TheoDisc Podcast

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/

Following Jesus in the Tough Times
Even though Jesus says that those who follow him will have many trials and sorrows in this world, it’s still the case that we tend to view suffering as something to be avoided, or eliminated from our experience of faith. Perhaps this is rooted in a faulty gospel that proclaims, ‘follow Jesus and he will take away not only your sin, but your troubles too’. Dr Craig Keener has recently written an article called, How To Succeed at Suffering which might help us to accept that taking up our cross is central to the way we follow after our crucified Lord, and in this episode of TheoDisc, he chats with Kenny about the biblical basis for suffering as part of our discipleship.
SHOW NOTES
Craig’s Article: https://influencemagazine.com/en/Practice/How-to-Succeed-at-Suffering
Craig’s Books: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Craig-S.-Keener/author/B000APBKEK
Craig’s conversation with Lucy Peppiatt on ‘The Mind of the Spirit’: https://youtu.be/XbQVoPxv6IY

A Biblical Theology for a Decolonised Mission
We're back! After a bit of an hiatus over the summer, TheoDisc is pleased to be bringing you some truly insightful chats with truly insightful theologians again!
Our guest on this episode of TheoDisc, Rev Dr Israel Olofinjana, wants us to consider the ways that western Christian mission has been deeply influenced by the powers of colonisation, and that those influences are still felt today by people from the Majority World. By drawing us back to Jesus’ own experience and ministry under a colonial power, Israel provokes the church to consider ways that we can reflect Jesus’ subversive practices that witness to the way the kingdom of God overturns the power structures and patterns of worldly powers. In order for that to happen, Israel says, we need to decolonise the way we view Christian mission with Jesus as our guide. Enjoy!
SHOWNOTES:
Israel’s essay, ‘Why Did Jesus Speak Aramaic?’: https://bit.ly/3SIUaE9 
Israel’s Books: https://bit.ly/4l6kUuu
Israel’s Blog: https://israelolofinjana.wordpress.com/ 
 

Crystal Downing is our guest on this episode of TheoDisc, and her latest book, The Wages of Cinema, speaks to the connection between film and faith, but not in the way you might expect. Plenty of authors have tried to extract moral or spiritual lessons from the narrative of a film, but Crystal challenges us to pay attention to the details, the structure, the way films are constructed that might give us theological insight. Connecting the language and history of film with theology, church, work, and the riches of Christian symbolism, Crystal challenges us to move beyond film as entertainment towards film as a powerful force that reveals truth, goodness and beauty.
Find Crystal’s books: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Crystal-L.-Downing/author/B078WL2GWL

An exploration of WTC’s vision to deliver theological education to people in prisons
At WTC, we’ve never held theology, the presence of the Spirit, and daily life, mission, and ministry as separate or in competition. Instead, we believe that good theology contributes to Spiritually-formed people who express the kingdom of God wherever they are. That’s why, on this episode of TheoDisc, Kenny talked with Sarah Coppin about the way God has enabled WTC to take accredited theological education into prison so that prisoners can be equipped and empowered in faith and ministry. Enjoy!
Find out more about WTC’s Prison Programme: HERE 

What do theology and spiritual formation have to do with one another? Lucy Peppiatt has found many ways in which she has taught and encouraged the integration of study and deep spiritual formation at WTC. We are delighted to have her on this episode to share how theological study can be a foundation for wholeness, maturity, and formation into Christlikeness.
If you would like to explore what studying theology would look like for you, then please visit wtctheology.org.uk. All of our programmes are part-time and are designed to fit around life, work, and church, because we believe that embarking on a journey of study can be transformational for you and your faith in Jesus. We have multiple study options available, so visit our website to find out more.
SHOW NOTES
Lucy’s books: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Lucy-Peppiatt/author/B00A4LNCS2
Study with WTC: wtctheology.org.uk
Kyle Strobel on TheoDisc: https://youtu.be/9dibh6Qxh7c
Kyle Stobel’s Substack Article, ‘A Training in Wisdom and Love’: https://kylestrobel.substack.com/p/a-training-in-wisdom-and-in-love

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/

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

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: HERE
Beth’s website: HERE