Deeper and Wider

Another sermon from 2019, a week after Resurrection Sunday. 

Releasing an 'off season' episode of a sermon delivered in 2019, called Grief and the Resurrection. Enjoy. 

It's been a while since we have spoke- so I thought I'd give you an update on the show, including some significant changes and also a new posture to the show overall... 

We are exploring the intersection of comedy and faith, so we'll be speaking Father Chris Bedding. Father Chris is an Anglican priest, artist, and activist. He serves in a parish in the Perth hills, and has also served as an age care chaplain. However, he is also one half of a comedy duo known as Pirate Church. It's a comedy show about religion...And pirates.  needless to say, I thought you would be the perfect candidate to talk to about faith and comedy.   To find out more about Father Chris, follow him on social media @chrisbedding (IG and Facebook) and @FrChrisBeddinf (Twitter).  

In this weeks episode we talk with Karina Kreminski on urban mission and urban spirituality.   Rev. Dr Karina Kreminski has worked in the fields of English teaching and journalism, and has also been a Senior Minister in the Church. She has a doctorate in missional formation, teaches at Morling College in Sydney, and also writes and blogs about spirituality, mission and theology. Karina has also authored a book called “Urban Spirituality: Embodying God's Mission in the Neighborhood”. She loves forming people for leadership and speaks regularly at churches and conferences on neighbourhood and community mission and activism. Her and her husband live in Surry Hills, an inner city village in Sydney, where they are committed to loving their local neighbourhood and seeing it flourish- working with the neighbourhood to bring about peace, justice and mercy in the ecology of the neighbourhood through Spirit-inspired relationships and initiatives.   To find out more about Karina and the work her and her husband do, then visit www.neighbourhoodmatters.com.au   

After a hiatus, I am finally releasing some episodes of Deeper & Wider! And for this episode, we are exploring the music act of worship by interviewing David Andrew.   Composer, Artist, Producer, Full Tilt Existentialist, and collaborator/producer with Gang of Youths, and sideman with Charlie Collins, and Joji Malani's (formerly Gang of Youths, now Founder of Broth Records) upcoming project, “Pae”. David has been creating contemplative piano works for the last few years as a response to the break-neck pace of modern existence. His newest project is a post-classical dance exploration, taking where he's been and directing it into a club at 3am, aiding people's return from the peak of the night, with cinematic clouds of sound and beats that make the body move on its way back down.   The interview itself was one heck of a rise! Check it out, and also check out David on Spotify at: https://open.spotify.com/artist/44nxpJ4QALHoSoUFpWiIQc?si=bJzSmPOnSQmmiwxWSB13mA    

In this weeks episode we talk with Shane Claiborne on intentional community living, especially in light of the Simple Way, which is a non-profit intentional community in Philadelphia. Current activities of The Simple Way include planting gardens, running a store, and working for food security in the neighbourhood as they seek to emulate Jesus.\nShane Claiborne is a prominent speaker, activist, and best-selling author. Shane worked with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, and founded The Simple Way in Philadelphia. He heads up Red Letter Christians, a movement of folks who are committed to living \"as if Jesus meant the things he said.\" Shane is a champion for grace which has led him to jail advocating for the homeless, and to places like Iraq and Afghanistan to stand against war. Now grace fuels his passion to end the death penalty and help stop gun violence. Shane’s books include Jesus for President, Red Letter Revolution, Common Prayer, Follow Me to Freedom, Jesus, Bombs and Ice Cream, Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers, Executing Grace, his classic The Irresistible Revolution, and his newest book, Beating Guns. His books have been translated into more than a dozen languages. Shane speaks over one hundred times a year, nationally and internationally. His work has appeared in Esquire, SPIN, Christianity Today, TIME, and The Wall Street Journal, and he has been on everything from Fox News and Al Jazeera to CNN and NPR. He’s given academic lectures at Harvard, Princeton, Liberty, Duke, and Notre Dame.\nTo find out more about Shane and his work, check out his website at http://www.shaneclaiborne.com/ or follow him on either Facebook or Twitter @ShaneClaiborne. Follow the work of The Simple Way on either Facebook or Twitter @TheSimpleWay or on Instagram at @the_simple_way. Check out their website at www.thesimpleway.org

In this weeks episode we talk with Shane Claiborne on intentional community living, especially in light of the Simple Way, which is a non-profit intentional community in Philadelphia. Current activities of The Simple Way include planting gardens, running a store, and working for food security in the neighbourhood as they seek to emulate Jesus. Shane Claiborne is a prominent speaker, activist, and best-selling author. Shane worked with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, and founded The Simple Way in Philadelphia. He heads up Red Letter Christians, a movement of folks who are committed to living "as if Jesus meant the things he said." Shane is a champion for grace which has led him to jail advocating for the homeless, and to places like Iraq and Afghanistan to stand against war. Now grace fuels his passion to end the death penalty and help stop gun violence. Shane’s books include Jesus for President, Red Letter Revolution, Common Prayer, Follow Me to Freedom, Jesus, Bombs and Ice Cream, Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers, Executing Grace, his classic The Irresistible Revolution, and his newest book, Beating Guns. His books have been translated into more than a dozen languages. Shane speaks over one hundred times a year, nationally and internationally. His work has appeared in Esquire, SPIN, Christianity Today, TIME, and The Wall Street Journal, and he has been on everything from Fox News and Al Jazeera to CNN and NPR. He’s given academic lectures at Harvard, Princeton, Liberty, Duke, and Notre Dame. To find out more about Shane and his work, check out his website at http://www.shaneclaiborne.com/ or follow him on either Facebook or Twitter @ShaneClaiborne. Follow the work of The Simple Way on either Facebook or Twitter @TheSimpleWay or on Instagram at @the_simple_way. Check out their website at www.thesimpleway.org

In this weeks episode we speak with Ched Myers on Sabbath economics. Not sure what Sabbath economics is? This is what this episode is about, as we seek to figure out an economics of the Kingdom of God.\nChed Myers is an activist theologian who has worked in social change movements for more than 40 years. With a degree in New Testament from the Graduate Theological Union, he is a popular educator, animating scripture and building literacy in and engagement with historic and current movements for peace and justice. His books include Binding the Strong Man: A Political Reading of Mark’s Story of Jesus (Orbis, 1988/2008); Watershed Discipleship: Reinhabiting Bioregional Faith and Practice (Cascade, 2016); and the forthcoming Healing Haunted Histories: A Settler Discipleship of Decolonization (with Enns, Elaine, Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2021). Ched’s publications can be found at http://www.ChedMyers.org. He and his partner Elaine Enns, a restorative justice practitioner, live in the Ventura River watershed in southern California, where they co-direct Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries http://www.bcm-net.org.

In this weeks episode we speak with Ched Myers on Sabbath economics. Not sure what Sabbath economics is? This is what this episode is about, as we seek to figure out an economics of the Kingdom of God. Ched Myers is an activist theologian who has worked in social change movements for more than 40 years. With a degree in New Testament from the Graduate Theological Union, he is a popular educator, animating scripture and building literacy in and engagement with historic and current movements for peace and justice. His books include Binding the Strong Man: A Political Reading of Mark’s Story of Jesus (Orbis, 1988/2008); Watershed Discipleship: Reinhabiting Bioregional Faith and Practice (Cascade, 2016); and the forthcoming Healing Haunted Histories: A Settler Discipleship of Decolonization (with Enns, Elaine, Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2021). Ched’s publications can be found at http://www.ChedMyers.org. He and his partner Elaine Enns, a restorative justice practitioner, live in the Ventura River watershed in southern California, where they co-direct Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries http://www.bcm-net.org.

In this weeks episode we speak with Professor Ellen Davis on how scripture speaks of the connection between our relationship with God and our relationship with the land, and the implications that has for today- especially in light of our current ecological crisis.\nProfessor Ellen Davis is Amos Ragan Kearns Professor of Bible and Practical Theology at Duke Divinity School. She’s the author of 11 books and many articles. Her books include Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture: An Agrarian Reading of the Bible, Biblical Prophecy: Perspectives for Christian Theology, Discipleship, and Ministry, and Wondrous Depth: Old Testament Preaching.\nIf you want to listen to her talk more on this topic then I encourage you to search her name on YouTube and watch her lectures. Also, her book Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture: An Agrarian Reading of the Bible speaks a lot into today’s topic.

In this weeks episode we speak with Professor Ellen Davis on how scripture speaks of the connection between our relationship with God and our relationship with the land, and the implications that has for today- especially in light of our current ecological crisis. Professor Ellen Davis is Amos Ragan Kearns Professor of Bible and Practical Theology at Duke Divinity School. She’s the author of 11 books and many articles. Her books include Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture: An Agrarian Reading of the Bible, Biblical Prophecy: Perspectives for Christian Theology, Discipleship, and Ministry, and Wondrous Depth: Old Testament Preaching. If you want to listen to her talk more on this topic then I encourage you to search her name on YouTube and watch her lectures. Also, her book Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture: An Agrarian Reading of the Bible speaks a lot into today’s topic.

In this weeks episode we will be speaking with Aaron Niequist on having A Practiced Based Faith.\nAaron is a liturgist, writer, and pastor currently living in NYC. After leading worship at Mars Hill Church and Willow Creek Church, he created A New Liturgy- a collection of modern liturgical worship recordings. Shortly after, Aaron started a discipleship-focused, formational, ecumenical, practice-based community at Willow Creek called The Practice. In 2018, he released a book about a practice-based faith called The Eternal Current: How a Practice-Based Faith Can Save Us from Drowning, and he continues to create resources to help us all flesh it out, including his podcast The Eternal Current Podcast.\nTo find out more about his work, follow Aaron on Facebook or on Twitter or Instagram @aaronieq. Also, check out his podcast The Eternal Current Podcast, as well as his liturgies at https://www.anewliturgy.com/

In this weeks episode we will be speaking with Aaron Niequist on having A Practiced Based Faith. Aaron is a liturgist, writer, and pastor currently living in NYC. After leading worship at Mars Hill Church and Willow Creek Church, he created A New Liturgy- a collection of modern liturgical worship recordings. Shortly after, Aaron started a discipleship-focused, formational, ecumenical, practice-based community at Willow Creek called The Practice. In 2018, he released a book about a practice-based faith called The Eternal Current: How a Practice-Based Faith Can Save Us from Drowning, and he continues to create resources to help us all flesh it out, including his podcast The Eternal Current Podcast. To find out more about his work, follow Aaron on Facebook or on Twitter or Instagram @aaronieq. Also, check out his podcast The Eternal Current Podcast, as well as his liturgies at https://www.anewliturgy.com/

In this week episode we are speaking with Lisa Sharon Harper on decolonising the gospel in order to get back to the true gospel proclamation message, or what Lisa calls- and is also the name of her bestselling book- “The Very Good Gospel”. For some of our listeners, words such as “decolonising” might be new to you, or might even be something that sounds worrisome- and for other listeners this might sound like liberation. Regardless of your reaction, may I ask you to breathe deeply and trust me as we go into this episode and talk about The Very Good Gospel with Lisa Sharon Harper.Lisa Sharon Harper is the founder and president of Freedom Road, a ground breaking consulting group that crafts experiences that bring common understanding and common commitments that lead to common action toward a more just world. Lisa is a public theologian whose writing, speaking, activism and training has sparked and fed the fires of re-formation in the church from Ferguson and Charlottesville to South Africa, Brazil, Australia and Ireland. Lisa’s book, ​The Very Good Gospel​ was named 2016 “Book of the Year” and the Huffington Post identified Lisa as one of 50 Women Religious Leaders to Celebrate on International Women’s Day., or Instagram and Twitter @lisasharper. Also find her at her website at www.lisasharonharper.com. Also, check out the work of freedom road at https://freedomroad.us/.To find out more about Lisa, follow her on either Facebook athttps://www.facebook.com/lisasharonharper.page#TheVeryGoodGospel #TheGospel #DeclonizingChristianity

In this week episode we are speaking with Lisa Sharon Harper on decolonising the gospel in order to get back to the true gospel proclamation message, or what Lisa calls- and is also the name of her bestselling book- “The Very Good Gospel”. For some of our listeners, words such as “decolonising” might be new to you, or might even be something that sounds worrisome- and for other listeners this might sound like liberation. Regardless your reaction, may I ask you breathe deeply and trust me as we go into this episode and talk about The Very Good Gospel with Lisa Sharon Harper. Lisa Sharon Harper is the founder and president of Freedom Road, a ground breaking consulting group that crafts experiences that bring common understanding and common commitments that lead to common action toward a more just world. Lisa is a public theologian whose writing, speaking, activism and training has sparked and fed the fires of re-formation in the church from Ferguson and Charlottesville to South Africa, Brazil, Australia and Ireland. Lisa’s book, ​The Very Good Gospel​ was named 2016 “Book of the Year” and the Huffington Post identified Lisa as one of 50 Women Religious Leaders to Celebrate on International Women’s Day. To find out more about Lisa, follow her on either Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/lisasharonharper.page, or Instagram and Twitter @lisasharper. Also find her at her website at www.lisasharonharper.com. Also, check out the work of freedom road at https://freedomroad.us/.

In this weeks episode we are going to be talking about a sensitive topic: we are talking about Domestic family violence. Within this topic, we will address how the church has sometimes got their response wrong, and also where the church has done the right thing, and also how the church can do better. We will also be exploring how to navigate domestic family violence in light of faith in God. I do also talk about how things like forgiveness and verses like “turn the other cheek” have been weaponised, and how we might understand such topics and verses in light of Domestic Family Violence. In exploring these questions, I had this conversation with Erica Hamence.\nErica initially trained to be a human rights lawyer, with a BA/LLB from The University of Melbourne. But she found herself drawn to express the same desire for justice within the church. This eventually led her to ministry in Sydney. She is a senior assistant minister at St. Barnabas Anglican Church, Broadway (Barneys to everyone), where she mostly works to support and raise up leaders. She is also the spokesperson for Common Grace\'s Domestic and Family Violence Justice Team. The team works to highlight and address the problem of domestic and family violence within the church and within Australian society, and to provide resources and support to people who have experienced domestic and family violence, and those who love them. Common Grace is a movement of about 47,000 who love Jesus and justice.\nTo learn more about what Common Grace does in relation to seeking domestic and family violence justice, visit https://www.commongrace.org.au/domestic_violence. Also, check out https://www.saferresource.org.au/, which is a resource to help Australian churches understand, identify, and respond to domestic and family violence.\nIf today’s episode has prompted you to seek help in response todays episode topic, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or call the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800 737 732.

In this weeks episode we are going to be talking about a sensitive topic: we are talking about Domestic family violence. Within this topic, we will address how the church has sometimes got their response wrong, and also where the church has done the right thing, and also how the church can do better. We will also be exploring how to navigate domestic family violence in light of faith in God. I do also talk about how things like forgiveness and verses like “turn the other cheek” have been weaponised, and how we might understand such topics and verses in light of Domestic Family Violence. In exploring these questions, I had this conversation with Erica Hamence. Erica initially trained to be a human rights lawyer, with a BA/LLB from The University of Melbourne. But she found herself drawn to express the same desire for justice within the church. This eventually led her to ministry in Sydney. She is a senior assistant minister at St. Barnabas Anglican Church, Broadway (Barneys to everyone), where she mostly works to support and raise up leaders. She is also the spokesperson for Common Grace's Domestic and Family Violence Justice Team. The team works to highlight and address the problem of domestic and family violence within the church and within Australian society, and to provide resources and support to people who have experienced domestic and family violence, and those who love them. Common Grace is a movement of about 47,000 who love Jesus and justice. To learn more about what Common Grace does in relation to seeking domestic and family violence justice, visit https://www.commongrace.org.au/domestic_violence. Also, check out https://www.saferresource.org.au/, which is a resource to help Australian churches understand, identify, and respond to domestic and family violence. If today’s episode has prompted you to seek help in response todays episode topic, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or call the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800 737 732.

In this weeks episode will be talking about a more beautiful Pentecostalism with Jonathan Martin. Some people have had a complicated relationship with Pentecostalism, and yet, on the far side of these Pentecostal experiences the question is: is there a Pentecostalism that’s healthy & beautiful?\nJonathan Martin is the author of two critically acclaimed books, Prototype and How to Survive a Shipwreck, with a third book on the way. He has a podcast called The Zeitcast, where he has interviewed a wide variety of guests. Jonathan’s work and words have been featured in places like the New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, Newsweek, Vox, Sojourners, The Huffington Post, and Relevant Magazine, and he has published in scholarly journals, like The Journal of Pentecostal Theology. Currently, he lives in Oklahoma City, where he serves as the Lead Pastor of The Table. Finding God at the intersections, He moves fluidly between secular and religious contexts, between the academy and the Church, and between local churches with pipe organs, B-3 organs, and electric guitars. Wherever he goes- whether it be at church’s like Elevation Church, Willow Creek Community Church, or universities like Princeton Theological Seminary- the message is always the same: no matter who you are, where you’ve been, or what you’ve done—God is at work, to bring beauty out of your brokenness.\nTo follow the work of Jonathan Martin follow him on either Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/jonathanmartinonline), Instagram @jonathanamartin, or Twitter @theboyonthebike. Also check out the church he pastors at https://www.thetableokc.com/ and follow his podcast “The Zeitcast”.

In this weeks episode will be talking about a more beautiful Pentecostalism with Jonathan Martin. Some people have had a complicated relationship with Pentecostalism, and yet, on the far side of these Pentecostal experiences the question is: is there a Pentecostalism that’s healthy & beautiful? Jonathan Martin is the author of two critically acclaimed books, Prototype and How to Survive a Shipwreck, with a third book on the way. He has a podcast called The Zeitcast, where he has interviewed a wide variety of guests. Jonathan’s work and words have been featured in places like the New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, Newsweek, Vox, Sojourners, The Huffington Post, and Relevant Magazine, and he has published in scholarly journals, like The Journal of Pentecostal Theology. Currently, he lives in Oklahoma City, where he serves as the Lead Pastor of The Table. Finding God at the intersections, He moves fluidly between secular and religious contexts, between the academy and the Church, and between local churches with pipe organs, B-3 organs, and electric guitars. Wherever he goes- whether it be at church’s like Elevation Church, Willow Creek Community Church, or universities like Princeton Theological Seminary- the message is always the same: no matter who you are, where you’ve been, or what you’ve done—God is at work, to bring beauty out of your brokenness. To follow the work of Jonathan Martin follow him on either Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/jonathanmartinonline), Instagram @jonathanamartin, or Twitter @theboyonthebike. Also check out the church he pastors at https://www.thetableokc.com/ and follow his podcast “The Zeitcast”.