More Than Theology

The Church Life Survey was recently conducted to give an up-to-the-minute snapshot of the church in Aotearoa. One of the key findings? The church in NZ is ageing - and that’s an ominous sign for the future. One of the masterminds behind the survey, Peter Lineham, joins Richard to discuss what this means for the church now and in the future. Due to Lineham’s background in the Open Brethren Heritage movement, he digs deep into data especially relevant to those churches. 

Unless you've been living under a rock this year, no doubt you've heard the buzz about Artificial Intelligence. The sudden arrival of AI in the public consciousness signals a step into a brave new world. How should we navigate that world as followers of Jesus? Media and technology guru Stephen Garner joins Richard and co-host Aaron Hodgson to discuss the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

How do you revive a dying church? Richard's guest in this episode, Russell Grainger and his team took on a small, ageing congregation and helped it grow into a vibrant, healthy church. Find out from Russell's experience how an ailing church can be nurtured into a thriving church.

Were the early missionaries to New Zealand a positive or a negative for our country? Everyone agrees the missionaries were central to New Zealand's colonial history, but opinion about their legacy remains divided. Richard discusses this with historian Luke Goodwin by examining his original research into the life and relationships of Alfred Brown, missionary to Ngāti Hauā.

Have you ever had a sacred moment while watching a movie, almost like you were experiencing God? Our own faculty member Dr. Richard Goodwin has—and so he has written a book about it. In this episode, Grace Chamberlain interviews Richard about how we might encounter God through film, its imagery, and the emotions we feel in response. They discuss how we can receive divine revelation in surprising places...even in a movie theatre.

Has "internship" become a dirty word? With the recent media scrutiny of church-based internships, how can we run healthy internships? In this episode, Richard talks with pastor Isaac Pettersen from Crossroads Church in Palmerston North about how to run an effective, enriching internship programme, including how to recruit, mentor, and care for interns. With the right ethos and approach, a ministry internship can be a life-giving experience.

How can the church make a greater impact on the culture of Aotearoa New Zealand? In this episode, Richard interviews renowned religious historian Dr. Peter Lineham about his book Sunday Best, exploring how the church has shaped our national culture—and vice versa—as well as what lessons our history might teach us for how we influence society today.

How should we respond to a culture that is increasingly hostile towards the church? Richard talks with communications specialist Sophia Sinclair about resisting the impulse to adopt a warring or defensive posture, and instead learn to cultivate a winsome, appealing presence in our current context.

What are we talking about when we talk about worship? How do we align the musical techniques a band uses with the goal to empower our congregations to participate in sung worship? Rosie, our School of Worship Leading co-ordinator chats with Grant Norsworthy (More Than Music Mentor) about his story and thoughts around using music in worship.

Tucked away towards the end of the New Testament, 1 Peter is an easy book of the Bible to overlook. But 1 Peter also has major relevance to followers of Christ today. Former Pathways faculty member Jordan Chapman recently finished his doctoral thesis focusing on 1 Peter. Jordan has a deep knowledge of this important book and discusses with Richard how it can influence us in the present.

Few books of the Bible are as tricky to understand as Revelation—and yet our interpretations of this challenging book continue to have implications for how we follow Jesus in the present. In this podcast, Richard interviews NT scholar, and former Pathways faculty member, Jordan Chapman about how to read Revelation well. His views may be challenging, but will certainly be thought-provoking.

In the past few years, more and more churches have been gathering online - sometimes that has been our only way to connect as a community. Today, whether that’s preparing services curated for online, or streaming live services for those who cannot attend in person, leading worship online is re-shaping the role of a worship leader. How does gathering online impact the way we lead worship? How can we still encourage participation and create meaningful spaces for worship? Yvonne will be speaking into this as well as how to record and film songs for online services - and it gets better - she'll teach you how to do it on any budget.

Contemporary life often feels like an assault of appointments, deadlines, emails, social media, and headlines. Is it possible that this frenetic, crazy-making pace of life might be compromising our spiritual health? In this episode, Richard talks with Bible teacher Mark Forrest about developing a slower, more reflective rhythm of life and ways we can use that to make greater room for God.

Open Brethren churches have their own lexicon of traditional, old-timey words—like "assembly", "fellowship", and "meeting". But these old-school words often express ideas that are theologically rich and remarkably contemporary. In this episode, Richard interviews lifelong Open Brethren Bible teacher, Brian Goodwin, about these distinctive terms, what they tell us about these churches—and what they can teach us about following Jesus today.

Are we facing a crisis of character? In recent years, we've witnesseed leaders abroad, inside and outside the church, demonstrate an often remarkable lack of character—and, in many instances, ordinary believers being happy to cheer them on. It seems that virtue is in short supply. So how do we develop Christlike character? In this episode, Richard talks with veteran Bible teacher, pastor and missionary, Brian Goodwin, about cultivating the practices that gradually give rise to genuine, godly character.

The pandemic has forced churches to gather in homes. But what if that was our permanent way of "doing church"? Sarah and Nick Field, founders of "The Way" home church network, talk about home churches and the massive benefits they hold for discipleship, community and "everyday mission".

Join Ben, our Pathways Online Courses Manager as he talks about conversational evangelism with Dave Mann from the Shining Lights Trust.  

In this podcast, Dave reveals who his evangelism hero is, how to find freedom in evangelism, and some tips on how to approach evangelism in 2021 during a worldwide pandemic.  

Stay tuned to the end of the episode for a special giveaway.  

Helpful resources:  

https://alltogether.co.nz

Welcome to the More than Theology Podcast.

A warm welcome to Zoë Forrest as she discusses her journey as a Pākehā women seeking to engage with Maori better in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

#morethantheology #maori #pakeha

Join Rosie Devery our SOWL Co-ordinator and Chris Opie (Worship Development Coach Chase Oaks Church) as they talk about the role of invitation in our worship and much more.

Join Richard and Jeremy as they talk about innovation in the context of ministry.

Welcome to our More Than Theology Podcast. More Than Theology is created by Pathways College of Bible and Mission. Join Richard and Ben in this episode as we launch this exciting new endeavour, share who we are and what this podcast is all about.