be a real pressure in the church to act as if we know it all, or a fear that theology and learning might lead us to not know what we believe. The call to love God with our minds has never been more important. On this episode of Theodisc, Kenny is joined by AJ Swoboda, who thinks that learning is deeply embedded in the Christian tradition. He contends that our faith gives us tools and examples of how we can learn to be the best learners – and not just for the sake of knowledge, but in order to be Christ’s faithful witnesses in our world. We hope you learn as much as we have from this episode!
SHOW NOTES
Get AJ’s book, ‘A Teachable Spirit’ -  https://amzn.eu/d/4NSunXm 
Read AJ’s Substack - https://ajswoboda.substack.com/
Listen to our previous episode with AJ: https://theodisc.podbean.com/e/aj-swoboda-the-gift-of-thorns/
Listen to the Slow Theology Podcast: https://ajswoboda.com/slow-theology-podcast/

Amanda Bedzrah - Becoming Queen Bathsheba

On this episode of TheoDisc, Kenny and Amanda Bedzrah talk about Bathsheba - one of the most misunderstood figures in the Old Testament, often labelled as a seductress who, along with David, is complicit in an adultress affair. But a closer reading of the biblical text shows that she is a victim of an abuse of power. Amanda's latest book, Becoming Queen Bathsheba, is a fictional account of Bathsheba’s experience based on fidelity to the Scriptures, historical and cultural research, and the experiences of women across the Old Testament. Kenny and Amanda's discussion deals with some sensitive issues around trauma and abuse of power, because they are central to the Bathsheba narrative. We hope you find this episode encouraging and healing, as Amanda prays at the end of this episode.
SHOW NOTES
Amanda’s website: https://amandabedzrah.com/ 
Amanda’s books: https://bit.ly/4284uLq
The Empower A Woman Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@amandabedzrah/videos

Beth Allison Barr - Becoming the Pastor's Wife

On this episode of TheoDisc, Kenny is joined by Prof Beth Allison Barr, who talks about her new book, Becoming the Pastor's Wife, where she argues against a theology that says that leadership is not available to women. She discusses the role of women and their service in roles of leadership in the gospels and the early church, and how, in the history of the church, women's roles have often been hidden, forgotten or dismissed. In the 20th century, the role of ‘the Pastor’s Wife’ was equated with a ministry calling in itself, not as a leadership role, but to support and uphold the ministry of the male pastor. Kenny and Beth explore the ways that the ministry of women is valid without being attached to or subsumed by the role of men, and this episode promises to ruffle a few feathers. Enjoy!
SHOW NOTES
Beth’s Books: https://bit.ly/4cqk5cL
Beth’s website: https://www.bethallisonbarr.com/

John Walton - Questions of Origin

On this episode of TheoDisc, Kenny chats with Prof John Walton about the BIG questions: Who are we and where did we come from? What happened at the beginning? And what is Genesis actually trying to tell us? This discussion unpacks the human condition, 'cultural rivers', and original sin, to name but a few of the themes that emerge when one has a chat with John Walton. Enjoy!
SHOWNOTES
John’s latest book New Explorations in the Lost World of Genesis is available HERE.

Grace Hamman - Jesus through Medieval Eyes

Beholding Christ with Artists, Mystics, and Theologians of the Middle Ages
On this episode of TheoDisc, Kenny is joined by Dr Grace Hamman, who is an expert in medieval studies and recently published her first book, Jesus through Medieval Eyes, a fascinating look at how Christians in the Middle Ages viewed and depicted Jesus through art and literature, and what we can learn from them today. In this discussion, they look at how Jesus was viewed as a Knight, a 'good Christian', and even as Mother! Kenny and Grace had a genuinely engaging and insightful chat, that would make you want to listen more... Enjoy!
SHOW NOTES
Grace's blog and podcast - HERE
Buy Grace's book - HERE

Kate Coleman - Transform your Leadership

On this episode of TheoDisc, Kenny is joined by Rev Dr Kate Coleman who, in her latest book, Metamorph, asks us to consider transformation at the heart of leadership as revealed in the Scriptures. What we mean by ‘results’ and ‘success’ can shift our priorities and result in leadership that can disconnect what we do from who we are. They had a conversation about healthy leadership that focuses on personal, community, and missional transformation. Enjoy!
SHOW NOTES
Get a copy of ‘Metamorph’: https://amzn.eu/d/efFen1B
Visit Next Leadership: https://nextleadership.co.uk 

Scot McKnight - Jesus and the Pharisees

On this episode of TheoDisc, Kenny is joined again by Prof Scot McKnight who has written and taught extensively around the question: "What if we have got the Pharisees, and Jesus, wrong?" Scot argues that’s exactly what’s happened, and a more complete understanding of 1st Century Jewish tradition and culture contradicts much of what Christians have taught and believed about the Pharisees, shielding us from how Jesus might critique our own traditions. We hope you enjoy this episode!
Scot’s books - HERE

Roger Mitchell - Politics of Love

On this episode of TheoDisc, Kenny is joined by political theologian, Dr Roger Haydon Mitchell, whose starting point when reading the gospels, or indeed the whole Bible, is in a joining together of politics and love. This episode highlights a number of current issues facing the church today, from talking politics at the dinner table to living our lives in a Christlike manner, and Roger certainly does not tiptoe around any controversies. We hope you enjoy it as much as we have!
Show notes:
The Kenotic Way by Roger Mitchell - https://www.ashburnham.org.uk/kenotic-way/
The Kenarchy journal - https://kenarchy.org/
Roger's Books - https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Roger-Haydon-Mitchell/author/B00ENXHCII
 
Subscribe to TheoDisc here - https://wtctheology.org.uk/theodisc-podcast/ 

Kyle Strobel - Rule of Life

Have we made spritual disciplines a lifehack?
On this episode of TheoDisc, Kenny's guest Kyle Strobel, invites us to consider that importing ancient practices of "spiritual formation" or "spritual disciplines" into our current cultural moment isn’t straightforward, and we need to be wary of the propensity in our time to market or refashion our spirituality into a cheaper, individualised, idealised version of what was originally intended. Kyle has written a post on a 'rule of life', which is what most of the conversation centres around. See the link for Kyle's substack below.
Show Notes
Kyle’s Substack: kylestrobel.substack.com
Kyle’s books: amazon.co.uk/stores/author/B001JS6EZ2

Kyle Hughes - How the Spirit became God

On this episode of TheoDisc, Kenny is joined by Kyle Hughes, who has detailed a journey of discovery in his book, ‘How the Spirit Became God’, and we’ll be talking not just about the development of a doctrine, but about how our understanding of the Spirit affects our practice and our experience of being drawn into the very life of God. Our belief in the Holy Spirit as the divine third person of the Trinity wasn’t always very clear, and the early church and Christian thinkers had to embark on a substantial journey of understanding the Spirit as co-equal with the Father and the Son. We hope you enjoy this episode with Kyle Hughes on How the Spirit became God.
You can purchase Kyle's book here: https://amzn.eu/d/isNWilf
Subscribe to TheoDisc here: https://theodisc.podbean.com/

Peter Hartwig - Knowing and Identity

A look at Kant, knowing God, and finding our identity
The question ‘who are you?’ has a whole set of assumptions behind it, and if we see identity as a key issue for our time now, then Immanuel Kant’s influence provides some explanation for how we have gotten here. Our guide through this philosophical and theological journey is Peter Hartwig, our guest for this episode of TheoDisc. Peter teaches Theological Anthropology at WTC. He currently serves as Director of Spiritual Life at Christ School in North Carolina where he gets to live out his passions for education, faith, and community-building. Peter received his B.A. in Religious Studies & Classics from the University of Virginia and went on to receive master’s degrees from the University of Cambridge and Princeton Theological Seminary.

Jennifer Powell-McNutt - The Mary We Forgot

In this episode of TheoDisc, Jennifer Powell-McNutt unpacks Mary Magdalene’s story and the way it has been told incorrectly, and helps us to see the powerful witness that she is to the resurrection of Jesus. Mary Magdalene is one of the most prominent figures in the gospel narratives, but is also one of the most misunderstood. Our perception of Mary’s character, story, and influence has often been obscured by assumption, confusion, mythology, and frankly, bad theology. Join us for this eye-opening conversation into the life and influence of Mary Magdalene.
SHOW NOTES
The Mary We Forgot: https://amzn.eu/d/5Yngwyl
Jennifer’s website: https://jenniferpowellmcnutt.com/popular-lay-writing

Sarah Shin and Shin Maeng - The Deliverer has Come!

On this episode of TheoDisc, Kenny talks with Sarah Shin and Shin Maeng about their new children’s book, ‘The Deliverer Has Come’ an advent story that takes the fulfilment of Israel’s story in Jesus’ birth seriously while communicating effectively to children. We’ll also touch on some of the wider issues of communicating biblical truth to children. We hope you enjoy this fascinating episode!
Dr Sarah Shin and Shin Maeng are Korean Americans who live in Aberdeen in Scotland. Sarah  teaches Charismatic evangelism and church planting at WTC and was recently awarded her PhD in Systematic Theology from the University of Aberdeen where she researched the connection between atonement and ethics. She is also the author of ‘Beyond Colourblind’ as well as ‘The Deliverer Has Come’. Shin is an artist and illustrator who holds an MA in Urban Leadership from Gordon Conwell. He loves music, stories, Marvel comics, and creating and has a passion for justice and seeing God move.
 
The Deliverer Has Come: https://amzn.eu/d/7m3daLp
YouVersion Devotional based on the book: https://www.bible.com/en/reading-plans/52263
Shin Maeng’s artwork: shinhappen.com

Danielle Strickland - Need to Know

Welcome to TheoDisc episode 46, where Kenny is joined by Danielle Strickland! She is the founder of Boundless Enterprise which has launched multiple creative exploits. She hosts 'The Right Side Up' Podcast, and is the author of multiple books including 'The Liberating Truth' and 'The Other Side of Hope'. You can find out more about Danielle at her website daniellestrickland.com
In this episode we talk about her latest book, ‘Need To Know’ which is a collection of writings that Danielle has curated from diverse voices to speak about the need to empower female leaders in the church. Often those in church leadership don’t know what they don’t know, even if they are supportive of women in leadership - the cultural waters of patriarchy still create assumptions that need to be challenged. That’s the subject of our conversation and we hope you enjoy it.

Freddy Hedley - Worship in the Old Testament

In this episode of TheoDisc Podcast we are looking at Old Testament Foundations for Worship with Dr Freddy Hedley. Often when we look at worship in the Old Testament, it can seem highly ritual, centred on external action, and more focussed on the inaccessibility of a holy God. There’s also a lot of blood which can be difficult to study. But Freddy contends that the foundation of worship in the Hebrew Scriptures is heart, presence, and engaging in relationship with God, and we’re going to unpack that today, and how it might help us think about our contemporary worship contexts. This is a bumper episode, so settle in and enjoy this exploration of Old Testament worship with Freddy Hedley.

Jack Levison - Fresh Air

In episode 44 of TheoDisc, Kenny's guest is is Jack Levison, who has recently released a revised edition of his book Fresh Air. He brings some provocative questions to those of us who are charismatic, about the myriad of ways in which the scriptures describe spirit, both divine and human, and how we experience the work and presence of the Spirit of God in our lives. We hope this conversation will give you some renewed ways to think about the way the Spirit of God is at work in our lives. Enjoy.
Jack Levison is the WJA Power Professor of Old Testament Interpretation and Biblical Hebrew at Southern Methodist University in Texas. He holds a BA from Wheaton Colleger, and MA from Cambridge University and a PhD from Duke University. His areas of research interest include Pneumatology; Interpretation of the Adam and Eve tradition; and Second Temple Judaism and he is the author of multiple books including Filled with the Spirit, In Search of the Spirit, A Boundless God, and Fresh Air. 
Links:
Website: https://people.smu.edu/jacklevison/
Get ‘Fresh Air’: https://amzn.eu/d/9VAyX9H
Listen to Jack’s interview with Lucy Peppiatt, Nick Crawley and Matt Lynch: https://wtctheology.org.uk/theomisc/jack-levison-on-the-holy-spirit/