Ep93. Transgressive Devotion, Natalie Wigg-Stevenson

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Ep93. Transgressive Devotion, Natalie Wigg-Stevenson

I sat down with Natalie Wigg-Stevenson to talk about theology as performance art. We discuss her new work which weaves together discussions in church basements, notorious works of performance art, and a broad range of theological thinkers to respond to a moment where she felt forgotten by God. Along the way we talk about what it might mean to think about God's omnipotence through a framework of cognitive decline, in turn we discuss how she conceives of the role of humanity through caregiving to God. We also talk about the problems posed by the incarnation, ecclesiology as writing the church (rather than writing about), the role of the Spirit in the conception of Christ, and how infection and risk provide a way into thinking about what it means to be swept up into life with God.

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Ep47. Biblical Experiments in Decolonisation, Steve Heinrichs

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Ep47. Biblical Experiments in Decolonisation, Steve Heinrichs

Is it possible for the exploited and their allies to reclaim the Bible from the dominant powers?

I sat down with Steve Heinrichs, Director of Indigenous-Settler Relations for the Mennonite Church Canada, to talk about Unsettling the World: Biblical Experiments in Decolonisation, a volume he edited, out now through Orbis Books.

In Unsettling the Word over 60 Indigenous and Settler authors come together to wrestle with Scripture, reimagining ancient texts for reparative futures. With poem, essay, art, proverb, and provocation this is an excellent and essential work.

In this episode we discuss Steve's own journey with Scripture and decolonisation, how this work came together, what surprised him in its compilation, how churches in settler-colonial contexts might start hard, but necessary conversations, what his job entails, and much much more.

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Ep40. The Stations of the Cross, Katherine Sonderegger and Margaret Adams Parker

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Ep40. The Stations of the Cross, Katherine Sonderegger and Margaret Adams Parker

“The Stations speak to us in the political, social, and economic conflicts and dilemmas that descend on us all. And to a culture, to individuals, and, sadly, even to a church that scrupulously turn away from the reality of death, the Stations speak an important word about that final frontier.”

I sat down with Mary Adams Parker and Katherine Sonderegger to talk about their book, Praying the Stations of the Cross: Finding Hope in a Weary Land (Eerdmans, 2019). We talk about their own approaches to the Stations as visual artist and preacher respectively, what we learn about the contact of the body of Jesus with the body of others across the Stations, what the Stations reveal about Mary, the power of the Stations in times such as these, finding ways to hold the together the suffering and glory of Christ, preparing art for ecclesial settings, why preaching should be invitation rather than exhortation, and why we should attend to beauty, to the sublime, when writing theology or creating artworks to the glory of God and guidance of a Christian community.

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Ep13. Ganggalah, Sandra and William Dumas

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Ep13. Ganggalah, Sandra and William Dumas

This is a double feature. The first interview is with Pastor Sandra Dumas, the second, her husband, Pastor William Dumas. They are the Senior Pastors of Ganggalah Church and leaders of Ganggalah Training Centre and Ganggalah Aboriginal Arts.

Pastor Sandra is the first Indigenous female pastor ordained in New South Wales through Australian Christian Churches and is carving new ground for Indigenous women within Australia. Pastor William is the chairman of the ACCNI (Australian Christian Churches National Indigenous Initiative). LISTEN IN iTUNES

"God's theology is to set people free" Ps. William Dumas
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