Kuyper Collective

In this episode that he is dubbing "pop theology," Branson Parler has a conversation with his kids Eliana, Ruby, and Christian about their theology questions, including "Why doesn't God just kill Satan now?" and "Why doesn't God just replace evil people with new people, like when we break down our Legos and make something new?" and other deep questions (including ones about farts). 

In this episode, Chris Smith, Preston Sprinkle, and Branson Parler discuss Chris's book How the Body of Christ Talks: Recovering the Practice of Conversation in the Church. How can we as the church cultivate the spiritual discipline of conversation in a polarized world? What are obstacles to good conversation? What are the theological roots of conversation, and how can we develop this in our churches?

In this episode, we engage chapter 5 of From Lament to Advocacy, "Religious Education and Womanist Formation: Mothering and the Reinterpretation of Body Politics," by Nancy Lynne Westfield. Dr. Westfield is the director of the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion. 

In this episode, we discuss chapter 4, "Religious Education in Response to Black Lives Matter: A Case for Critical Pedagogy," by Joseph V. Crockett. Joseph V. Crockett is chief executive officer, Friendship Press, Inc., and an elder in the United Methodist Church. Crockett asks, "What is involved in the statement 'Black lives matter' and the protest-centered BLM movement? What can religious educators learn from public protest and BLM?" 

In this episode, we continue our book discussion of From Lament to Advocacy. We discuss chapter 3, "Religious Education and Communities of Learning and Practice: Inspiring Advocacy in Public Ministry," by Mary H. Young, director of leadership education, Association of Theological Schools in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

In this episode, we continue our discussion of the book From Lament to Advocacy with a discussion of chapter 2, "Religious Educators as Public Ministry Leaders," by Nathaniel D. West. Dr. West is chair of the master of arts in Christian education program at the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology, Virginia Union University, Richmond, Virginia. 

In this episode, we continue our series discussing the book From Lament to Advocacy: Black Religious Education and Public Ministry. Here, we discuss chapter one, Anne E. Streaty Wimberly's chapter entitled "Religious Education and Lament: Inviting Cries from the Heart, Guiding the Way Forward."

The Kuyper Collective is starting a new series engaging the book From Lament to Advocacy: Black Religious Education and Public Ministry, ed. Anne E Streaty Wimberly, Nathaniel D. West, and Annie Lockhart-Gilroy (Foundery Books, 2020). This book includes a chapter by Kuyper College Professor of Youth Ministry, Rev. Dr. Richelle White, which we'll discuss in due time. In this episode, we discuss the Preface and Introduction of the book. The conversation features Jeff Fisher, Marc Andreas, Libby Huizenga, and Michelle Norquist. 

In this episode, we talk about how interpreting literature in general and interpreting the Bible in particular are connected. How should we think about the task and challenge of interpreting well? 

In our view, the current model of seminary/ministry education does not serve the local church or individual pastors well. In this episode, we talk about what needs to change in ministry education in order to effectively serve the church and produce sustainable pastoral ministry. 

In this episode, Andrew and Branson discuss Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt's recent book The Coddling of the American Mind. This book provides helpful insight into parenting, education, psychology, and philosophy, with a view toward understanding why engaging differences of thought seems so difficult for many college students today. 

Should Christians carry guns in church? Should Christians be prepared to engage in force--perhaps lethal force--with an active shooter in church? In this episode, we weigh some of the theological questions and implications around guns in church.

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Dan Kroeze about preaching, including questions like "What is preaching?" and "How do we preach for transformation?" 

In this conversation, Jeff Fisher and Branson Parler discuss why we need a good theology of the Holy Spirit and dig into a few key components of what that theology should look like. 

In this episode, Andrew Zwart and Branson Parler discuss some of the key themes and takeaways from Charles Taylor's massive (and massively influential) A Secular Age.  

This episode is a presentation by Betsy DeVries, Kuyper alum and Ph.D. candidate in Theological Studies at the University of Toronto. Her talk focuses on how eschatology shapes our preaching. After her presentation, she is joined by three panelists: Dr. Dan Kroeze, professor of biblical studies at Kuyper, Ben Kampmeier, lead pastor at Corinth Reformed Church, and Libby Huizenga, M.Div., library specialist at Kuyper. 

This episode is from Kuyper College's annual Faculty and Alumni Scholar Day. The first half of the episode is a presentation by Brian Telzerow, professor of youth ministry, on relational ministry, and the second half is a panel discussion of Brian's presentation. Panelists are Dan Kregel (Executive Director - West Michigan Youth for Christ), Joe Carrel (Youth Pastor - Crossroads Church, Rockford, MI), and Javonna Allen (Academic Counselor - Calvin University). 

Dr. Jeff Fisher, Associate Professor of Theological Studies at Kuyper College, joins us to talk about spiritual formation, the importance of spiritually healthy leaders, and his chapter in a new book titled Trinity Without Hierarchy, edited by Michael Bird. 

A conversation with Dr. Dan Kroeze, Professor of Biblical Studies, about what makes the Gospel of John unique, relevant, and central to the Christian faith.