New Creation Conversations

Welcome to episode one hundred and one of New Creation Conversations. This week's conversation is with my wonderful friend and gifted thinker, Dr. Kara Powell. Kara is chief of leadership formation, the executive director of Fuller Youth Institute, and professor of youth and family ministry at Fuller Seminary. She holds degrees from Stanford, Bethel Seminary, and her PhD is in Practical theology from Fuller.Kara also serves as a Youth and Family Strategist for Orange and has served in a number of local church ministries. Just two or three years ago Christianity Today named Kara as one of the “50 Women to Watch” in Christian leadership. She has written and contributed to a number of books and has been on the podcast with me before. This time, Kara and I talk about her soon to be released book written by Kara and her research partners. The book's title is Faith Beyond Youth Group: 5 Ways to Form Character and Cultivate Lifelong Discipleship – published by Baker Books with a release date of November 7. Building on two decades of the Fuller Youth Institute's work and incorporating extensive new research and interviews, Faith Beyond Youth Group identifies the reasons youth ministry often flops both short-term and long-term, and offers five ways adult youth leaders can cultivate character for a lifetime of growing closer to Jesus rather than drifting away. One reviewer calls it “a game-changing resource for anyone in youth ministry.” It is a wonderful resource and an enlightening conversation. 

Welcome to episode one hundred of New Creation Conversations. This week's conversation is with my longtime friend and colleague, Dr. Brent Peterson. Brent currently serves as the Dean of the College of Theology and Christian Ministries at Northwest Nazarene University (where he has been on faculty for the last 15 years). Brent is an alum of NNU, has a Master of Divinity degree from Nazarene Theological Seminary, and got his PhD from Garrett-Evangelical Seminary. In addition to his teaching, Brent has been in local ministry in a number of churches and is an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene. He has a great interest in theology related to the church, the formative nature of liturgy, and writes often about the intersection of theology and ecclesiology.In our conversation we talk about Brent's newest book – which is also the most recent addition to The Wesleyan Theology Series published by The Foundry – a book simply entitled The Church. It is the first of two contributions Brent is making to that series. In the Spring his volume on the sacraments will also be released. It is a wonderful series, a very helpful book, and (as you would expect from two old friends) a very fun and thoughtful conversation.

Welcome to episode ninety-nine of New Creation Conversations. This week's conversation is with author, speaker, pastor, and podcaster Skye Jethani. Skye has had a number of roles in ministry including local pastoral ministry. He served in a number of positions at Christianity Today including senior editor of Leadership Journal and as the Director of Mission Advancement for CT. These days, Skye is probably best known as the co-host of the popular Holy Post podcast (with Phil Vischer) and as the author and regular contributor to the With God Daily app and email service.  Skye has become a very important voice and thought-leader in today's church. He is an award-winning author, having written about a dozen books. We spend our conversation talking about most recent book, What If Jesus Was Serious About Heaven?: A Visual Guide to Experiencing God's Kingdom Among Us (published by Brazos Press and being released today October 17). It is the next volume in Skye's incredible “What if Jesus Was Serious…” series. Even though it is easy to read and filled with great illustrations, it will challenge you to think deeply about what the Bible has to say about what our hope and our destiny is in Christ Jesus.It is a great book and a fun conversation. I'm a big fan of The Holy Post and was delighted to get a chance to talk with Skye and to get to bring this conversation to you. 

Welcome to episode ninety-eight of New Creation Conversations. This week's conversation is with Kaitlyn Schiess. Kaitlyn is a writer, minister, and doctoral student at Duke Divinity School studying political theology and biblical interpretation. She has written about theology, politics, and culture for Christianity Today, The New York Times, Christ and Pop Culture, RELEVANT, Sojourners, and the Huffington Post. These days she may be best known for her participation on The Holy Post Podcast with Phil Vischer and Sky Jethani. We spend our time discussing her most recent book, The Ballot and the Bible: How Scripture Has Been Used and Abused in American Politics and Where We Go from Here (Brazos). In the book, Kaitlyn unpacks the history of America and how we have connected the Bible to politics in the past and explores what lessons and warnings we can glean from those moments. She combines American political history and biblical interpretation to help readers faithfully read Scripture, talk with others about it, and apply it to contemporary political issues – and to their lives.It is a wonderful and important book, especially in the current moment. I'm really thankful for the work Kaitlyn is doing in this area, and am a little jealous of her ability (at such a young age) to reflect so insightfully on both our history and our moment. I'm a big fan of The Holy Post and was delighted to get a chance to meet Kaitlyn and have this rich conversation. 

Welcome to episode ninety-seven of New Creation Conversations. This week's conversation is with Dr. Andrew Whitehead. Andrew is an Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of the Association of Religion Data Archives at the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture at IUPUI (Indiana University/Purdue University at Indianapolis). He is a graduate of Purdue University and got his PhD in sociology from Baylor University. He is one of the foremost scholars of Christian nationalism in the United States. He's written 50+ peer reviewed articles and has been featured across several national outlets including The New York Times, NPR, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, CNN, The Today Show, The Economist, Rolling Stone, and The Guardian. His first book, Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States (published by Oxford and co-written with Sam Perry), won the 2021 Distinguished Book Award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. We spend our time discussing his most recent book, American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church (Brazos). In the book, Andrew not only describes the history and problems related to Christian nationalism, but he also takes on its three great idolatries: power, fear, and violence.There has been a lot of healthy conversation in the US church on this issue over the last few years, and Andrew's book brings a lot of the issues into a clearer light. The book is timely, especially as we get ready to head into another potentially divisive presidential election season. One of the things I like most about the book is that Andrew doesn't just analyze the problem but gives examples of churches and communities of faith that are working for the good of our world without being absorbed into its idolatries. It's an important book and a rich conversation. 

Welcome to episode ninety-six of New Creation Conversations. I'm joined this week by writer, professor, and expert on theology and literature, Dr. Karen Swallow Prior. Karen did her PhD at the State University of New York at Buffalo with a specialization in eighteenth century British literature. Karen taught in seminaries for a number of years, and she is a contributing editor for Comment, a founding member of The Pelican Project, a Senior Fellow at Trinity Forum, a Senior Fellow at the International Alliance for Christian Education, a Senior Fellow at the L. Russ Bush Center for Faith and Culture and is a former member of the Faith Advisory Council of the Humane Society of the United States. She and her husband live on a 100-year-old homestead in central Virginia with dogs, chickens, and lots of books.Karen has written and contributed to several books. We discuss her most recent work, The Evangelical Imagination: How Stories, Images, and Metaphors Created a Culture in Crisis (Brazos Press). In the book she examines evangelical history – both good and bad. By analyzing the literature, art, and popular cultural that has surrounded evangelicalism, she unpacks some of the movement's most deeply held concepts, ideas, values, and practices to consider what is Christian rather than merely cultural. The result is a clearer path forward for evangelicals amid their current identity crisis – and insight for others who want a deeper understanding of what was best about the evangelical movement, and what possibilities might still be in its future. As many of you know, I am a fan of theology and literature, and I love the way Karen blends those too with important cultural and philosophical analysis. It is a very thoughtful and helpful book. And a very fun conversation. 

Welcome to episode ninety-five of New Creation Conversations. I'm joined this week by theologian and global church historian, Dr. Stephen Pardue. Steve is a graduate of Wheaton College where he also earned both an MA and a PhD in Theology. Having been raised in the Philippines, he has returned home and now teaches in Manila and directs the ThM/PhD programs in Theological Studies and Church History at the Asia Graduate School of Theology. He is the author of The Mind of Christ: Humility and the Intellect in Early Christian Theology and the coeditor of ten books, including Majority World Theology and Asian Christian Theology. Our conversation centers on his recent book Why Evangelical Theology Needs the Global Church (published by Baker Academic). As most Christian theologians and students are aware, the number of Christians in the Majority World now outnumber those in North America and Europe, and many want to know more about emerging voices in the global church. Nevertheless, despite its rapid growth, the voices of the church in the Majority World are largely absent from Western evangelical theology. In his book, Steve not only wants to introduce some of those rich global voices into the conversation, but he argues that it is imperative for the church in the West to engage with and be edified by those voices. There is a richness in the diversity of global voices and perspectives available in the Church that enhance our understanding of God and deepen our discipleship.  Especially in my new opportunity to see more of the global church in my own denomination, I wanted to learn from Steve's scholarship. I read every page of the book and found it to be a very helpful resource for not just navigating but also celebrating the major shifts taking place in global Christianity. It is a very good book and a really helpful conversation. 

This week I'm excited to have another return conversation with a longtime friend, and an amazing biblical scholar and author, Dr. Brent Strawn. Brent was actually my very first guest when I launched this podcast a couple of years ago, and I always learn new things when I get together with Brent and talk about the Old Testament. Brent is the D. Moody Smith Distinguished Professor of Old Testament (and Professor of Law) at Duke Divinity School and Duke University School of Law.  He's a grad of Point Loma Nazarene University and he did his MDiv and PhD at Princeton Theological Seminary. He's taught for several years now at Asbury Theological Seminary, Emory University's Candler School of Theology, and now Duke Divinity. He's written several books and over two hundred and fifty articles, chapters, reference works and reviews, and he served as both a translator and editor for the Common English Bible. Just this week it was announced that he has won a National Endowment for the Humanities grant for a project to create the first critical, eclectic edition of the Hebrew Psalter. This work will bring in all kinds of new resources into work on the Psalms – including the Dead Sea Scrolls. Our conversation today centers on his most recent book The Incomparable God: Readings in Biblical Theology (published by Eerdmans). This book is actually the bringing together of 18 of Brent's unpublished essays (and a couple of original chapters for the book), put together and edited by a couple of Brent's former students. The essays cover topics like the complex portrayal of God in Genesis, God's mercy in Exodus, the poetic description of God in the Psalms, the Trinity in both testaments, the integration of faith and scholarship, and (my favorite) an amazing reflection on the story of Elisha and the bears. It's a great book and really an honor for Brent to have former students already doing this kind of work on his behalf. I always love talking with my friend Brent, and I think you will love this conversation also.

Welcome to episode ninety-three of New Creation Conversations. It is fun for me to bring you a third conversation with one of my favorite authors and scholars, Dr. Andrew Root. Andy is Professor and Carrie Olson Baalson Chair of Youth and Family Ministry at Luther Seminary. Andy has written several books on ministry and spiritual formation. I've had him on the podcast twice to talk about his incredible series on ministry and formation in the secular age.Our conversation today centers on his most recent book in that series When the Church Stops Working: A Future for Your Congregation beyond More Money, Programs, and Innovation (published by Brazos Press and co-authored with Blair Bertrand). For those of you who are unfamiliar with the secular series, you will love the book because it is a wonderful summary of the key insights of the entire series. For those of you who have read all or parts of the series, you will love this book because it not only summarizes the series but also gives some very practical responses to the work Andy has done in the other books. It also is a great book for you to give to those friends you've tried to describe the series to, but never could find quite the right words. I am a big fan of Andy's work and love getting to talk with him about it. And I love that I have this format to share the conversation with you. 

My conversation today is a return conversation with one of my favorite writers and scholars working in the areas of theology and literature. Jessica Hooten Wilson has just recently been named as the Seaver College Scholar of Liberal Arts at Pepperdine University. She is an expert on classical education and hosts a podcast called The Scandal of Reading: Pursuing Holy Wisdom with Christ and Pop Culture. She has authored several award-winning books. Our conversation centers on her new book, “Reading for the Love of God: How to Read as a Spiritual Practice” (Brazos Press).Jessica and I recorded this conversation a few weeks ago when she was just a few days from giving birth to her fourth child. Since then, her new little girl has arrived. So, there are lots of transitions going on in her life right now. I was thankful to get a chance in the midst of everything going on in her life and mine to talk about our mutual love for God and for great books.

My conversation today is with a friend that I've come to know and love over the last few years here at Nampa College Church. Debra Peck is a thoughtful and deeply devoted Christian woman who discovered a few years ago that for years she had been suffering from a disorder known as Religious Scrupulosity. This realization not only began for Debra a journey toward wholeness, but it also set her out to discover more about the disorder itself.As you will hear in our conversation, Religious Scrupulosity is a type of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder that often hides in plain sight in churches, Sunday schools, and within religious families. Pastors and religious leaders often fail to recognize the problem, and in the process often make things worse for those who are struggling with it. Debra's research and her own personal journey led her to write a new book, The Hijacked Conscience: An Informed and Compassionate Response to Religious Scrupulosity. It is a very important book for pastors and church leaders, but it is also an important book for those who though deeply committed to faith find that faith feels more like a heavy burden than a source of freedom and joy. I think you'll find this conversation enlightening – especially if you grew up in more conservative branches of Christian faith.

Welcome to episode ninety of New Creation Conversations. My conversation today is with a great friend and colleague in pastoral ministry, Dr. Sam Barber. Sam is currently serving as the District Superintendent of the South-Central Ohio District for the Church of the Nazarene. Sam is a graduate of Mount Vernon Nazarene University, he has a master's degree in Christian Ministry and Church Leadership from Malone University, another master's in theology from Duke Divinity School, and he earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Nazarene Theological Seminary. He has also been the lead pastor at churches in Troy and Columbus, Ohio as well as at the Kansas City Central Church. He and his wife Jill have become dear friends of Debbie and me over the last several years, and I deeply respect Sam's heart, mind, and leadership ability. Our conversation centers around his recently released book, A People of Grace: Becoming Disciples Together (published by The Foundry Press). In the book, Sam explores the exciting adventure of discipleship – following Jesus. However, he argues that discipleship is never something we do alone, it takes a team effort to help each other grow in holiness and reach out to others. In the book, Sam invites readers to participate together in an innovative approach to discipleship that has its roots in the ministry of John Wesley. It's a very helpful book and a rich conversation. So, thanks for sitting in on this conversation between two old friends. 

Welcome to episode eighty-nine of New Creation Conversations. My conversation today is with a friend and colleague in Nazarene higher education, Dr. Jeff Stark. Jeff teaches Missional Theology at Olivet Nazarene University and is the Director of both Graduate Programming and the Center of Theological Leadership at the university. Jeff's scholarship and teaching largely focuses on the intersection of Church and culture. He also teaches courses that address the substantive theological concerns regarding racial reconciliation, peacemaking, biblical-justice, and evangelism in the 21st century. Jeff will share some of his amazing testimony meeting Christ while serving in the Army as an Arabic linguist. Jeff served as a pastor in Tennessee and Illinois before joining the faculty at Olivet. Our conversation centers around his recently released book, The News is Good: Evangelism as a Way of Life(published by The Foundry Press). In the book, Jeff invites readers into the everyday world of an evangelistic Christian life in order to show that making disciples isn't a formulaic, multi-step program. Instead, true and effective evangelism is an honest way of doing life alongside those with whom we already find ourselves in community. It is a very helpful, insightful, and accessible book and a rich conversation. 

Welcome to episode eighty-eight of New Creation Conversations. In today's conversation I'm excited to have a unique conversation about Christian discipleship with Jessie Cruickshank. Jessie holds a Master of Education degree from Harvard in mind, brain, and education. She is an ordained minister and a nationally recognized expert in disciple making and the neuroscience of transformation. She has spent two decades applying neuroeducation research to discipleship, ministry training, experiential education, and organization development. Jessie is respected globally as a leader in missiological thought and as a consultant to churches and denominations. She recently founded an organization dedicated to raising up disciple-makers called [Who]ology. And on top of all that, she is expert mountain climber and applies much of what she has learned on her adventures to her calling to make disciples for Christ.Our conversation centers around her soon-to-be-released book, Ordinary Discipleship: How God Wires Us for the Adventure of Transformation (published and released on May 9 from NavPress). I got the privilege of reading an advance copy and found my imagination changed not only about how to call people to make disciples but about how disciples are made. It is a very accessible and important book and a fascinating conversation.

In today's conversation I'm excited to be re-joined by Dr. Mark Mayfield. Mark is an author, speaker, leadership coach, counselor, and professor at Colorado Christian University. Mark has worked extensively with helping churches and other organization navigate the complexities of their mental and emotional health and is an expert in working with families affected by trauma. Mark has authored three books including, “HELP! My Teen is Self-Injuring: A Crisis Manual for Parents,” and “The Path Out of Loneliness: Finding and Fostering Connection to God, Ourselves and One Another.” We spend our conversation talking about his new (and soon-to-be-released) book, “The Path to Wholeness: Managing Emotions, Finding Healing, and Becoming Our Best Selves” (releasing on May 9 from NavPress).  I got the privilege of reading an advance copy and found the book to be incredibly accessible and helpful not only for me personally but in my work trying to help others. And there are a couple of things in our conversation that I wrote down in bold capital letters in my journal and am quite sure they are going to show up in several future sermons and lectures. It's a great book and a rich conversation.

Welcome to episode eighty-six of New Creation Conversations. In today's conversation I'm excited to be re-joined by Dr. Mark Baker. Mark is Professor of Mission and Theology at Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary. Mark is an alum of Wheaton University, has a master's degree from the New College for Advanced Christian Studies (Berkely) and a PhD in Theology and Ethics from Duke. Mark has written extensively in theology and ethics, but the primary focus of our conversation is his most recent book Freedom from Religiosity and Judgmentalism: Studies in Paul's Letter to the Galatians – part of the Luminaire Studies Series published by Kindred.  I had a conversation with Mark a few months ago about his book Centered-Set Church: Discipleship and Community Without Judgmentalism, his new book applies some of those insights into reading Galatians, and the result is a really thoughtful and fresh reading of that great Epistle. It's a great book and a rich conversation.

Welcome to episode eighty-five of New Creation Conversations. In today's conversation I'm excited to be joined by Rev. Michael Palmer. Michael is an ordained pastor, spiritual director, and co-founder of The Center for Spiritual Formation and Retreat in St. Louis, Missouri. Michael served as lead pastor of Living Vine Church in Northern California before taking on this most recent project. Michael has written a new book entitled Trenches and Tables (published by A Plain Account Press). In the book Michael explores the ongoing challenge of division and polarization in the church. He explores some of the causes, but also reflects on potential ways for the church to move forward in greater unity. Michael represents a generation of church leadership not only troubled by but often damaged by the forces of division in the church and I found both his experience and his reflections helpful and valuable for the church in this moment of generational transition.I have really valued my friendship and relationship with Michael over the last several years, even when we have disagreed with one another, I have deeply appreciated Michael's heart for Christ and his deep desire to listen and find paths of growth together. I think you will appreciate this conversation. 

Welcome to episode eighty-four of New Creation Conversations. In today's conversation I'm excited to be joined by Dr. Alan Street. Alan is the Senior Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biblical Theology at Criswell College. He holds PhDs in New Testament and pastoral theology. He has written several books including: The Effective Invitation, Subversive Meals, Heaven on Earth, and Caesar and Sacrament. His most recent book is Songs of Resistance: Challenging Caesar and Empire (published by Cascade Books).The book is a fascinating study of the songs, poems, and hymnody of the early church that shows up in the New Testament. Street argues that the early Christ followers sang these songs in order to oppose the empire's worldview and offer an alternative vision for society. As the early church sang, they were emboldened to remain faithful to Christ and withstand the temptation to comply with the sociopolitical agenda of the empire.I found the book very thoughtful and a wonderful exploration of the life, faith, and theology of the earliest Christians. It was also fun to talk to a distinguished scholar about his unique journey into biblical theology. 

Welcome to episode eighty-three of New Creation Conversations. In today's conversation I'm excited to be joined by Jason Porterfield. Jason is a gifted young theological thinker, writer, and advocate for peace. Jason has made his home in places abandoned by society, from Canada's poorest neighborhood to the slums of Indonesia. His passion is to cultivate God's shalom wherever it is painfully absent and to help churches embrace their peacemaking vocation.Jason has a master's degree in theology from Fuller Theological Seminary. In 2007, Jason joined Servants, an international network of Christian communities living and ministering among the urban poor. He was a founding member of the Servants team in Vancouver, started a new team in Indonesia, and directed operations in North America through 2015. Our conversation centers on Jason's most recent book Fight Like Jesus: How Jesus Waged Peace throughout Holy Week. The book recently received the American Book Fest's 2022 Best Book Award in Christianity and the Illumination Book Award's 2023 Gold Medal in Theology. The book is really well done and a very timely read with Holy Week just a couple of weeks away. In the book, Jason goes day-by-day through the final week of Jesus' life and explores what we learn about Christ's radical vision for peace through the events of each of those days. Throughout Holy Week, two competing approaches to peacemaking collide. In the book Jason wonders, what if we've embraced the wrong one?It is a very challenging and transformative book, and an important conversation. So, thanks for joining me for this New Creation Conversation. Here's my conversation with Jason Porterfield.

Welcome to episode eighty-two of New Creation Conversations. In today's conversation I'm excited to share with you my conversation with Marty Solomon. Marty is a theologian and biblical scholar who serves as the president of Impact Campus Ministries and has a passionate belief that the best way to pursue all of these dreams for changing the world is to work with young adults who will be creating that world. he longs to help young people see why the work that they do every day is part of how God is putting the world back together. in addition to his work with impact, Marty is also the creator and executive producer of the BEMA podcast. A podcast that helps people walk through the entire Bible understanding both its context and its surrounding history.Marty and I clicked immediately, at least in part, because Marty is originally from my neighborhood here in Idaho. For several years after college, Marty served as a pastor in the Boise area before taking extended time to dive more deeply into biblical studies and helping others understand the Bible more clearly.Our conversation centers on Marty's brand new book, that was just released yesterday Feb. 7, Asking Better questions of the Bible: A Guide for the Wounded, Wary and Longing for More (published by NavPress). In the book, Marty wonders if as we read the scripture, we may too often be asking the wrong questions. Because of our context, we tend to go to the Bible as though it's a book written from a modern, western perspective and in that process, we end up asking questions the Bible isn't really asking, so we shouldn't be surprised that we often get the wrong answers. Asking better questions of the Bible provides a comprehensive and accessible guide to the culture, viewpoints, and context of the bible's original authors and audience. The book offers a fresh way to read and understand each distinct portion of scripture, which points the reader more clearly toward the beautiful mystery of God's story. The book is really well done and accessible for readers of all kinds. I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation with Marty, and I'm excited to get to share it with you.

Welcome back to episode eighty-one of New Creation Conversations. The day before Thanksgiving I had to go in for some surgery and then I needed to take a couple of months off. So, thanks for your patience, but as we start this New Year, we are back at it trying to have conversations that keep the church and academy connected to each other. In this first conversation back, I'm joined by Pastor Brent Neely. Brent is an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene and is currently serving as an Associate Pastor at New Horizon Church in Belton, Missouri. Brent is a graduate of both Eastern Nazarene College and Nazarene Theological Seminary. He is currently working on his doctorate, studying monastic spirituality.   Brent has recently written a book entitled The Book of Ancient Prayers: 365+ Prayers from the Saints of the Church. The book offers daily prayers from a wide variety of Christian sources both ancient and contemporary and includes the voices of men and women from every continent. While the book can be started anytime, it is designed to follow the Christian liturgical year. At the end of the book are some additional prayers specifically tied to the various liturgical seasons. It's a wonderful book and a rich conversation with a young church leader what we can learn from ancient spiritual practices that can help us better follow Christ today. So, welcome back to New Creation Conversations. 

Welcome to episode eighty of New Creation Conversations. In today's conversation I get to talk to two friends and a unique couple who both are amazingly gifted and thoughtful. I know and have worked with both Dr. Nell Becker Sweeden and Dr. Josh Sweeden individually on various projects the last few years and I know firsthand how gifted they both are. However, I deeply appreciate the ways they continue to embody how to serve the Lord together as a couple and as a family in ways that mutually serve one another and make space for one another's calling, while also working and ministering together in powerful ways as well.  They are both Point Loma and NTS graduates and are both ordained elders in the CoN. Nell has a PhD in Practical Theology from Boston University and currently serves as the Director of Nazarene Compassionate Ministries – serving in 163 world areas to support and equip local communities to transform lives by creating holistic solutions to alleviate poverty and suffering. She is the author of a previous book Church on the Way: Hospitality and Migration (2015, Wipf and Stock).Josh also earned his PhD in Practical Theology from BU. He is currently Professor of Church and Society at Nazarene Theological Seminary. He has also written a previous book, The Church and Work: The Ecclesiological Grounding of Good Work (Pickwick Publications, 2014). Josh and Nell also have two sons – Eli and Asher.Their most recent project together – and the center of our conversation - is a wonderful new book entitled Holiness in a Restless World, published by The Foundry Press.It is a rich, thoughtful, and accessible book that wrestles with the on-going journey and process of pursuing the holy life. As they point out in the book, the bible is filled with all kinds of stories of wandering, restlessness, dispersion, and finally coming home. Nell and Josh invite readers to set aside some of our presuppositions about what the holy life looks like – especially in the places where our imaginations have been captured by what they call the “heroic.” Instead, they invite us to discover holiness in the everyday stuff of relationships, work, and neighborly love. This is a great book for mornings of reflection with God or conversations and prayer with a small group of fellow travelers on the road of discipleship. I deeply value Nell and Josh. I love this book. And I'm thankful to get to bring this conversation to you. So, thanks for joining me for these New Creation Conversations. Here's my conversation with Dr. Nell Becker Sweeden and Dr. Joshua Sweeden.

Welcome to episode seventy-nine of New Creation Conversations. In today's conversation I got to make another new friend and have an important conversation about an issue that has been a hot topic of conversation for the last five or six years – Christian Nationalism. Dr. Paul D. Miller is a political theorist and political scientist focusing on international affairs, the American experiment, and America's role in the world. He spent a decade in public service as Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan on the National Security Council staff, as an intelligence analyst for the CIA, and a military intelligence officer in the US Army. Paul is currently a Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Georgetown University. He is an alum of Georgetown, has a master's degree in public policy from Harvard, and earned a PhD from Georgetown in International Relations. As you can imagine, he has written widely on international affairs, political theory, and religion in public life. His most recent book – and the focus of our conversation – is The Religion of American Greatness: What's Wrong with Christian Nationalism (published recently by IVP Academic).It is an excellent book. It is thoughtful, detailed, and balanced. I learned a great deal form the book and felt very delighted and privileged to be able to have a conversation with Dr. Miller about it. No matter your political leanings, there is a great deal to be gleaned from Dr. Miller's research and experience. 

In today's conversation I got to make a new friend and have a wonderful conversation about an important cultural the theological issue - immigration. Karen Gonzalez is a writer, speaker, and immigrant advocate who emigrated from Guatemala as a child. She attended Fuller Theological Seminary, where she studied theology and missiology. For the last 15 years, Karen has been a non-profit professional, currently working for an organization that serves asylum seekers. She wrote a book about her own immigration and story and the many immigrants found in the Bible in The God Who Sees: Immigrants, the Bible, and the Journey to Belong (Herald Press, 2019). Her new book is Beyond Welcome: Centering Immigrants in our Christian Response to Immigration (scheduled to be released on October 18, 2022, from Brazos Press). I was privileged to get to read an advanced copy of the book and found it to be so helpful in clarifying our language related to immigration, understanding the realities of the many populations on the move in the world, reflect biblically on the subject, and think imaginatively about our Christian response. It is a very helpful and readable book, and a thoughtful conversation. 

Welcome to episode seventy-seven of New Creation Conversations. Today's conversation is with a return guest, my dear friend and a gifted pastor and leader, Dr. David Busic. David has been serving as one a General Superintendents in the Church of the Nazarene for almost a decade now. In addition to his current role, he has pastored three congregations and served as the president of Nazarene Theological Seminary. In our last conversation, David talked about his unique journey into ministry. This time I got him to open up and reflect a bit about his various assignments in ministry and what God taught him in each of those places and positions, and what God is teaching him right now in his current role. He also shares about some of the key mentors in his life and what they contributed to his development as a leader.Our conversation also centers on his new book The Praying Pastor (published recently by The Foundry). It is a helpful, accessible, encouraging, and practical guide to how, as pastors, we can make the important spiritual discipline of prayer more central in our vocation and leadership. Because the Church of the Nazarene is one of just a handful of denominations that is structured globally, David and his colleagues on the Board of General Superintendents get to see a breadth of the Church that many if not most of us rarely get to see. Some of what he experiences is difficult and challenging, but much of he witnesses is also miraculous and full of the new creation life of God's Spirit. I love any chance to get to talk to my friend about leadership in the Christ's church. And I'm glad I get to share this conversation with you. 

Welcome to episode seventy-six of New Creation Conversations. My guest today is the incredibly gifted writer and Christian philosopher, Dr. James K.A. Smith. I have really been looking forward to having this conversation for a while. Jamie and I became friends about twenty-five years ago when he was a young professor at Loyola-Marymount University, and I was early in my teaching career at Southern Nazarene University. We both got accepted into a summer study program at Calvin College to study “eschatology and hope” with Dr. Miroslav Volf. It was a very enriching summer intellectually and spiritually. However, part of the benefit of the program was that Calvin invited us to bring our families with us for the six weeks we were there. It just happened that Jamie and his wife Deanna, and Deb and I both had four kids all around the same age and so we got to hang out as families.The group that summer had several very gifted and bright people in it, but it didn't take long for us to figure out that Jamie was gifted in unique ways. Eventually Calvin invited him to join their very prestigious philosophy faculty – a faculty that in the past has included names like Richard Mouw, Alvin Plantinga, and Nicholas Wolterstorff. Jamie now is Professor of Philosophy and the Gary and Henrietta Byker Chair in Applied Reformed Theology and Worldview. In these last two decades Jamie has written some of the most widely read and greatly influential books of this generation. We will talk about several of them in our conversation, but some of the best known are Who's Afraid of Postmodernism?; How (Not) to Be Secular (CT winner); the award-winning Desiring the Kingdom (CT winner); You are What You Love, and more recently On the Road with St. Augustine (CT winner). He's also written for the Wall Street Journal, the nY Times, The Washington Post, USA Today… well, you get the point.Jamie has an amazing story of both coming to faith in Christ and becoming a scholar – which he I got him to tell pieces of in our conversation. He's a graduate of the University of Waterloo. Did his Master's in Philosophy at the Institute for Christian Studies, and earned his PhD in Philosophy from Villanova University. A lot of our conversation centers on his brand-new book, How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now (Brazos Press). It is exactly what you would expect from Jamie, a rich, thoughtful, well-written, and transformational textJamie makes a very short list of four or five people who have shaped my own journey and my thinking the most, it's fun that I also get to call him a friend. Thanks for listening in to this New Creation Conversation. Here's my conversation with Dr. James K.A. Smith.

Hello friends! Welcome to episode seventy-five of New Creation Conversations. This is a very special conversation for me today because I get to talk with one of my very good friends but also with one of my heroes. My friend is Dr. Brent Strawn – whom I have had on the podcast a couple of times before. Brent is the D. Moody Smith Distinguished Professor of Old Testament and Professor of Law at Duke University and Divinity School. He is a longtime friend and an accomplished author. We have talked about a couple of his recent works on past podcasts.Brent is editing a series for WJK Press called Pivotal Moments in the Old Testament. The most recent volume in the series is entitled Returning from the Abyss: Pivotal Moments in the Book of Jeremiah by Dr. Walter Brueggemann. When I saw the book was coming out, I asked Brent if he might be able to convince Dr. Brueggemann to come on and have a roundtable conversation between the three of us. He agreed and I am so excited to get to bring that conversation to you.Walter is without question one of the most influential and prolific biblical interpreters of our time. He has authored over a hundred books and numerous scholarly articles. I have a shelf in my library with close to forty of his books. Perhaps my favorites are three volumes of his sermons. Dr. Brueggemann will tell some of his story growing up in Tilden, Nebraska. He graduated from Elmhurst College and Eden Theological Seminary. He earned a ThD in Old Testament at Union Theological Seminary and later completed a PhD in education at St Louis University. Now “retired” for almost 20 years, he spent his forty-two-year teaching career at both Eden and Columbia Theological Seminaries.

Welcome to episode seventy-four of New Creation Conversations. We are back after about a month hiatus for vacation and to get this school year started. In August my wife and daughter and I took a long-anticipated trip to Spain, France, and Italy. It was my first time in those places, and we had an amazing time. However, I'm excited to be back to working on some New Creation Conversations. And just FYI, you're going to want to hang in for the announcement of who's joining me the next few weeks. I'm super excited… but I'm also very excited to introduce my guest for today. Dr. Dean Flemming has just recently retired after lots of years of teaching. Dean is now Professor Emeritus of New Testament and Mission at MidAmerica Nazarene University. Dean taught for over twenty years outside the US – at European Nazarene College and at Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary. About a decade ago Dean came back to his Alma Matter – MidAmerica Nazarene University – and finished his teacher career there. He also has an MDiv degree from NTS and earned his PhD in New Testament from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. Dean has written six books and contributed to several others. Our conversation focuses on his most recent book, Foretaste of the Future: Reading Revelation in the Light of God's Mission (published by IVP Academic). As you will hear, Dean not only has important insights into Revelation, but his unique gift is helping us to read the Scripture – and in this case Revelation – missionally. It's a great book and a rich conversation.

Welcome to episode seventy-three of New Creation Conversations. It's a joy for me today to get to have a conversation with one of my favorite young scholars and ministers, Dr. Henry Spaulding III – better known to his family and friends as “Hank.” Hank is the Associate Campus Pastor and Assistant Professor of Theology at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. He's an alum of Trevecca Nazarene University, has Master's Degree in Theological Studies from Duke Divinity School, and has a PhD in Christian Ethics from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. Hank and I talk about the unique challenges of campus ministry, but we also talk about his two writing projects – one out and one in process. The project that is out is The Just and Loving Gaze of God with Us: Paul's Apocalyptic Political Theology (published by Wipf and Stock). This book is an edited version of Hank's dissertation work and is an interesting look at the recent interest in the Apostle Paul by non-Christian political scholars and reflects on what they get right but also what they often misunderstand about Paul's political theology. The project that is forthcoming is Iconoclastic Sex – it is a quantitative and theological study of the problem of sex trafficking and Christian sexual ethics. Both are interesting works, and both are deeply connected to the vision of a new creation.It is always encouraging to me to get to connect with young scholars. I'm deeply thankful for those like Hank who have a passion for deep theological reflection and for church ministry. I'm thankful that people like him are picking up the baton and carrying it forward. 

Welcome to episode seventy-two of New Creation Conversations. One of the joys for me in starting this podcast has been the chance to make several new friends along the way. However, it has also been a joy to help others get to know some of my great long-term friends. Today I get to share a conversation with a treasured friend and a true kindred spirit in pastoral ministry. For about a decade Dave Roberts and I pastored about twelve miles from each other – down the 201 Freeway – in Southern California. Dave and his wife Cindy have spent their entire post-seminary ministry (34 years!) serving the Church of the Nazarene in Montrose, California. A congregation simply known as The Montrose Church.I recently was asked to introduce Dave when he spoke at our Northwest field gathering. I went into detail about all the things that were different in 1988 – when Dave first went to Montrose – to how they are now. For example, it was the year I graduated from college. The year George HW Bush (the older one) was elected president. And only 15% of American households had any kind of computer. It takes a lot of persistence and patience to stay with one group of people that long. It takes a lot of creativity and leadership to grow a church of less than 50 to a church running over 900. But most of all it takes a lot of integrity and character to live openly and lovingly with a people for that long. As I told that gathering, no one can fake faithfulness for 34 years.Dave is an alum of both Southern Nazarene University and Nazarene Theological Seminary. We talk quite a bit about longevity in ministry. But we also talk about his recent and very helpful book, Healing Conversations: Taking Yourself Out of Conflict and Loneliness – published by Morgan James Press. It is such an important book for such a divided time. I think The Montrose Church is one of the best-kept secrets in my denomination, and a lot of that is due to Dave's great pastoral heart and leadership. I hope many of you know him already, but if not I'm excited to get to introduce him to you. Here is my New Creation Conversation with Pastor Dave Roberts.

Welcome to episode seventy-one of New Creation Conversations. I apologize that we missed an episode last week, we were hosting a denominational conference at our church last week, and it took up all my extra space last week. The good news is that it gave me the opportunity to sit down with a couple of the guests at the conference and have face-to-face conversations with them about their writing and work. I get to share one of those conversations with you today. Rev. Caleb Cray Haynes is church planter and co-pastor with his wife, Emily, at Kalaeo Church in Nashville. He is also the co-founder of Nazarenes for Creation Care. Caleb grew up in the hills of rural Tennessee where the love of God's creation grew deep roots in his early life and experience. Tending to gardens and wandering in the woods are still part of Caleb's story. Following a call to ministry, he attended Trevecca Nazarene University and received a degree in Religion and Philosophy. Afterward, Caleb served as a volunteer Nazarene missionary through Mission Corp in Mainz, Germany, aiding in church planting with (one of our previous guests Philip Zimmerman) Church in Action. He is currently working on a Master's Degree in Theology and Ecology from Nazarene Theological College in Manchester, UK.We focus our conversation not only on his work with Nazarenes for Creation Care but also on his recently published book, Garbage Theology: The Unseen World of Waste and What It Means for the Salvation of Every Person, Every Place, and Every Thing. It's not only a thoughtful book but an important conversation that – as those created to be reflections of God's care and dominion of creation – the church desperately needs to have. I'm really thankful for young leaders like Caleb helping us have that conversation, and I'm glad you've joined us for this great conversation. Here is my New Creation Conversation with Pastor Caleb Cray Haynes.

Welcome to episode seventy of New Creation Conversations. I'm delighted to get to share a second conversation with Dr. Andrew Root. Andy is Professor and Carrie Olson Baalson Chair of Youth and Family Ministry at Luther Seminary. Andy is an alum of Bethel College in Minnesota. He has both an MDiv and ThM degrees from Fuller Seminary and a PhD from Princeton Seminary. He's written several books on youth ministry, spiritual formation, and even on the grace of dogs.Our conversation centers on his most recent book Churches and the Crisis of Decline: A Hopeful Practical Ecclesiology for a Secular Age (from Baker Academic). This latest book is the fourth in a series of six books Andy is writing on ministry in a secular age. I read quite a bit and so I rarely go back and read books twice. I have found Andy's series so significant that I have read and the re-read each of the first four books in this series. It's hard for me to pick, but I think this most recent book is my favorite in the series so far. In its pages Charles Taylor intersects with Karl Barth and both speak to the current challenges of ministry. Andy is in high demand these days and is on the road often. I feel privileged that he made the space a second time to have a conversation with me about his fascinating and significant work. I love this conversation. It's a little longer than normal, but I had so many things I wanted to talk about, and I still didn't get to all my questions. I think you will like this conversation a lot also. 

Welcome to episode sixty-nine of New Creation Conversations. I'm excited to get to share with you today my recent conversation with Dr. Brent Waters. Brent has just recently retired after serving for several years as Professor of Christian Social Ethics and Director of the Jerre L. and Mary Joy Stead Center for Ethics and Values at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. Brent is an alum of the University of Redlands. He has both an MDiv and DMin degrees from Claremont School of Theology and has a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Oxford. Brent has written eight books and dozens and dozens of articles and papers on Christian economics, bioethics, technology, genetic research, and even the ethics of family life.Our conversation primarily focusses on his new book Common Callings and Ordinary Virtues: Christian Ethics for Everyday Life (from Baker Academic). Every day, we do commonplace things and interact with ordinary people without always reflecting deeply on those interactions. In this book Brent reflects deeply and theologically about the ethical significance of our daily activities and relationships – especially about how practices that seem mundane are actually expressions of love of neighbor and are vitally important to our wellbeing. In other words, our faith gives our ordinary life meaning. It's a wonderful book and a thoughtful conversation. 

Welcome to episode sixty-eight of New Creation Conversations. I'm excited to get to share with you today a second conversation with Dr. Myles Werntz. Myles is the Director of Baptist Studies and Associate Professor of Theology at Abilene Christian University, where he directs the Baptist Studies Center in the Graduate School of Theology. He is the author and editor of several books in theology and ethics and writes broadly on the Christian ethics of war and peace, immigration, ecclesiology, and discipleship. We had a conversation a few months ago with is friend David Cramer about their co-authored book A Field Guide to Christian Nonviolence. In this conversation Myles and I discuss his brand-new book, From Isolation to Community: A Renewed Vision for Christian Life Together – published by Baker Academic.Like many others, the works of Dietrich Bonhoeffer have been deeply influential. Bonhoeffer's Letters, Ethics, and The Cost of Discipleship have been important formative works in my journey. However, perhaps the work that I have returned to repeatedly is his little tract Life Together. In his new book, Myles takes Bonhoeffer's work and reflects on the theme of isolation as one of the key problems of our age. Profoundly, Myles reflects on how the church, even while meeting together lives into and exacerbates the problem of isolation. He even points to the ease with which most congregations were able to navigate the separation created by the pandemic as a sign of the way isolation has taken hold of our imaginations. Like Bonhoeffer himself, Myles goes beyond analysis and offers theological depth and describes the practices that might heal our isolation. It is a thoughtful book that resonated deeply with me, and I know you'll find this conversation helpful as well.

Welcome to episode sixty-seven of New Creation Conversations. I'm excited to have a second conversation today with my good friend Dr. Michael Lodahl. Mike is Professor of Theology and World Religions at Point Loma Nazarene University. Mike is an alum of Northwest Nazarene University, has an MDiv from Nazarene Theological Seminary, and a PhD from Emory University. Mike has written extensively on narrative theology, holiness, and the relationship of Christian and Islamic faiths. Our conversation is centered on his most recent book Praying with Jesus: Meditations on the Lord's Prayer – published by The Foundry Press.Mike is one of my favorite people to chat with anytime, but I really did love this conversation on prayer. His reflections on the Lord's Prayer – and what we learn about the nature of character of God from it – are helpful. But I love that The Foundry has not only published the book but has turned it into a resource for pastors for preaching and have created resources for children and youth to participate in the series as well. It is well done, and I know it will be a blessing to those congregations who journey together through it. Mike is a great storyteller and a rich and thoughtful theologian. My challenge in my conversations with Mike is keeping it to an hour. I think you will love his reflections on prayer – and I get a couple of good thoughts in this week also. Thanks for leaning into these New Creation Conversations. 

Welcome to episode sixty-six of New Creation Conversations. I'm excited to be joined in today's conversation by Dr. Mark Teasdale. Mark is the E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism at Garrett Theological Seminary. Mark is an alum of The American University, has both MDiv and DMin degrees from Wesley Theological Seminary, and has a PhD from Southern Methodist University. Mark has written extensively on evangelism. Our conversation is centered on his most recent book Participating in Abundant Life: Holistic Salvation for a Secular Age – published by IVP Academic.In his new book, Mark argues that our world is hungry for salvation, but we don't always know how to talk about it. Christians agree that God cares about people's lives both in this world and into eternity. But the ways we describe salvation often separate these two spaces: the spiritual from the material. Many groups emphasize one at the expense of the other, limiting the picture of what God has to offer. Mark works to bridge the gap by taking up Jesus' language of abundant life. The abundant is something Jesus invites us to participate in―to seek both for ourselves and for others. The abundant life is rich and multidimensional, not splitting spirits and minds from bodies and material needs. By connecting a vision of “holistic salvation” to contemporary concepts of well-being, Mark's book attempts to show how Christians can both better communicate in secular settings as well as partner with all people regardless of their faith to seek the common good.As Mark and I will discuss, evangelism can be an often-overlooked discipline in the Christian academy, and an overlooked practice in the local church. The abundant life in Christ is not meant to be kept to ourselves, it is meant to be extended to others. I really appreciated Mark's book and his holistic perspective, and I think you will glean a great deal from our conversation. So, thanks for leaning into this week's New Creation Conversation. 

Welcome to episode sixty-five of New Creation Conversations. I'm excited to be joined in today's conversation by Dr. Mark D. Baker. Mark is Professor of Mission and Theology at Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary. Mark is an alum of Wheaton University, has a master's degree from the New College for Advanced Christian Studies (Berkely) and a PhD in Theology and Ethics from Duke. Mark has written extensively in theology and ethics, but the primary focus of our conversation is his most recent book – published by IVP Academic – Centered-Set Church: Discipleship and Community Without Judgmentalism.A few years ago, I was asked to speak at the regional gathering for the Church of the Nazarene and in that message I shared an often-repeated story about an American rancher and sheepherder who got the chance to spend time with other ranchers and sheepherders in the outback of Australia and New Zealand. He noticed quickly that they didn't have many fences keeping the herd or the flock in place. When he asked about it, the herders from down-under remarked, “We learned decades ago that if you dig really good wells the sheep and cattle won't wander from them, and you don't need as many fences.” In these very divisive times, both inside and outside the church, I have grown to love that simple illustration and return to it often to think about how we might work for unity within the very diverse Body of Christ. Mark's research and writing on “Centered-Set Church” takes the beauty of that story and fills it out thoughtfully and helpfully. As readers of the book (and listeners to our conversation) will discover, the challenge to creating a “centered-set” community is not just what Mark will call “divided set” ways of identifying as a people, but also the ways “fuzzy-set” forms of identification also become problematic. It is a very helpful and timely book, and a very relevant conversation. So, thanks for leaning into this week's New Creation Conversation. 

Welcome to episode sixty-four of New Creation Conversations. I'm delighted to be joined in today's conversation by Dr. Susan Harris Howell. Susan is Professor of Psychology at Campbellsville University in Kentucky, where she has taught for twenty-eight years. She is an alum of Campbellsville and has both a master's degree and a doctorate in Education (with emphases in counseling and development) from the University of Louisville. She recently wrote and published a book entitled, Buried Talents: Overcoming Gendered Socialization to Answer God's Call (published by IVP Academic). The book emerges out of a couple of decades of Susan's research and teaching on gender and gender socialization. In it she argues that the small percentage of women in parish ministry is not just the result of theological problems, but it is also the consequence of a broad intersection of social formation connected to gender, and its implications. The book is not just a fascinating analysis of how gender socialization happens through childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, but it also offers helpful and practical ways for us to reflect the new creation in the ways we relate to and encourage one another as men and women. I found the book not only helpful for young women who are wrestling with God's call upon their lives, but a beneficial book as a church leader, a parent, and mentor to both young women and young men. It is a great book and an important conversation.

Welcome to episode sixty-three of New Creation Conversations. I'm delighted to be joined in today's conversation by Erica Young Reitz. Erica is an alum of Messiah College and has an MA in Higher Education from Geneva College. In recent years, Erica has been serving as the director of Senior EXIT, a one-year experience at Penn State University that prepares graduating college seniors for the transition into the next phase of life. She is the author of After College: Navigating Transitions, Relationships and Faith (published by InterVarsity Press).  Last week I talked to Michael Lindsay about “Hinge Moments,” and since we are in the middle of graduation season and many of you are in the midst of transitions or have young people in your life that you are helping to navigate their way into adulthood, I thought it would be good to have a couple of conversations with people who have thought and written extensively about these moments of significant life transitions. Erica's book is an excellent resource for parents, pastors, or campus leaders. I have four children in their twenties who are going through their own important life-trajectory decisions. I ordered a stack of Erica's books to give to them and to the several graduates in my life. No matter where you are in life, I think there is much to glean from this conversation. 

Welcome to episode sixty-two of New Creation Conversations. It is an honor in today's conversation to be joined by Dr. D. Michael Lindsay – President of Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. Michael is an alum of Baylor University. He has an MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. in Sociology from Princeton University. Michael started his academic career teaching and doing academic research at Rice University. Then he accepted the call to serve as president at Gordon College in Boston for a decade before now taking the leadership role at Taylor.Michael has written several scholarly publications and numerous books, including two award-winning books that emerged out of major research projects – Faith in the Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the American Elite and View from the Top: An Inside Look at How People in Power See and Shape the World. Both books are insightful about not only what motivates and shapes people of faith in key places of cultural influence and formation, but also, as a church leader, both books have helped me understand how to motivate and missionally-connect those in my congregation who have a great deal of giftedness and resource into the mission of the church.The bulk of our conversation centers around his most recent book, Hinge Moments: Making the Most of Life's Transitions (from IVP). In it, Michael takes the great research he has done with great leaders and applies that not only to young people making key life choices, but to all of us as we face important moments of transition in life. I found the book not only valuable as a gift to the many young people in my life, but even at 56, I found several things in the book helpful as I think about the potential and unavoidable changes out ahead of my own life. It's a great book and I think you will find this a very insightful conversation. 

Welcome to episode sixty-one of New Creation Conversations. I'm very excited in today's conversation to be joined by my friend and colleague from both NNU and here at College Church, Dr. Diane Leclerc. Diane has served Northwest Nazarene University for 24 years as Professor of Historical Theology. She is an alum of Eastern Nazarene College. She has a Master of Divinity degree from Nazarene Theological Seminary and another Master's Degree in Philosophy and PhD in Theological and Religious Studies from Drew University.Diane has co-edited a series of books with Dr. Mark Maddix – Essential Beliefs, Essential Church, Pastoral Practices, and Spiritual Formation (each articulating a Wesleyan theological perspective in those areas). She has written one of the best summaries and introductions to Wesleyan-Holiness theology out there in her book, Discovering Christian Holiness: The Heart of Wesleyan-Holiness Theology.We talk about all of those works, but our primary focus is on her soon-to-be-released book (co-authored with [friend-of-the-podcast] Dr. Brent Peterson), The Back Side of the Cross: An Atonement Theology for the Abused and Abandoned (published by Cascade Press). As you will hear, this has been a book that has been percolating in Diane's life and thoughts for a decade or more, and it is wonderful that it is finally going to come out now. I had a chance to read a pre-publication edition of the book, and it has not only reshaped my imagination in so many ways related to the atonement and the significance of the cross, but it has helped me know how to extend transforming grace to those who have suffered at the hands of others. I'm biased, but I do think Diane and Brent's book has the chance to be deeply transformative in the lives of many people and will change the way those of you who listening and are pastoring will preach in the future. I'm thankful for this new book and the chance to bring this conversation to you. 

Welcome to episode sixty of New Creation Conversations. It's a privilege in today's conversation to be joined by Dr. Amy Kenny. Amy has a PhD from the University of Sussex in Early Modern Literature and Culture. From 2009-2012, she was Research Coordinator at Shakespeare's Globe in London, where she was the chief dramaturge for 15 productions, and taught courses on theatrical practice and Shakespearean drama. Currently she is a lecturer on Shakespeare at the University of California Riverside. Amy is also a disabled scholar who has written frequently about her experiences in publications like Teen Vogue, The Mighty, The Audacity, and Sojourners. Amy is a scribe for Freedom Road institute for Leadership and Justice; she serves on the mayor's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Taskforce in California; coordinates support for people experiencing homelessness in her neighborhood; and is currently co-launching Jubilee Homes OC, a permanent supportive housing initiative in her local community. Amy has a new book, being released from Brazos Press in May, entitled My Body is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church. In it, Amy not only reflects on her own journey, but she also argues that much of the church has forgotten that we worship a disabled Lord whose wounds survived resurrection. Therefore, it is time for the church to start treating disabled people as full members of the body of Christ who have much more to offer than a miraculous cure narrative and to learn from their unique embodied experiences. She prophetically reflects on her experiences inside the church to expose unintentional ableism and cast a new vision for Christian communities to engage in disability justice.I had a chance to read a pre-publication edition of the book, and even though I have been involved for several years in churches working intentionally to make space for people with various disabilities, I still found much in Amy's book challenging and unsettling, not in a bad way, but in a way that is helping me to imagine my own church as a more inclusive community. It is beautifully written – as one would expect from a Shakespeare scholar – and it is also richly theological and pragmatically helpful. I'm excited and grateful to get to bring this conversation to you. 

Welcome to episode fifty-nine of New Creation Conversations. In today's conversation I'm thrilled to get a chance to reconnect with a friend and former colleague, Dr. Jen Rosner. During my years serving as a dean at Azusa Pacific University, Jen taught (and continues to teach) for the school as an affiliate faculty member. She was one of those professors who makes a dean's life easy. Students love Jen's classes, and I always looked forward to connecting with Jen and hearing about the latest work she was doing, and the great things God was teaching her.  Jen is an alum of Cal Poly University. She earned an MDiv from Yale Divinity School and a PhD in Theology from Fuller Seminary. After living for a couple of years in Israel, she now lives in Lake Tahoe, California and teaches at Fuller, Azusa Pacific, Messianic Jewish Theological Institute, and The King's University. Her PhD dissertation, on the relationship between Judaism and Christian faith, was published in 2016 by Fortress Press with the title – Healing the Schism: Barth, Rosenzweig and the New Jewish-Christian Encounter.Our conversation centers primarily on two things. The first is her new book – Finding Messiah: A Journey into the Jewishness of the Gospel (published by IVP) – which can be pre-ordered now but will be released on May 24. I got to read a pre-publication edition of the book and it is such a beautiful combination of theology, biblical study, Christian history, and personal memoir. Secondly, we talk a lot – as does the book – about Jen's own journey as a Jewish Christian, and specifically how she has come to embody those two traditions in her everyday life. And we reflect on the way her Judaism draws so much of the beauty and significance of Jesus' and message that we Gentiles often overlook. I was so excited to get a chance to read Jen's outstanding book, reconnect with a good friend, and I'm delighted to get to bring that conversation to you. 

Welcome to episode fifty-eight of New Creation Conversations. In today's conversation I'm honestly a bit overwhelmed to be joined by Dr. Luke Timothy Johnson. Luke is Candler School of Theology's Robert W. Woodruff Professor Emeritus of New Testament and Christian Origins, Emory University's most distinguished endowed chair. He is a graduate of Notre Dame Seminary. He has an MA degree from Indiana University, an MDiv from Saint Meinrad School of Theology, and a PhD from Yale University. He's a noted scholar and an award-winning teacher – spending decades teaching and researching at Yale Divinity School, Indiana University, and Candler School of Theology at Emory University. His research centers on the literary, moral, and religious dimensions of the New Testament, including the Jewish and Greco-Roman contexts of early Christianity, Luke-Acts, the Pastoral Letters, and the Letter of James.A prolific author, Luke has authored over 30 books, more than 70 scholarly articles, and nearly 200 book reviews. Several of his books are widely used as textbooks in seminaries and departments of religion throughout the world. His most recent book is a wonderful memoir that reflects not only on his truly miraculous journey in faith and scholarship but also serves as a kind of guide for those coming after him about the virtues and disciplines necessary to live into the life of the faithful scholar. The book is entitled: The Mind in Another Place: My Life as a Scholar – just recently released from Eerdmans Publishing Company. I recently had a chance to travel for a week. I took the book with me and was so deeply encouraged about the providence of God in our lives but also with my deep passion and calling to keep the local church and the theological academy connected. It was such a joy to read about Luke's life, but it was a great honor to get to talk to him about it. I could have spent two or three hours talking to him about his life and the significance of the scholarly vocation. I know that I will revisit this conversation again and again, and I hope you will be blessed by it as well. 

Welcome to episode fifty-seven of New Creation Conversations. In today's conversation I'm very excited to be joined by Dr. Michael Graves. Michael is Professor of Biblical Studies at Wheaton College. Michael is an alum of Wheaton, he has a master's degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and earned another master's degree and his PhD from Hebrew Union College. Michael has written several excellent books on biblical interpretation including The Inspiration and Interpretation of Scripture: What the Early Church Can Teach Us (Eerdmans, 2014); Biblical Interpretation in the Early Church (Fortress, 2017), and he contributed one of the volumes – the Commentary on Jeremiah – in the Ancient Christian Texts series (IVP Academic, 2012).His most recent book is, How Scripture Interprets Scripture: What Biblical Writers Can Teach Us about Reading the Bible – just recently released from Baker Academic. One of the great gifts of the last five hundred years is that every day Christians can have the Bible in their own hands, in their own language. Although this is an amazing blessing, the challenge it creates is that every Christian with their own Bible also becomes their own interpreter. That's where the work of scholars like Dr. Graves can be so helpful. Michael's interest and passion is not only to help people interpret the bible well in the present, but also to help all of us interpret God's Word in connection to the great biblical interpreters of the past. I found our conversation helpful, thoughtful, and enriching; and I know you will too.

Welcome to episode fifty-six of New Creation Conversations. In today's conversation I'm honored to be joined by Dr. Klyne Snodgrass. Dr. Snodgrass is now Professor Emeritus of New Testament Studies after serving for forty-one years as a professor, as a dean, and as the Paul W. Brandel Chair of New Testament Studies at North Park Seminary in Chicago. Klyne is an alum of Columbia Bible College, he received his MDiv degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and he earned his PhD from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.Klyne has written several books including the commentary on Ephesians that is part of The NIV Application Commentary. He has written two books on the parables: The Parable of the Wicked Tenants: An Inquiry into Parable Interpretation and Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus. (A book which received a Christianity Today award in 2008). His other books are: Between Two Truths: Living with Biblical Tension and Who God Says You Are: A Christian Understanding of Identity. In 2014 there was a Festschrift published in his honor entitled, Doing Theology for the Church: Essays in Honor of Klyne Snodgrass, that includes contributions from Darrell Bock, Richard Longenecker, Scot McKnight, and N.T. Wright. Klyne and I reflect a bit about his previous works in our conversation, however the majority of our discussion centers on his most recent book, You Need a Better Gospel: Reclaiming the Good News of Participation with Christ – just released in January of 2022 from Baker Academic. In it, Dr. Snodgrass reflects on how, too often, the church hasn't done justice to its own gospel because it has neglected how much the New Testament message is about deep involvement in life with God. There is a great deal of resonance for me in Klyne's emphasis in this book on participation with Christ and the themes that I've tried to focus on in these conversations about the new creation.  As you will quickly pick up in this conversation, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Dr. Snodgrass' reflections on a lifetime of scholarship and teaching. There is a deep wisdom that emerges from his experiences that we need to have around the table. I had a great time gleaning a kind of fatherly or grandfatherly wisdom in my conversation with Dr. Snodgrass, and I know you will be edified by our conversation as well. Thanks as always for joining me in this journey into the new creation. Here's my conversation with Dr. Klyne Snodgrass.  

Welcome to episode fifty-five of New Creation Conversations. In today's conversation I'm delighted to be joined by Dr. Philip Zimmermann. Philip is the co-founder and pastor of Church in Action in Germany. Born in Frankfurt, Philip is known for strategic thinking and creative problem solving. He is a social entrepreneur, a pastor, and a church planter who has started and led several churches, non-profits, and businesses.Philip is an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Religion from European Nazarene College, a Master of Arts in Spiritual formation from Northwest Nazarene University, and a Doctorate of Strategic Leadership from Regent University. When he has the space, Philip teaches university courses in leadership and spiritual formation and speaks at leadership conferences around the world. He has written two books: Problem Solving and Creativity and Time Management. Recently, Philip was in town, and my wife (Debbie) and I had the privilege of attending a seminar he was leading on the mind shift (or change in imagination) necessary for the church to reach an increasingly post-Christian culture. The seminar was challenging and insightful, and so I was excited to get a chance to sit down and have a conversation with Philip about the Church in Action and what he is learning about the mission of the church in this historical moment. One very fun aspect of this conversation is that we were in the same room together. It took me fifty-five of these conversations to finally have one that wasn't on Zoom but face-to-face. I loved not only the chance to spend an hour or so with Philip, but I also came away excited and filled with hope for the future of not only my own denomination but the global Body of Christ as it will be led by young leaders like Philip. I think you will not only learn a lot from our conversation, but you will also be encouraged as well. Thanks for joining me on these weekly journeys toward the new creation. Here's my conversation with Dr. Philip Zimmermann.

Welcome to episode fifty-four of New Creation Conversations. In today's conversation I'm excited to be joined by Rev. Sean Palmer. Sean is the Teaching Pastor at Ecclesia Houston – an innovative and thriving multi-site church in South Texas. Sean has served for over twenty years in ministry and was selected by Christian Standard Magazines one of the best “40 Leaders Under 40.” He's a frequent speaker, teacher, and writer – his work appearing in places like Jesus Creed, Sojourners, The Lookout Magazine, and Missio Alliance. Sean has written or contributed to several books. We talk about his book Unarmed Empire: In Search of Beloved Community (published by Cascade Books). In that book Sean reflects on the kind of community the church is called to be – an alternative community devoid of fear, wherein God's love and acceptance are mediated to all people through the grace of Jesus.Much of our conversation centers around his most recent works related to the Enneagram. Recently, IVP came out with a series of books called “Enneagram Daily Reflections” – a series of books devoted to each of the nine enneagram numbers. Sean wrote the volume, Forty Days on Being a Three. I am also a three on the enneagram – so having journeyed through his book -  I was very excited to talk about the enneagram and the life of a three with Sean.Sean also has a new book – Speaking by the Numbers: Enneagram Wisdom for Teachers, Pastors, and Communicators (which will be released in May from IVP) on how to speak to and communicate in transformative ways to people across the enneagram spectrum. It's a fascinating insight and a rich part of our conversation.I found my conversation with Sean delightful and helpful. If you already know a bit about the enneagram, I know you will love this conversation – no matter what number you are. And if you are new to this whole enneagram thing, I think you will find what Sean has to say as an invitation to explore and understand your motivations, as well as what motivates those around you more deeply. 

Welcome to episode fifty-three of New Creation Conversations. In today's conversation I'm very happy to be joined by Dr. Christopher Hays. Chris is the D. Wilson Moore Professor of Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary – where he has taught now for fourteen years. He's an alum of Amherst College, has an MDiv degree from Princeton Seminary, and earned his PhD from Emory University.Chris is one of those people who loves to study the ancient world. He has immersed himself in ancient languages like Akkadian and Ugaritic. The last time I was with Chris in person he was off with (friend of the podcast) Brent Strawn to translate some ancient tablets. Chris' work frequently centers on helping us read the Scriptures – the Old Testament in particular- in the light of their ancient contexts. Along those lines, we will discuss his beautiful book, Hidden Riches: A Textbook for the Comparative Study of the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East as well as his in-depth research on Isaiah entitled, Death in the Iron Age II and in First Isaiah.However, our primary reason for connecting is to talk about a book he recently co-edited with his former colleague Carly Crouch, God and Guns: The Bible Against American Gun Culture (from Westminster John Knox Press). It is a thoughtful and provocative set of essays from several significant biblical scholars and theologians – including Chris - addressing questions of faith and gun violence. (It also includes a Foreword from Stanley Hauerwas). Chris and I recorded this conversation a couple of weeks ago, just days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In just the handful of days since we recorded there have been three mass shooting in the U.S. So, although this topic can be both controversial and complicated, it is an important conversation for the church to have. I'm thankful for thoughtful friends, like Chris, Carly, and Brent, who are willing to bring their biblical expertise and wade into the troubling waters of this crucial conversation, and I'm glad I get to share this conversation with you. 

Welcome to episode fifty-two of New Creation Conversations. In this second episode of this second season of the podcast I'm delighted to have a conversation with someone I have been reading for thirty-plus years and have deeply admired from a distance but have never had the opportunity to meet – Dr. J. Richard Middleton.Dr. Middleton currently serves as Professor of Biblical Worldview and Exegesis at Roberts Wesleyan College. He is widely published in religious periodicals and is the author of several books.  His special areas of interest include Old Testament theology, the Christian worldview, the doctrine of Creation, and the impact of postmodern culture.I first encountered Richard's work through a couple of books he co-wrote with Brian Walsh. The Transforming Vision: Shaping a Christian World View (published by IVP in 1984) became an important guide to the questions all worldviews ask and answer, and it helped frame the language and practices of Christian universities for the last several decades. They also wrote Truth is Stranger Than It Used to Be: Biblical Faith in a Postmodern Age (also published by IVP in 1995). I used this book in colleges classes for many years as I helped students wrestle with the new philosophical realities of postmodernity and the challenges and possibilities those new realities bring for Christian faith.More recently, Richard has written two excellent and important books. The first is entitled A New Heaven and a New Earth: Reclaiming Biblical Eschatology (published by Baker in 2014), and the just released Abraham's Silence: The Binding of Isaac, the Suffering of Job, and How to Talk Back to God (also from Baker Academic). I'm delighted that our conversation gets to revisit his formative early work and then move to his important eschatological work and his provocative and challenging work on Abraham and Job. I had a friend who would often say that one of the best things in life is when you get to meet your heroes and they turn out to be great people. I feel that way about this conversation. It is so fun when a name on a worn-out book cover becomes a new friend. And it is fun to get to share that encounter with you. 

Welcome to episode fifty-one of New Creation Conversations. In this first episode of this second year and second season of this podcast, I'm delighted to be joined in conversations by the co-authors of a wonderful new book on the complex history of Christian peacemaking Dr. David Cramer and Dr. Myles Werntz. David teaches at the Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Indiana, and he is the Managing Editor of the Institute of Mennonite Studies. David's scholarship focuses on Christian social ethics and the difference faith makes for how Christians live in contemporary society. Like me, David serves in both the academy and the local church. He is currently the teaching pastor at Keller Park Church – an urban congregation in South Bend, Indiana. His writing has appeared in scholarly journals and popular periodicals including Christian Century and Sojourners. Myles is Director of Baptist Studies and Associate Professor of Theology at Abilene Christian University, where he directs the Baptist Studies Center in the Graduate School of Theology. He is the author and editor of five books in theology and ethics and writes broadly on Christian ethics of war and peace, immigration, ecclesiology, and discipleship.David and Myles became friends while working on their PhDs together in theology and ethics at Baylor University. Their mutual interest in the practice and history of Christian nonviolence led to a twenty-year conversation and exploration of the complicated and varied approaches of Christians across the centuries to the call of disciples to make peace in the world in Jesus' name. That twenty-years of dialogue recently was released as a very helpful book, A Field Guide to Christian Nonviolence: Key Thinkers, Activists, and Movements for the Gospel of Peace – published by Baker Academic. In their book, Cramer and Werntz explore eight different streams of Christian nonviolence that not only take different approaches to peacemaking, but they also think about the call to take up the cross of Christ in different ways. In such a divided and violent age, I'm thankful for those who keep reminding us that it is the call of the disciple to participate in the new creation by making peace. However, I found David and Myles' Field Guide so helpful in showing how complicated obedience to this call can be, and how different followers of Jesus have found different ways to pursue this call with faith. I think you will find their work helpful and I'm excited to bring this conversation to you.