March 22, 2021

Ep77. Questions of Context, Henning Wrogemann and John Flett

March 22, 2021/ Liam Miller

In a wide ranging discussion about contextualisation, culture, the gospel, and mission John Flett and Henning Wrogemann detail what can be learnt from (predominately the mistakes) of a century of German mission theology. I was surprised by the manifold ways contemporary language around church, mission, and culture finds its roots in articulations that were developed within and embraced by German National Socialism. The conversation begins with some quick takes on common mission catchphrases and ends with the idea of mission as being - in part - about living together with the stranger.

November 27, 2020

Ep64. Spirit Outside the Gate, Oscar García-Johnson

November 27, 2020/ Liam Miller

I sat down with Oscar García-Johnson to talk about Spirit Outside the Gate: Decolonial Pneumatologies of the American Global South (IVP Academic, 2019). We discuss doing theology in the colonial difference and centring indigenous practices, values, and ideas; we talk about Transoccidentality and how it repositions Christian identity toward a community-in-movement (and the implication of this in conversations around migrants and migration). We also go deep on pneumatology, discussing his view of the Spirit as Decolonial Healer and his response to one of the book’s central question: “What are Christians to make of the Holy Spirit’s occasional encounters with cultures and religions of the America’s before the European conquest?”

May 05, 2020

Ep53. Participating in Christ, Michael Gorman

May 05, 2020/ Liam Miller

I interviewed Michael J. Gorman about his book Participating in Christ: Explorations in Paul’s Theology and Spirituality (Baker Academic, 2019). I ask Michael how some common refrains stack up against Paul’s understanding of participation, how the cross not only reveals Christ and God, but also what it means to be human. We talk about co-resurrection and how that shapes how we speak of justification, how Michael’s work on theosis is more narrative than metaphysical, and if there’s a relationship between Paul’s union with Christ language and Matthew 25’s presence of Christ in the least of these. Finally we talk about his deuteron-Pauline letter to the contemporary church in North America.

February 03, 2020

Ep44. John's Missional Theosis, Michael J. Gorman

February 03, 2020/ Liam Miller

I sat down with Michael J. Gorman to discuss his recent book on the Gospel of John, Abide and Go: Missional Theosis in the Gospel of John (Cascade 2018). We talk theosis, participation, spirituality, and mission – and how, in this gospel, these categories are not as separated as we might have thought. Gorman’s work reconfigures our thinking on a lot of topics, from forgiveness of sins, to the formation of community, and the ethic of enemy love.

October 18, 2019

Ep37. Mission After Pentecost, Amos Yong

October 18, 2019/ Liam Miller

“The divine wind rustles, hovers, and swoops ‘over the face of the waters’, touches the created orders and catches the world up in the divine witness”

I sat down with Amos Yong to discuss his new book , Mission after Pentecost: The Witness of the Spirit from Genesis to Revelation. We talk about what underpins his prolific and widespread writings, what is gained from approaching theology from a pneumatology in the foreground, his approach to mission as an opening up to others, his commentary on the Gerasene demoniac and what it means for the church to participation in the mission of the Spirit – when that mission is one of deliverance both cosmic and socio-political, and much more.

October 11, 2019

Ep36. Hip Hop Missiology, Daniel White Hodge

October 11, 2019/ Liam Miller

Hip Hop theology allows us to live in ambiguity while still seeking the face of God.

I sat down with Daniel White Hodge to talk about his book Homeland Insecurity: A Hip Hop Missiology for the Post-Civil Rights Context (IVP 2018). We talk about his concept of the wild, learning theology and missiology from Hip Hop, the gospel messages of Tupac Amaru Shakur and Kendrick Lamar, the deep problems of short-term mission and white led urban ministry, missiology as civil disruption, why most conversations on non-violence are too simplistic, and his claim that, generally, “reconciliation has no meaning other than marketable charm.” It is a wide-ranging and passionate conversation and I am very excited to get to share it with you all.

August 27, 2019

Ep34. Christian Mission in the New Millennium, David Congdon and John Flett

August 27, 2019/ Liam Miller

I sat down with David Congdon and John Flett to talk about their new edited volume, Converting Witness: the Future of Christian Mission in the New Millennium. We talk about why David and John keep writing about mission, the present state of the field of missiology, how the Bible is/should be read for mission, the issues with the “Theological Interpretation of Scripture” movement, the problematic way the term “Christendom” is employed, and John offers the hottest of takes on a certain trinitarian ontologies conference.

The essays in Converting Witness are a celebration of the life and work of Darrell L Guder, and if you don’t know who that is, we begin by talking about his impact and importance.

November 07, 2017

Ep12. Theo-Politics for a Community that Moves Beyond Itself, John Flett

November 07, 2017/ Liam Miller

The problem with the mainline is we have an insular theology, but we do not follow an insular God...

This is the Saturday night session from our weekend Political Populism and a Theological Response. Here John Flett picks up the theological challenge of populism (explored in the first two sessions) and proposes an alternative focused on the political stance of a community which finds its identity as it moves beyond itself. Recorded Nov 4, at Epping Uniting Church. LISTEN IN iTUNES

October 30, 2017

Ep11, Apostolicity, World Christianity, & Mission, John Flett

October 30, 2017/ Liam Miller

I recorded this interview with John Flett in Dec 2016 and it centres on John's most recent book, Apostolicity: the Ecumenical Question in World Christian Perspective. But we cover a lot! His book on Apostolicity (hint: we start with what that word means), how it shakes out in conversations regarding diversity of structural expressions in world Christianity, the difficulty/danger of perceiving the church as a culture (hint: colonisation), the US election, understanding properly the colonial period of mission (hint: its about the sending churches), non-missionary mission, how the ignoring of mission is actually a way of avoiding external critique, the voiceless Jesus of Christmas, the persistent focus on "dying churches" in the Australia and the counterpoint of migrant and multicultural churches.... are you getting the picture? We cover a lot. LISTEN IN iTUNES.

John will be in Sydney on Nov 3-5 talking about political populism and a theological response. You can join in person or online - check out the details here

October 17, 2017

Ep10. Populism and a Theological Response, John G. Flett

October 17, 2017/ Liam Miller

In this interview (from January 2017) I talk with John Flett about theology and mission in the wake of Trump, populism in its current form, the way Christians just wanted to "win" and so refused to yield power, interdisciplinary approaches, mission studies, "racism and the evangelical vote", #WTFtheology (aka: John's proudest achievement), and how mission (a non-America-First understanding of mission) can help counter this growing nationalist, populist tide. - this was in the lead up to the first run of his course, Political Populism and a Theological Response, earlier this year at Pilgrim Theological College. LISTEN IN iTUNES

Now, on November 3-5 John Flett will be in Sydney leading a condensed version of this course. There are numerous ways to engage - attending the whole weekend, evening lectures, or the newly announced online access. MORE INFO AND PURCHASE TICKETS

"If you yourself are not ready to be converted, then you are not engaging in the discussion"

October 03, 2017

Ep08. The God Who (Still) Saves, David W. Congdon

October 03, 2017/ Liam Miller

David Congdon's excellent The God Who Saves: a Dogmatic Sketch came out almost a year ago. We talked about the book then, and today, in this episode we revisit the work. We talk about the book, its reception, the impact its made on David's life this last year. We also talk about the contemporary US context (and evangelicalism within that). LISTEN in iTunes

“I wrote the book for those wanderers, those exiles from the Christian tradition, who have been marginalised, oppressed, and abused by the church… yet are desperately in pursuit of some meaning and connection which would take them beyond themselves.”
It is also a written to say to Christians, "If you want to demonstrate your fidelity to Jesus Christ, you need to abandon the assumption that your church structure and traditions have exclusive grasp of the truth, and you need to ally yourself with those who have been marginalised by the church. Only that way, will you conform to Christ and live into the faith you're called to live into. In that way, its a call, to Christians, to put their Christianity at risk"

August 05, 2017

Ep02. Explorations in Asian Christianity with Scott W. Sunquist

August 05, 2017/ Liam Miller

In this, our second episode, Liam is joined by Scott W Sunquist to talk about his book Explorations in Asian Christianity. We talk they why and how of studying Christian mission (including his excellent proposal of a cruciform and apostolic lens), discuss the multi-directional, complex, and fascinating story of the transmission of Christianity in Asia (spoiler: it's much more complex than East to West), a theology for mission and migration, the question of unity in World Christianity, what story from world Christian history would Scott turn into a movie... and so much more! Listen in iTunes

“Christianity was born at the borderland of two empires, and at the confluence of three continents”

Podcast