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.