Leaving Egypt Podcast

Join the Leaving Egypt community on Substack: leavingegyptpodcast.substack.comIn this episode, Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair talk with Anne Snyder about the anxieties—and unexpected possibilities—of our volatile moment. Anne doesn’t stop at lament or analysis. As she wrestles with the tensions between plurality and unity in a fractured age, her desire to articulate truth in the written word is matched by an instinct for hospitality and the conviction of God’s grace underlying our daily lives. Inspired by the integrated witness of Dorothy Day, Anne not only writes and encourages other writers, but organises spaces where people of different perspectives can meet—and, through mutual vulnerability, encounter grace. In conversation with Al and Jenny, Anne reimagines Christian humanism as an “understory” beneath the surface of our divides: a story of local, hidden movements where building, healing, reckoning, and reconciling are the components essential for the common good.Anne Snyder is the editor-in-chief of Comment, a magazine of public theology for the common good and a developing ecosystem of conversation and community. Rooted in the Christian humanist tradition, Comment now encompasses a growing podcast network, gatherings that span grassroots to institutional settings across North America and the UK, and a three-day festival at the Washington National Cathedral. Anne also hosts The Whole Person Revolution podcast and co-edited Breaking Ground: Charting Our Future in a Pandemic Year (2022). The author of The Fabric of Character (2019), she writes widely and delights in weaving worlds together—in print, around the table, and across different sectors and ways of knowing.Links:For Anne Snyder:Comment Magazinehttps://comment.org/contributors/anne-snyder/The Whole Person Revolution podcasthttps://annesnyder.org/about/Breaking GroundBooksThe Fabric of Character: A Wise Giver’s Guide to Renewing our Social and Moral Landscape (2019)Breaking Ground: Charting Our Future in a Pandemic Year (Co-edited with Susannah Black, 2022)For Alan J Roxburgh:http://alanroxburgh.com/aboutFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/alan.roxburgh.127/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecommonsnetworkBooksForming Communities of Hope in the Great Unraveling: Leadership in a Changing World (with Roy Searle)Practices for the Refounding of God’s People: The Missional Challenge of the West (with Martin Robinson)Joining God in the Great UnravelingLeadership, God’s Agency and DisruptionsJoining God, Remaking Church, Changing the World: The New Shape of the Church in Our TimeFor Jenny Sinclair:Substack: https://t4cg.substack.com/s/editorials and https://t4cg.substack.com/s/from-jenny-sinclairWebsite: https://togetherforthecommongood.co.uk/from-jenny-sinclairLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-sinclair-0589783b/X/Twitter: https://x.com/T4CGFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TogetherForTheCommonGoodUKInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/t4cg_insta/ Get full access to Leaving Egypt at leavingegyptpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair talk with John Clifton about his experiences as a Salvation Army leader among people in the margins. In a sense, this is what you would expect from a Salvation Army officer. But give this a careful listen: John is also a deeply informed thinker and theologian with vital insights for the church today. In Christian circles lately there is much being said and written about two contrasting conversations: the quiet revival of young adults coming to certain kinds of churches, and the confusion and fear surrounding the recent conversions of controversial figures like Tommy Robinson and others at the margins—people who have had little to do with church and Christian life. John has important things to say about what is happening here and about why we should listen to what the Spirit is saying from the culture to the churches. John calls the church to return to its working-class roots, for relational spaces where Christ is encountered in the powerless, for the fostering of solidarity, and for local economic renewal.Captain John Clifton is a Salvation Army officer, ordained minister, and theologian based in North Shields, North East England. He serves as the Divisional Commander for The Salvation Army’s North East Division, overseeing operations across the region, focusing on spiritual guidance, community outreach, and social services. His work emphasizes the Church’s engagement in public life and society, particularly supporting communities affected by debt, hunger, homelessness, and unemployment. He collaborates on initiatives for justice, reconciliation, and empowering local leadership through broad-based community organizing. Academically, John researches systematic theology, exploring the transformative power of compassionate acts and social encounters. His doctoral thesis was titled “Producing Christ in the World: a study of Christian action in terms of the Homeless Man as a Christological paradigm of powerlessness.” He writes on faith, theology, and faithful action via his Substack, Christ in the Margins, and has previously led Salvation Army corps in places like Ilford (East London) and Blackpool (North West England). The youngest son of General Shaw Clifton, John has made a lifelong commitment to the Salvation Army and lives in North Shields near Newcastle with his wife Naomi and their young family. His writing can be found on his Substack, With Christ in the MarginsFor John Clifton:https://www.instagram.com/drjohnclifton/https://x.com/DrJohnCliftonhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/drjohnclifton/?originalSubdomain=ukhttps://www.salvationarmy.org/news/shaped-conviction-crafted-care-and-offered-army-he-lovedFor Alan J Roxburgh:http://alanroxburgh.com/aboutFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/alan.roxburgh.127/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecommonsnetworkBooksForming Communities of Hope in the Great Unraveling: Leadership in a Changing World (with Roy Searle)Practices for the Refounding of God’s People: The Missional Challenge of the West (with Martin Robinson)Joining God in the Great UnravelingLeadership, God’s Agency and DisruptionsJoining God, Remaking Church, Changing the World: The New Shape of the Church in Our TimeFor Jenny Sinclair:Substack https://t4cg.substack.com/s/from-jenny-sinclairWebsite: https://togetherforthecommongood.co.uk/from-jenny-sinclairLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-sinclair-0589783b/Twitter: https://x.com/T4CG Get full access to Leaving Egypt at leavingegyptpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

In a departure from previous episodes, Al Roxburgh interviews his Leaving Egypt co-host, Jenny Sinclair. Jenny shares something of her early life: from growing up in the milieu of a significant church leader, to years of rebellion, to the awakening that came through a dark night of the soul, and finally to finding her home in the Catholic Church. Later, sensing signs of coming social instability, she was drawn by the Holy Spirit to follow a trail. Through her curiosity to understand what Christian witness in the midst of this unravelling means for the churches, there emerged for Jenny a new vocation in the form of Together for the Common Good. Amidst the animating energy of the Spirit, Jenny finds herself at the heart of an unfolding work, with many others involved. Seeking a constructive response to the social crises of our time she encourages Christians to participate in the common good - the heart of God’s work of reweaving a broken world.Jenny Sinclair is Founder and Director of Together for the Common Good, a UK charity. From its beginnings in 2011, T4CG works with Christians across the churches to cultivate an “outward-facing” posture that listens to both God and neighbour. Engaging leaders, churches, charities and schools, T4CG draws on the Catholic Social Thought tradition as the key theological imagination for addressing the social, spiritual, moral, economic and political crises of this moment. Jenny speaks and writes, and convenes gatherings of leaders to engage the key questions of our time. Alongside this work, Jenny is the director and co-founder of Leaving Egypt with co-host Alan Roxburgh. Formerly a graphic designer, charity worker and serial volunteer, Jenny is the daughter of the Anglican Bishop David Sheppard. She is mother to two adult sons and currently lives in Liverpool.For Jenny Sinclair:https://t4cg.substack.com/s/from-jenny-sinclairhttps://togetherforthecommongood.co.uk/from-jenny-sinclairhttps://togetherforthecommongood.co.uk/about/our-founder-directorhttps://leavingegyptpodcast.substack.com/podcasthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-sinclair-0589783b/https://x.com/T4CGFor Alan J Roxburgh:http://alanroxburgh.com/abouthttps://www.facebook.com/alan.roxburgh.127/https://www.facebook.com/thecommonsnetworkBooksForming Communities of Hope in the Great Unraveling: Leadership in a Changing World (with Roy Searle)Practices for the Refounding of God’s People: The Missional Challenge of the West (with Martin Robinson)Joining God in the Great UnravelingLeadership, God’s Agency and DisruptionsJoining God, Remaking Church, Changing the World: The New Shape of the Church in Our Time Get full access to Leaving Egypt at leavingegyptpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Join the Leaving Egypt community on Substack: leavingegyptpodcast.substack.comIn this episode, Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair talk with Tim Dickau about the ways he has lived out his work as a Christian leader in the city. Tim is one of those thoroughly urbanized people whose roots are in rural Alberta, Canada. Shaped by the rhythms of farming and the practice of hospitality, Tim’s unique blend of prairie populism shows up in his theology of place. Rather than starting with a plan or a project, he begins by asking, “What could grow here?” Deeply attentive to how God is already at work in people’s lives, he tills the ground in faith, trusting that something will emerge. His journey wasn’t straightforward. After leading a large church for many years, a season of burnout revealed for him a new way of being a leader. Sharing life across socio-economic divides reshaped his understanding of justice. This brought forth acts of resistance—addressing food insecurity and homelessness—and expressions of hope, such as repurposing church buildings for affordable housing. In the midst of all this, Tim is that detective of divinity, listening to what it is the Spirit wants to weave in the city, creating spaces where others can join with God in the restoration of the whole of life.Tim Dickau is the Director of City Gate Vancouver, a charity that works with churches and social organizations across the city addressing social problems like displacement of refugees, food insecurity, poverty, and in particular affordable housing and the use of church buildings. He’s also a trainer in the Certificate in Missional Leadership, a one-year congregational cohort based program, at St Andrew’s Hall, the Presbyterian Church college at the University of British Columbia. For more than twenty years, Tim was the pastor of Grandview Calvary Baptist Church in the downtown east side of Vancouver. He lives in community as part of an extended family. For Tim Dickauhttps://citygatevancouver.org/our-work/https://www.standrews.edu/cml/certificate-in-missional-leadership/https://williamtemplefoundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/The-Promise-of-New-Monasticism-in-a-Secular-Age-Tim-Dickau.pdfhttps://reimagineclc.ca/BooksForming Christian Communities in a Secular Age: Recovering Humility and Hope - A Guide to Success in Adult Faith Today Plunging into the Kingdom Way: Practicing the Shared Strokes of Community, Hospitality, Justice, and ConfessionAlso referred to in this episode:Patrick Condon Broken City: Land Speculation, Inequality, and Urban CrisisMark Elsdon Gone for Good?: Negotiating the Coming Wave of Church Property TransitionFor Alan J Roxburgh:http://alanroxburgh.com/aboutFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/alan.roxburgh.127/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecommonsnetworkBooksForming Communities of Hope in the Great Unraveling: Leadership in a Changing World (with Roy Searle)Practices for the Refounding of God’s People: The Missional Challenge of the West (with Martin Robinson)Joining God in the Great UnravelingLeadership, God’s Agency and DisruptionsJoining God, Remaking Church, Changing the World: The New Shape of the Church in Our TimeFor Jenny Sinclair:Website: https://togetherforthecommongood.co.uk/from-jenny-sinclairLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-sinclair-0589783b/Twitter: https://twitter.com/T4CGFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TogetherForTheCommonGoodUKInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/t4cg_insta/ Get full access to Leaving Egypt at leavingegyptpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Join the Leaving Egypt community on Substack: leavingegyptpodcast.substack.comIn this episode, Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair talk with Sarah Small about living incarnationally in some of the UK’s most forgotten communities. It can take a church leader many years to discover what it means to “be with”, to love the other as a person, just for who they are, rather than as a “project” or as an object of training. “Incarnational ministry” can sound clinical and strategic, yet reflects a deep truth. Sarah, who is not ordained, has a naturally internalized desire to give her life to the people of her community. Sarah’s wisdom is beautiful in its humility; she and her family have been living it out for real in South Manchester. Bringing honesty with little romanticism, she acknowledges the hard edges of this calling, but also the deep joy in the ways God is present. Sarah’s community, like others in the Eden Network, are confronting the economic realities of their neighbours, and in the midst of poverty are discovering how to be the healers of walls and lovers of the broken. In this conversation, we begin to appreciate how Christ is working through the prayers and presence of ordinary Christian families seeking the shalom of the places to which God has sent them.Sarah Small co-leads the Eden Network with her husband Steve. Eden is a movement of urban missionaries who live in some of the UK’s most deprived communities. She and Steve live with their three boys on a council estate (housing project) in South Manchester which has been home for 13 years. Eden is one part of the wider mission activity of The Message Trust, a global Christian charity sharing the good news of Jesus with the hardest-to-reach people and communities. Sarah read Religions and Theology at the University of Manchester. She also holds Masters degrees in International Politics and Theology.For Sarah Small: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-small-73276340/?originalSubdomain=uk https://joineden.org/ https://www.message.org.uk/For Alan J Roxburgh: http://alanroxburgh.com/about Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alan.roxburgh.127/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecommonsnetworkBooks Forming Communities of Hope in the Great Unraveling: Leadership in a Changing World (with Roy Searle)Practices for the Refounding of God’s People: The Missional Challenge of the West (with Martin Robinson) Joining God in the Great Unraveling Leadership, God’s Agency and Disruptions Joining God, Remaking Church, Changing the World: The New Shape of the Church in Our TimeFor Jenny Sinclair: Website: https://togetherforthecommongood.co.uk/from-jenny-sinclairLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-sinclair-0589783b/X.com/Twitter: https://x.com/homeFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TogetherForTheCommonGoodUKInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/t4cg_insta/ Get full access to Leaving Egypt at leavingegyptpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

In a change-up from previous episodes, Jenny Sinclair interviews her Leaving Egypt co-host Al Roxburgh. Al shares about his journey, first, as a Baptist minister who knew how to renew and grow churches and, later, as a consultant on making churches “missional”. He talks about the significance of Lesslie Newbigin in launching a change in his thinking thirty years ago, a prompt that set him on a journey of reframing his understanding of God’s agency in the context of modernity. Changes in Al’s thinking and practice have continued over the last ten years—with an emerging clarity that we are living through a change of era. Amid signs of unravelling across the West, he has been drawn to engage with conversation partners around the relationship between church and society. This led him to revisit Catholic thinkers who examine political economy through the lens of the gospel, especially as the impact of economic systems on human flourishing became increasingly serious. Al describes how the Spirit has pushed him outward—away from a church-centric posture and toward a deeper awareness of God at work in the world, particularly in the local. His advice now for church leaders is not to focus on what makes the church work, but on what is going on among people in the places where they live. Through practices of discerning, dwelling, and listening, he urges us all to ask: What does it mean to be God’s people here, in this neighbourhood?For Alan J Roxburgh:http://alanroxburgh.com/aboutFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/alan.roxburgh.127/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecommonsnetworkBooksForming Communities of Hope in the Great Unraveling: Leadership in a Changing World (with Roy Searle)Practices for the Refounding of God’s People: The Missional Challenge of the West (with Martin Robinson)Joining God in the Great UnravelingLeadership, God’s Agency and DisruptionsJoining God, Remaking Church, Changing the World: The New Shape of the Church in Our TimeAlso mentioned in this episode:Paul Weston Humble Confidence: Lesslie Newbigin and the Logic of MissionTim Rogan The Moral Economists: R. H. Tawney, Karl Polanyi, E. P. Thompson, and the Critique of CapitalismAlan Seligman Modernity’s Wager: Authority, the Self, and TranscendenceAlso referred to were these Catholic thinkers: Augusto Del Noce The Crisis of ModernityLuigino Bruni Civil EconomyWilliam T Cavanaugh Field Hospital and The Uses of IdolatoryRocco Buttiglioni Modernity’s AlternativeFor Jenny Sinclair:Website: https://togetherforthecommongood.co.uk/from-jenny-sinclairLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-sinclair-0589783b/Twitter: https://twitter.com/T4CGFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TogetherForTheCommonGoodUKInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/t4cg_insta/ Get full access to Leaving Egypt at leavingegyptpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair talk with Bishop Philip North about cultivating communities of God’s people in Blackburn in the North West of England. We encounter a leader responsible for shaping the life of the institutional church with a remarkable incarnational imagination. Bishop Philip’s journey has taught him the fundamental importance of listening to poor and working class communities and the imperative of going deeply local. He knows that this is how Christian life is lived vividly as a sign of love and justice on the ground. His passion for people and place is striking, as is his clear sense of calling to servant leadership. His simple desire is to form a people who are deeply invested in their local communities and liberated through being in love with Jesus. Rather than leading with strategies from the top, he understands that power must be shared and delights in empowering unlikely local people to lead. This is an encouraging witness to the ways in which the church can shine forth the wonder of Christ.Philip North is the Bishop of Blackburn in the Anglican Diocese which serves most of the county of Lancashire in the UK. He began ministry in the Diocese of Durham, serving outer estates Parishes in Sunderland and Hartlepool, and then spent six years ministering to pilgrims to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham as Priest Administrator. He returned to parochial ministry as Team Rector of the Parish of Old St Pancras, serving a large area of North-west London around Camden Town. He was consecrated Bishop of Burnley in February 2015 and translated to the See of Blackburn in 2023. He has a strong interest in issues around poverty and social justice and in the vitality of the urban church. He is a member of the Company of Mission Priests, a dispersed community who live to a rule in order to focus their lives on the mission of the church, especially amongst the poor.LinksFor Bishop Philip:https://www.blackburn.anglican.org/bishop-philiphttps://togetherforthecommongood.co.uk/uncategorised/no-repentance-no-renewalhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b04cffq1For Alan J Roxburgh:http://alanroxburgh.com/aboutFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/alan.roxburgh.127/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecommonsnetworkBooksForming Communities of Hope in the Great Unraveling: Leadership in a Changing World (with Roy Searle)Joining God in the Great UnravelingLeadership, God’s Agency and DisruptionsJoining God, Remaking Church, Changing the World: The New Shape of the Church in Our TimeFor Jenny Sinclair:Website: https://togetherforthecommongood.co.uk/from-jenny-sinclairLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-sinclair-0589783b/Twitter: https://twitter.com/T4CGFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TogetherForTheCommonGoodUKInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/t4cg_insta/ Get full access to Leaving Egypt at leavingegyptpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair talk with Jide Ehizele, a South London writer and thinker reflecting on the cultural and spiritual landscape of modern Britain. Formed by a lifelong encounter with Jesus, Jide is compelled to articulate a new moral imagination grounded in local community. A child of Nigerian immigrants whose lives were shaped in the deeply sacramental ways of African spirituality, Jide was given through them the gift of asking questions many of us would never imagine. He needed to understand, for example, how British institutional Christianity could “fit” into the spirituality within which his parents had been formed. In that kind of questioning it became clear to him that the relational aspect of life with God and with others was fundamental. This emphasis on relationality not only reflects the theology woven through his writing but also drives his work with children and young adults who are searching for purpose in a disintegrating society. His approach is undergirded by a spirit of self-sacrifice, bringing people together in mutual accountability to discover something bigger than themselves, revealing the nature of God and the spirituality of the sacred.Jide Ehizele is a Christian thinker and writer focusing on faith, identity and cultural renewal. In his Substack, Southeast London Psalms, Jide wrestles with faith, politics and community from the perspective of a Black British Christian living in modern Britain. Jide is an active member of St Peter's Church, Brockley, leading theology workshops and volunteering with children’s ministry. The son of Nigerian parents, Jide was born and bred in Lewisham, Southeast London, and his day job is as a specialist consultant in the economics and planning of railway operations.LinksFor Jide Ehizele:https://x.com/OBEhizelehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jide-ehizele-ab28785b/https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2025/07/the-new-racism-of-the-british-righthttps://substack.com/home/post/p-168224782For Alan J Roxburgh:http://alanroxburgh.com/aboutFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/alan.roxburgh.127/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecommonsnetworkBooksForming Communities of Hope in the Great Unraveling: Leadership in a Changing World(with Roy Searle)Joining God in the Great UnravelingLeadership, God’s Agency and DisruptionsJoining God, Remaking Church, Changing the World: The New Shape of the Church in Our TimeFor Jenny Sinclair:Website: https://togetherforthecommongood.co.uk/from-jenny-sinclairLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-sinclair-0589783b/Twitter: https://twitter.com/T4CGFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TogetherForTheCommonGoodUKInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/t4cg_insta/ Get full access to Leaving Egypt at leavingegyptpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

​​In this episode, Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair talk with Luke Bretherton about the vocation of the church within the grounded, everyday realities of the local. Luke brings a rare breadth of learning to dilemmas so many are wrestling with, from the shaping of congregational life to how our common life became so atrophied and objectified in contemporary culture. Framing these big questions in ways that land in the ordinary, Luke explores memory, inheritance and place, and, unpacking the ancient democratic practices of the commons, he shows how these very commons became enclosed. Digging down into the impact of these trends, not only the loss of local power but also the crisis of institutional imagination in many churches, we explore what kinds of leadership and structures are needed to recover agency and to reimagine mission. This is a hope-filled engagement with how the Holy Spirit is calling God’s people on the ground into a story of civic and spiritual renewal. Along the way, we discover that “love fully realised” is not about providing services, nor about freedom of choice, but looks and tastes like communion.Luke Bretherton is Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at Christ Church, Oxford, where he also directs the McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Life. Luke is also a Canon of Christ Church Cathedral and has duties as a Church of England priest. Until 2024 he was the Robert E. Cushman Distinguished Professor of Moral and Political Theology at Duke University in America. He has also been Visiting Professor at St Mellitus Theological College, London. Alongside his work as a theologian, Luke has long been involved in community organising and practical collaborations with churches, charities and mission agencies. He has written many books, most recently A Primer in Christian Ethics and Christ and the Common Life, and he hosts the podcast Listen! Organize! Act!LinksFor Luke Bretherton:https://www.theology.ox.ac.uk/people/rev-canon-professor-luke-brethertonhttps://x.com/WestLondonManPodcast: Listen, Organize, Act! Organizing & Democratic PoliticsBooks:A Primer in Christian Ethics: Christ and the Struggle to Live WellChristianity and Contemporary Politics: The Conditions and Possibilities of Faithful WitnessChrist and the Common Life: Political Theology and the Case for DemocracyHospitality as Holiness: Christian Witness Amid Moral DiversityFor Alan J Roxburgh:http://alanroxburgh.com/aboutFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/alan.roxburgh.127/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecommonsnetworkBooksForming Communities of Hope in the Great Unraveling: Leadership in a Changing World (with Roy Searle)Joining God in the Great UnravelingLeadership, God’s Agency and DisruptionsJoining God, Remaking Church, Changing the World: The New Shape of the Church in Our TimeFor Jenny Sinclair:Website: https://togetherforthecommongood.co.uk/from-jenny-sinclairLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-sinclair-0589783b/Twitter: https://twitter.com/T4CGFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TogetherForTheCommonGoodUKInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/t4cg_insta/ Get full access to Leaving Egypt at leavingegyptpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair meet Angie Allgood, a social worker whose family roots in the Bonny Downs community shaped her vocation. Her family's generational faith taught her to see Jesus as a friend. Together with the East End tradition of extended family living, this fostered a passion for working with young people and others struggling with life. A moment of transformation came when she was led by the Spirit, through Isaiah 58, to give up statutory social work and focus on those in need within her own community. It was then that she learned from a homeless man about the “proper” way to help: rather than material provision or doing for, real healing comes through belonging and purpose. NewWay, a charity with a distinctive approach, then emerged. The “new way” involves a commitment to mutuality and accountability and a readiness to be vulnerable rather than transactional. Angie describes this as the purest and most authentic form of church. Angie isn’t a theologian, hasn’t been to seminary and isn’t ordained. She simply followed the Spirit.Angie Allgood is the fourth of six generations to live in the same few streets of East Ham, in Newham, East London, UK. Angie has been a social worker for over 35 years, has founded two local charities and pioneered many community activities. Her current role is as the Director of a small local Newham charity she co-founded: NEWway supports single adults affected by homelessness, providing purpose, belonging and safety, joining with churches of all traditions and the people of Newham to restore lives affected by homelessness.LinksFor Angie Allgood:https://newwayproject.org/https://www.linkedin.com/in/angie-allgood-535732164/?originalSubdomain=ukFor Alan J Roxburgh:http://alanroxburgh.com/aboutFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/alan.roxburgh.127/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecommonsnetworkBooksForming Communities of Hope in the Great Unraveling: Leadership in a Changing World (with Roy Searle)Joining God in the Great UnravelingLeadership, God’s Agency and DisruptionsJoining God, Remaking Church, Changing the World: The New Shape of the Church in Our TimeFor Jenny Sinclair:Website: https://togetherforthecommongood.co.uk/from-jenny-sinclairLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-sinclair-0589783b/Twitter: https://twitter.com/T4CGFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TogetherForTheCommonGoodUKInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/t4cg_insta/ Get full access to Leaving Egypt at leavingegyptpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair talk with Reuben Slife about the challenges of Christian life within the realities of late modernity. Growing up in America’s Deep South and beginning in the United Methodist Church tradition, Reuben planned to teach theatre. However, his path took him, via GK Chesterton and the plays of the late St John Paul II, into full communion with the Catholic Church and to life in Steubenville, Ohio, a small town in the American Rust Belt. Reuben finds himself living within an emerging community of Catholic families drawn to building a Christian life together. Reflecting on the dynamics within the town, he describes his experience, both as a Catholic and through his work as an editor of political theology. Reuben explores both the creativity and the tensions around forming Christian life in the midst of a modern Egypt, recognising its harsh categories of self, the state and the market. Drawing on ways of thinking gifted to us from outside the modern West, Reuben is devoted to bringing forward traditions that were vital before the birth of the modern.Reuben Slife is the editor of New Polity Press, in Steubenville, Ohio. New Polity publishes essays, books and podcasts and is a think tank for political theology, dedicated to cultivating the Catholic tradition and fostering a movement to resist the cultural and political trends of the liberal state. Reuben edited and oversaw the translation of Rocco Buttiglione’s Modernity’s Alternative, on Latin America’s “theology of peoples” [teología del pueblo], and currently is working on America in the Mystery of Christ and the Church by David L. Schindler. LinksFor Reuben Slife:https://newpolity.com/presshttps://newpolity.com/https://newpolity.com/podcastshttps://newpolity.com/magazineBooks mentioned in this episode:Modernity's Alternative: How History Is Formed in the Depths of the Peoples by Rocco Buttiglione (Steubenville, OH: New Polity Press, 2025)The Church Against the State: on Subsidiarity and Sovereignty by Andrew Willard Jones (Steubenville, OH: New Polity Press, 2025)America in the Mystery of Christ and the Church by David L. Schindler, edited and with an introduction by Reuben Slife (Steubenville, OH: New Polity Press, forthcoming)For Alan J Roxburgh:http://alanroxburgh.com/aboutFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/alan.roxburgh.127/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecommonsnetworkBooksForming Communities of Hope in the Great Unraveling: Leadership in a Changing World (with Roy Searle)Joining God in the Great UnravelingLeadership, God’s Agency and DisruptionsJoining God, Remaking Church, Changing the World: The New Shape of the Church in Our TimeFor Jenny Sinclair:Website: https://togetherforthecommongood.co.uk/from-jenny-sinclairLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-sinclair-0589783b/Twitter: https://twitter.com/T4CGFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TogetherForTheCommonGoodUKInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/t4cg_insta/ Get full access to Leaving Egypt at leavingegyptpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair meet again with Avril Baigent. In an earlier episode (#05) of Leaving Egypt, Al and Jenny discovered Avril’s involvement with the movement known as Synodality. This is a process initiated by the late Pope Francis across the Catholic Church, enabling Catholics at all levels of the Church to come together in processes of listening to one another and to the Holy Spirit. Centred on an ancient method called “Conversation in the Spirit”, Synodality is slowly enabling fresh spaces within the Church for discerning how the Spirit is calling us to join with God. Sharing real stories of deep transformation through her own experience of this global movement, Avril is clear that this process is no “add water and stir” quick fix for ailing parishes. It takes time. This process takes us deep into encounter with one another and has the potential to resolve difficult decisions, overcome power imbalances and resolve painful conflict. And not only within the Church, it also takes us into deep, listening relationships with the people in our neighbourhoods and local communities. It is in these engagements that discernment emerges as we hear the Spirit through the other.Avril Baigent is co-director of the School for Synodality where she promotes the ancient Catholic practice of 'walking together with the Holy Spirit’. In addition, as Director of Pastoral Development at the Diocese of Northampton, she is embedding synodality in the life of the diocese, promoting lay vocations and helping local Catholic communities to imagine their futures together. Avril has also recently completed her PhD youth ministry at Durham University, and helps out in her parish as a musician and children’s liturgy leader.We hope that you are enjoying Leaving Egypt. We would invite you to join the Leaving Egypt community on Substack by becoming a paid subscriber: https://leavingegyptpodcast.substack.com/subscribeLinksFor Avril Baigent:https://www.schoolforsynodality.org.uk/https://pastoralministryoffice.org/home-copy/staff/https://northamptondiocese.org/chaplaincy/https://www.linkedin.com/in/avrilbaigent/?originalSubdomain=ukFor Alan J Roxburgh:http://alanroxburgh.com/aboutFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/alan.roxburgh.127/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecommonsnetworkBooksForming Communities of Hope in the Great Unraveling: Leadership in a Changing World (with Roy Searle)Joining God in the Great UnravelingLeadership, God’s Agency and DisruptionsJoining God, Remaking Church, Changing the World: The New Shape of the Church in Our TimeFor Jenny Sinclair:Website: https://togetherforthecommongood.co.uk/from-jenny-sinclairLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-sinclair-0589783b/Twitter: https://twitter.com/T4CGFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TogetherForTheCommonGoodUKInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/t4cg_insta/ Get full access to Leaving Egypt at leavingegyptpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair talk with Susannah Black Roberts about the need for a new Christian humanism. Susannah is a journalist and an editor whose imagination is shaped by her life in New York City. With infectious curiosity she guides us to ask questions about what it means to be human and proposes we respond, in the growing shadow of AI, by making and doing rather than consuming. From Aristotle to Aquinas, from CS Lewis to Alasdair McIntyre and Tim Keller, Susannah’s influences lead her to resist modernity’s dehumanising tendencies with simple human practices that can easily be lived out, even in the big city. At the heart of her spiritual imagination is the creativity of God’s relational life, present in us as we participate in creation for the common good, rooted in praise and worship as communities of blessing.Susannah Black Roberts is Senior Editor at the international magazine Plough Quarterly and an editor at Mere Orthodoxy and has written for many publications including First Things, Front Porch Republic, and The American Conservative. A native Manhattanite married to an Englishman, she lives between New York and the West Midlands in the UK.Our work is only possible with your support. Please consider upgrading to a paid subscription to enable us to continue with the podcast.LinksFor Susannah Black Roberts:https://www.plough.com/en/authors/qr/susannah-black-robertshttps://mereorthodoxy.com/author/susannah-blackhttps://x.com/suzania?lang=enFor Alan J Roxburgh:http://alanroxburgh.com/abouthttps://www.themissionalnetwork.com/author/alan-roxburgh/https://journalofmissionalpractice.com/alan-roxburghTwitter: https://twitter.com/alanjroxburgh?lang=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/alan.roxburgh.127/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecommonsnetworkBooksJoining God in the Great UnravelingLeadership, God’s Agency and DisruptionsJoining God, Remaking Church, Changing the World: The New Shape of the Church in Our TimeFor Jenny Sinclair:Website: https://togetherforthecommongood.co.uk/from-jenny-sinclairLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-sinclair-0589783b/Twitter: https://twitter.com/T4CGFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TogetherForTheCommonGoodUKInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/t4cg_insta/ Get full access to Leaving Egypt at leavingegyptpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair talk with Jo Gilbert about discipleship and parish life in a fast-changing city. Jo works within a large and dynamic church community, and with students across the city, creating opportunities for formation, community events and local civic partnerships. Jo was raised as part of a Benedictine lay community and this, along with her other gifts, brings an openness to the Spirit into the life of the local church. The vitality and witness of this parish and their growing connections into the city are striking, not least their humility as they learn to walk with young adults for whom Christianity may be new. This is a conversation full of life and insight into living out the Gospel in community.Jo Gilbert is part of the leadership team at East Brighton Catholic Parish, a group of churches in the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton on the south coast of England. Made up of clergy and laity, the team is focused on serving the communities of a growing city with a shifting demographic and a large student population. Jo is also co-ordinator of the Catholic Student Ministry Team serving Brighton and Sussex universities and has worked with students and young adults for 20 years.Our work is only possible with your support. Please consider upgrading to a paid subscription to enable us to continue with the podcast.LinksFor Jo Gilbert:https://www.eastbrightoncatholic.org.uk/leadership-teamhttps://www.facebook.com/StJosephsBrighton/?locale=en_GBhttps://www.eastbrightoncatholic.org.uk/catholic-student-and-young-adults-grouphttps://catholicstudents.org/about/For Alan J Roxburgh:http://alanroxburgh.com/abouthttps://www.themissionalnetwork.com/author/alan-roxburgh/https://journalofmissionalpractice.com/alan-roxburghTwitter: https://twitter.com/alanjroxburgh?lang=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/alan.roxburgh.127/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecommonsnetworkBooksForming Communities of Hope in the Great Unraveling: Leadership in a Changing World (with Roy Searle)Joining God in the Great UnravelingLeadership, God’s Agency and DisruptionsJoining God, Remaking Church, Changing the World: The New Shape of the Church in Our TimeFor Jenny Sinclair:Website: https://togetherforthecommongood.co.uk/from-jenny-sinclairLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-sinclair-0589783b/Twitter: https://twitter.com/T4CGFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TogetherForTheCommonGoodUK Get full access to Leaving Egypt at leavingegyptpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair talk with Rodney Clapp about the state of Christian life in a time of profound change. Exploring what it means for Christians to live as witnesses to the Gospel in a radically changing world, Rodney looks at the recent history of the Evangelical Church in America, and the longing for a Christian nationalism that reasserts control over the cultural narrative. Rodney offers a radically different set of proposals, of humble practices rooted in a Biblical imagination, that eschew power and the need for control. Rodney is driven by a passion to call churches to rediscover their life and mission by learning to live without power and control. He believes that it is by living out of control that we discern the ways of God and live in anticipation of a new creation - of a healed earth and of a healed people.Rodney Clapp is an author, editor and social commentator. He was a former columnist for The Christian Century as well as a longtime associate editor for Christianity Today. Until 1999 he was the senior editor for academic and general books at InterVarsity Press. He was also an editor with Brazos Press and is currently an editor with Wipf and Stock. His latest book is Living Out of Control, an extended proposal for how, in a post Christian context, Christian life ought to be shaped amidst declining empire and in an age of profound change.Our work is only possible with your support. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to enable us to continue with the podcast.LinksFor Rodney Clapp:https://wipfandstock.com/author/rodney-clapp/https://wipfandstock.com/contact-information/BooksFamilies at the Crossroads (1993) A Peculiar People (1996) The Consuming Passion (1998) Border Crossings (2000) The People of the Truth with Robert E. Webber (2001) Tortured Wonders (2006) Johnny Cash and the Great American Contradiction (2008) Naming Neoliberalism: Exposing the Spirit of Our Age (2021)Living Out of Control: Political & Personal Faith in Waning Christendom (2025)For Alan J Roxburgh:http://alanroxburgh.com/abouthttps://www.themissionalnetwork.com/author/alan-roxburgh/https://journalofmissionalpractice.com/alan-roxburghTwitter: https://twitter.com/alanjroxburgh?lang=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/alan.roxburgh.127/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecommonsnetworkBooksJoining God in the Great UnravelingLeadership, God’s Agency and Disruptions Joining God, Remaking Church, Changing the World: The New Shape of the Church in Our TimeFor Jenny Sinclair:Website: https://togetherforthecommongood.co.uk/from-jenny-sinclairLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-sinclair-0589783b/Twitter: https://twitter.com/T4CGFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TogetherForTheCommonGoodUKInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/t4cg_insta/ Get full access to Leaving Egypt at leavingegyptpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair talk with Samuel Luak about what it means to be human. Born in Sudan, as a teenager he was confronted with the horror of civil war and experienced the loss of family and the longing for revenge. It was in the midst of hate and death that he came to know the reconciling love of Jesus. Forced to leave his own country, as a refugee he made a new life in Finland and then in the UK. An African Christian living in the West, Samuel is infused with the wisdom of the “we”, bringing a grace-filled countercultural challenge to the individualism that captures the Western imagination. We see its impact: from “having coffee” and the loss of the shared meal to the complete abandonment of our fellow citizens. This is a man whose life exudes the grace of God, whose own journey into love for human beings shapes the ministry he is now leading: the rehumanizing, life-giving exchange between refugees and UK congregations.Samuel is the Leader for Refugee Integration and Discipleship programmes at Welcome Churches in the UK. Raised in the Presbyterian Church in Sudan, Samuel is now a Finnish citizen. A trained lawyer and theologian having studied in Sudan, Egypt, Lebanon, Finland and the UK, he is an ordained minister, and has served as a lecturer and a schoolteacher, as well as fulfilling roles at the Finnish Bible Society, and for the Church Commission for Migrants in Europe. Since moving to the UK in 2017, he has worked with refugees and attends Woodside Church in Bedford, where he is actively involved in intercultural ministry, promoting engagement between diverse communities.Our work is only possible with your support. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to enable us to continue with the podcast.LinksFor Samuel Luak:https://welcomechurches.org/https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuel-luak-413476133?originalSubdomain=ukhttps://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=869351222066791&id=100069757641603&set=a.284573637211222For Alan J Roxburgh:http://alanroxburgh.com/abouthttps://www.themissionalnetwork.com/author/alan-roxburgh/https://journalofmissionalpractice.com/alan-roxburghTwitter: https://twitter.com/alanjroxburgh?lang=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/alan.roxburgh.127/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecommonsnetworkBooksJoining God in the Great UnravelingLeadership, God’s Agency and DisruptionsJoining God, Remaking Church, Changing the World: The New Shape of the Church in Our TimeFor Jenny Sinclair:Website: https://togetherforthecommongood.co.uk/from-jenny-sinclairLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-sinclair-0589783b/Twitter: https://twitter.com/T4CGFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TogetherForTheCommonGoodUKInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/t4cg_insta/ Get full access to Leaving Egypt at leavingegyptpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Our work is only possible with your support. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to enable us to continue with the podcast.In this episode, Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair talk with Adrian Pabst. One of the big needs right now is the ability to comprehend this time of deep change unfolding across the West. Many people across the churches are struggling for some kind of foothold from which they can make sense of what is going on. Adrian provides that foothold, describing simply but profoundly the complexities that confront our societies. Both realistic and hopeful, he sets out a constructive pathway to renewal in terms of a common good political economy. He also proposes ways in which the local church can fulfil its role in this work of repair and rediscover its vocation. For Christians who wonder about what it means to be God’s people in this moment, Adrian offers wise guidance.Adrian Pabst is Honorary Professor of Politics at the University of Kent and Deputy Director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research. An acknowledged expert in Catholic Social Thought and political economy, he is one of the leading figures in the post liberal movement developing a new politics of the common good. He is the author of several books on this subject, including Post Liberal Politics: The Coming Era of Renewal, and The Politics of Virtue: Post liberalism and the Human Future which he co-authored with John Milbank.Links for Adrian Pabst:https://niesr.ac.uk/people/pabsthttps://www.kent.ac.uk/politics-international-relations/people/2270/pabst-adrianhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/adrian-pabst-4723385/?originalSubdomain=ukhttps://x.com/adrianpabst1?lang=enArticles and recordingshttps://www.newstatesman.com/author/adrian-pabstWhat is postliberalism now?https://togetherforthecommongood.co.uk/leading-thinkers/how-christian-is-postliberalismThe Political Economy and the Good Life: The 2024 Postliberalism Conference (videos)Books:Postliberal Politics: The Coming Era of RenewalThe Politics of Virtue: Post-Liberalism and the Human Future (co-authored with John Milbank)For Alan J Roxburgh:http://alanroxburgh.com/abouthttps://www.themissionalnetwork.com/author/alan-roxburgh/https://journalofmissionalpractice.com/alan-roxburghTwitter: https://twitter.com/alanjroxburgh?lang=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/alan.roxburgh.127/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecommonsnetworkBooksJoining God in the Great UnravelingLeadership, God’s Agency and DisruptionsJoining God, Remaking Church, Changing the World: The New Shape of the Church in Our TimeFor Jenny Sinclair:Website: https://togetherforthecommongood.co.uk/from-jenny-sinclairLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-sinclair-0589783b/Twitter: https://twitter.com/T4CGFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TogetherForTheCommonGoodUKInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/t4cg_insta/ Get full access to Leaving Egypt at leavingegyptpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Our work is only possible with your support. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to enable us to continue with the podcast.In this episode Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair talk with Bejoy Pal about the relational character of God’s love reflected in the Street pastor movement. Bejoy’s own journey into the Christian faith is a living witness to the value of giving encouragement to the young. His deep love for people has been shaped by being deeply loved in Christ by a series of wise and generous mentors throughout his life. In a time when the lack of community has created a vacuum, when the streets are unsafe, and as the young are tempted to focus on the self, Bejoy is focused on creating opportunities for intergenerational encounter that feel like family. Working across the pastor movements, Bejoy is helping volunteers connect with people in need of Christ-like love and care. His broader vision of the church is of a presence in local communities that brings the transformational message of Jesus’ Gospel through peace, hope, faith and love in concrete ways to those who need to see it, feel it, hear it and know it.Bejoy Pal is CEO of the Ascension Trust, a charity that leads the Street Pastor movement and other pastor movements in the UK. Driven by a vision of a united church, the Trust’s approach is ecumenical in practice, with a minimum of four denominations in any working group. Bejoy has been part of the team for nine years overseeing the schools and youth work within the organisation. As a Street Pastor and a School Pastor himself, Bejoy has been involved in youth work and ministry for many years as well as supporting missions and projects in Moldova and nations across East and West Africa. His spiritual home is Christchurch Purley in South London, where he has been connecting with young people and the local community for over 20 years.LINKSFor Bejoy Pal:Website: www.ascensiontrust.org.ukX - @ascensiontrustFacebook/Meta: https://www.facebook.com/ascensiontrustInstagram: @ascensiontrustofficialYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AscensionTrustFor Alan J Roxburgh:http://alanroxburgh.com/abouthttps://www.themissionalnetwork.com/author/alan-roxburgh/https://journalofmissionalpractice.com/alan-roxburghTwitter: https://twitter.com/alanjroxburgh?lang=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/alan.roxburgh.127/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecommonsnetworkJoining God in the Great UnravelingLeadership, God’s Agency and DisruptionsJoining God, Remaking Church, Changing the World: The New Shape of the Church in Our TimeFor Jenny Sinclair:Website: https://togetherforthecommongood.co.uk/from-jenny-sinclairLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-sinclair-0589783b/Twitter: https://twitter.com/T4CGFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TogetherForTheCommonGoodUKInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/t4cg_insta/ Get full access to Leaving Egypt at leavingegyptpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Our work is only possible with your support. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to enable us to continue with the podcast.In this episode Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair talk with Sally Gaze. Sally is a creative leader in the midst of a church shaped by tradition, wrestling with the question of how to discern God’s directions, particularly in the rural context. Sally describes how forms of mission-shaped life are emerging in the Suffolk countryside. Working with small groups of faithful Christians who are finding creative ways to connect deeply in their local communities, she is inspired by the natural rhythms and practices of farming and gardening, sensing that God is calling the rural church to go with the grain of the natural world.Sally is an Anglican priest, Archdeacon for Rural Mission in the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. Over the last six years, Sally has been Director of the Growing God in the Countryside project, funded by the Church of England Church Commissioners. As part of that she has helped to bring about the Lightwave Community, a charity that fosters small missional groups in rural areas. Over these years Sally has creatively engaged rural parishes in developing mission-shaped ministries. Formerly, Sally was Fresh Expressions Facilitator for the Diocese of Norwich and, in 2017, Dean for Rural Mission Consultancy in St Edmundsbury.LINKSFor Sally Gaze:Mission-shaped and Rural Growing Churches in the Countryside by Sally Gaze and Graham JamesCanon Gaze appointed first Archdeacon for Rural MissionInstallation of Sally Gaze as Archdeacon of Missionhttp://www.lightwave.communityFor Alan J Roxburgh:http://alanroxburgh.com/abouthttps://www.themissionalnetwork.com/author/alan-roxburgh/https://journalofmissionalpractice.com/alan-roxburghTwitter: https://twitter.com/alanjroxburgh?lang=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/alan.roxburgh.127/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecommonsnetworkJoining God in the Great UnravelingLeadership, God’s Agency and DisruptionsJoining God, Remaking Church, Changing the World: The New Shape of the Church in Our TimeFor Jenny Sinclair:Website: https://togetherforthecommongood.co.uk/from-jenny-sinclairLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-sinclair-0589783b/Twitter: https://twitter.com/T4CGFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TogetherForTheCommonGoodUKInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/t4cg_insta/ Get full access to Leaving Egypt at leavingegyptpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Our work is only possible with your support. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to enable us to continue with the podcast.In this episode Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair talk with Peter Aschoff, a teacher, academic and pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria. Peter currently serves a congregation in Nuremberg. For many years he wrestled with the question of how the Gospel communicates with those post war European generations who had become disconnected from the church. Peter was part of a network that established what came to be known as the “Emergent” church movement in Germany. Like its counterpart in North America, it sought to plant churches that could address those generations shaped by the postmodern turn in the West.However, having reflected on those experimental years and the changing nature of German society, and following his awakening to the great treasure of traditional Christian spirituality, Peter chose to seek ordination in the state Lutheran Church. In this episode Peter recounts the reasons for this decision, and why he sees ancient practices - in particular Jesuit spirituality - as sources of hope at a time of great unsettling across German society. Peter has a deep conviction about God’s agency in this liminal moment. He believes that in letting go of the defaults to power and management, and by forming small, local communities of hope shaped by contemplative practices, we can anticipate and point to God’s bringing forth new ways of being church.- Links -For Peter Aschoff:peter.aschoff@elkb.dehttps://www.peregrinatio.nethttps://wild-und-unaufhaltsam.deFor Alan J Roxburgh:http://alanroxburgh.com/abouthttps://www.themissionalnetwork.com/author/alan-roxburgh/https://journalofmissionalpractice.com/alan-roxburghTwitter: https://twitter.com/alanjroxburgh?lang=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/alan.roxburgh.127/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecommonsnetworkJoining God in the Great UnravelingLeadership, God’s Agency and DisruptionsJoining God, Remaking Church, Changing the World: The New Shape of the Church in Our TimeFor Jenny Sinclair:Website: https://togetherforthecommongood.co.uk/from-jenny-sinclairLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-sinclair-0589783b/Twitter: https://twitter.com/T4CGFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TogetherForTheCommonGoodUKInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/t4cg_insta/ Get full access to Leaving Egypt at leavingegyptpodcast.substack.com/subscribe