In All Things Podcast

STAYING in Evangelical Spaces with Dan Stringer (ep. 13)

On this episode of the podcast, we talk with Dan Stringer, a pastor and team leader for InterVarsity in Hawai'i. He is also the author of a new book, Struggling with Evangelicalism: Why I Want to Leave and What It Takes to Stay. Together we discuss:

• How Dan's background as a "third culture kid" who lived in five countries on three continents + being a part of 9 (!) different denominations gave him unique lenses to see evangelicalism's strengths and weaknesses. 
• How to define "evangelicalism," and the difference it makes when approaching evangelicalism as "brand" vs. a "space" 
• Four stages of struggling with evangelicalism: awareness, appreciation, repentance, and renewal
• What it means to make evangelical spaces "better than we found them."

Order from IVP: https://ivpress.com/struggling-with-evangelicalism 

Follow Dan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RevDanStringer (@RevDanStringer) 

TRANSLATING the First Nations NT with Terry Wildman (ep. 12)

On this episode of the podcast, we talk with Terry Wildman, founder of Rain ministries and head of the translation team for the First Nations Version, an indigenous translation of the New Testament that involved a council of 12 and over 50 representatives from the native peoples of North America.

See the website here: https://firstnationsversion.com/

Order from IVP: https://www.ivpress.com/first-nations-version 

My co-host for this episode is Dr. Gayle Doornbos, professor of theology at Dordt. Together we discuss:

• The story behind this indigenous translation of the New Testament and the many contributing scholars
• The history of colonialism and how the translation team handled English words with negative connotations for native peoples (e.g., sin, kingdom)
• The unique practice of translating names by what they mean, so that Jerusalem is rendered "Village of Peace" and Paul is "Small Man". 
• What it might mean for the larger body of Christ to receive this new translation as a gift from the native peoples of North America.

Terry also reads a beautiful passage of Scripture for us (from Hebrews 1).

Here is my written reflection on the translation (which I use in part to introduce the episode): https://inallthings.org/gained-in-translation-a-review-of-the-first-nations-version/

SHOUTIN’ in the Fire with Danté Stewart (ep. 11)

On this episode of the podcast, we talk with Danté Stewart about his new book, Shoutin' in the Fire, a memoir about being Black and Christian in America. My guest co-host is Dr. Howard Schaap, professor of English at Dordt. Together we discuss: 

• What it means to "shout in the fire," holding onto an honest, vulnerable, and resilient faith amidst pain, anger, and despair.
• How his sense of the gospel of Jesus has been clarified and complicated over the course of his journey.
• The importance of "keeping our eyes on the body" as we live in this world.
• Literary and theological sources for the Black prophetic imagination, and how Danté found his writing voice.

Here is a link to Howard Schaap's review at our online journal: https://inallthings.org/the-prophetic-and-black-and-pentecostal-voice-a-review-of-shoutin-in-the-fire/ 

As mentioned in the intro, Danté mentions no less than 30 authors, and we have pulled together a list below:

Books mentioned by Danté:

Jesmyn Ward, Men We Reaped

Kiese Laymon, Heavy

Imani Perry, Breathe: A Letter to My Sons

Sarah Broom, The Yellow House

Darnell L. Moore, No Ashes in the Fire

Viet Thanh Nguyen, Nothing Ever Dies

Shawn Copeland, Enfleshing Freedom

Austin Channing Brown, I’m Still Here

Saidiya Hartman, Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments

Steven King, On Writing

N.K. Jemisin, The City We Became (fiction)

Robert Jones, Jr., The Prophets (fiction)

Octavia Butler, The Parable of the Sower (fiction)

 

Articles mentioned by Danté:

Elizabeth Alexander, “The Travon Generation”

Imani Perry, “Racism Is Terrible. Blackness Is Not.”

 

Authors mentioned by Danté:

James Baldwin

Toni Morrison

Deesha Philyaw

Maurice Ruffin

Jason Reynolds

Nikki Giovanni

James Cone

Kevin Quashie

Ta-Nehisi Coates

Willie James Jennings

Ashon Crawley

Gwendolyn Brooks

Zora Neale Hurston

Elizabeth Alexander

June Jordan

Amiri Baraka

Terrion Williamson

WONDERING about Faith & Doubt with Elizabeth Hall (ep. 10)

On this episode of the podcast, we talk with psychologist and researcher Elizabeth Hall about the psychology of doubt. This episode is in response to Dr. Hall's article, "Teaching Students to Doubt Well: The Roles of Intellectual Humility and Uncertainty Tolerance" (published in spring 2021 issue of Christian Scholar's Review). My co-host for this episode is Dr. Channon Visscher, professor of chemistry and planetary science at Dordt. Some topics we discuss:

• What do we gain from paying attention to the psychological dimensions of doubt?
• How can we think of faith and doubt in a way that takes rational, intuitive, and relational knowing into account?
• What is "intellectual humility" and "uncertainty tolerance," and how do we develop these traits?
• What are some strategies and practices for helping people "doubt well"?

To read the article: https://christianscholars.com/teaching-students-to-doubt-well-the-roles-of-intellectual-humility-and-uncertainty-tolerance/

WORLDVIEWING around the Globe with Richard Mouw & Matthew Kaemingk (ep. 9)

On this episode of the podcast, we talk with theologians Richard Mouw and Matthew Kaemingk about a new book, edited by Matt and dedicated to Rich - Reformed Public Theology: A Global Vision for Life in the World (Baker Academic, 2021). The theme question of the episode: "why does theology matter for public life?" Some topics we discuss:

• What do you mean by "Reformed"? What is "public" theology? And what is the unique contribution of the Reformed tradition to public theology?
• In a book with 20+ authors of different nationalities, vocations, and denominations, what are the common threads these authors share?
• As we seek to live in a pluralistic world, how do we learn to listen genuinely and to speak gently, with firm conviction?
• What are some characteristic flaws or blind spots of the Reformed tradition that this book celebrates?
• What does Reformed public theology have to say when it comes to institutional power, institutional sin, and institutional reform?
• What does "every square inch" really mean? Why doesn't it mean Christians "taking over"?

If you'd like to read more, In All Things is hosting a four-part review of the book, which will be posted here as they become available:

Part One: https://inallthings.org/an-unlikely-story-a-review-of-reformed-public-theology/

Part Two: https://inallthings.org/neo-calvinism-for-the-nations-reviewing-part-2-3-of-reformed-public-theology/ 

Part Three: https://inallthings.org/the-academy-and-aesthetics-a-review-of-reformed-public-theology/ 

WINNING and What it Cost Us with Kristin Kobes Du Mez (ep. 8)

On this episode of the podcast, we talk with historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez about her NYT bestselling book Jesus and John Wayne (Liveright, 2020). The theme question of the episode: "what have we lost in our desire to win?" Some topics we discuss:

• What surprised Kristin in her research and in the book's reception
• Who is an evangelical? Who gets to say what is mainstream to evangelicalism and what is on the fringe?
• How "Reformed" communities who have traditionally been "evangelical adjacent" fit into the picture.
• What to do when we realize how much popular culture shapes Christian identity, and what it takes to resist, repent, and repair.
• Areas for further research (the need for ethnographic studies!) and where the conversation can go from here.

If you'd like to read more you can check out the In All Things review of Kristin's book (written by my guest co-host, Scott Culpepper): https://inallthings.org/what-has-jesus-to-do-with-john-wayne-a-review-of-jesus-and-john-wayne/ 

 

DYING and Embracing Mortality with J.Todd Billings (ep. 7)

On this episode of the podcast, we talk with J. Todd Billings, a theologian and author, about his book The End of the Christian Life (Brazos, 2020). Our theme question: what does it mean to embrace our mortality? Among the topics we discuss:

• On being immersed in the cancer community after a terminal cancer diagnosis
• How Western culture works to obscure the reality of our mortality 
• How we can live in the tension between our smallness and the grand calling to make/change culture
• On what a "good funeral" looks like and what the Christian hope actually is 
• How the Covid pandemic has brought our mortality (and denial) into sharper relief.

If you'd like to read more you can check out our review of the book (written by my guest co-host, Todd Zuidema) here: https://inallthings.org/memento-mori-a-review-of-the-end-of-the-christian-life/ 

JOINING and Celebrating Multiethnic Stories with Chandra Crane (ep. 6)

On this episode of the podcast, we talk with Chandra Crane, a writer and leader in multiethnic ministry initiatives, about her new book Mixed Blessing (InterVarsity Press, 2020). Our theme question: what does it mean to see, steward, and celebrate multi-ethnicity? Among the topics we discuss:

• How multiethnic (mixed) people process questions like "where are you from?" and "what are you?" 
• The blessing that mixed people are to the church and the world
• Ways to think about distinctions between ethnicity & race, "cultural appropriation" vs. "cultural appreciation", and cultural stereotypes vs. "cultural prototypes".
• Why it is important to talk about ethnicity as part of talking about our identity in Christ (and the identity of Christ!)

If you'd like to read more you can find an excerpt of Chandra's book here: https://inallthings.org/whole-people-wholly-reliant-on-jesus/ 

WORKING and Worshipping with Cory Willson (ep. 5)

On this episode of the podcast, we are joined by a guest host, Jeremy Perigo, and together we talk with Cory Willson about his new book (coauthored with Matthew Kaemingk) Work and Worship (Baker Academic). Our theme question: what does it mean to reconnect our worship to our work? Among the topics we discuss:

• If work and worship are meant to be connected, how did they get disconnected? What sort of theologies have fueled this divide, and how do we heal it? 
• Why is a focus on practices and rituals critical, rather than just having a good "theology of work"?
• How do we bring out work into the place of worship, and how do we bring worship into our place of work?
• Is there a hidden assumption that our work will always be meaningful and fulfilling? How do we include those whose experience of work is full of pain?
• How has the Covid-19 pandemic shifted our understanding of gathered worship and gathered work?

If you'd like to read our review of the biography, written by Dr. Jeremy Perigo, you can find that here: https://inallthings.org/whole-life-worship-a-review-of-work-and-worship/ 

REFORMING the Faith with James Eglinton (ep. 4)

On this episode of the podcast, we are joined by a guest host, Gayle Doornbos, and together we talk with James Eglinton about his new biography of Dutch theologian and polymath Herman Bavinck. Our theme question: what does it mean to live with a faith that is rooted in the past, yet responsive to the challenges and questions of the present? Among the topics we discuss:

• How we remember the past: the difference between "critical" and "commemorative" biography
• The relationship of the two monumental figures from the Dutch Calvinist tradition: Abraham Kuyper and Herman Bavinck
• How Bavinck might respond to the idea of "always reforming"
• How Bavinck managed to maintain friendship and to integrate so many voices across ideological virtues
• Why Bavinck was pessimistic about the future of Calvinism in America, and what he meant when he said, "Calvinism is not the only the truth."

If you'd like to read our review of the biography, written by Dr. David Westfall, you can find that here: https://inallthings.org/twin-poles-a-review-of-bavinck/

If you haven't yet gotten ahold of a copy of the biography, we are giving away three copies. You can enter the drawing by sharing or re-tweeting this episode; leaving a review of the podcast will get you three bonus entries! (tag us or let us know to make sure your name is included). Or you can follow this link: https://kingsumo.com/g/w0xegx/in-all-things-podcast-bavinck-giveaway

Thanks again for tuning in!

Twitter: @in_all_things