Nomad Podcast

We took a bit of a chance with this one. We asked a secular scientist if they could find a link between their scientific discipline and the themes of Easter. Prof. Michael Merrifield had a crack at it, and found some sweet connections between his field of astronomy and death and resurrection (and also talked a lot about his real passion, telescopes!).  Books, quotes, links → The creation of Nomad’...

Second up in our Interfaith Easter series is Omid Safi. Omid is the Director of the Islamic Studies Centre, at Duke University. So if you're interested in what a Muslim makes of Easter, you've come to the right place, as Omid gives us a fascinating reflection.  Books, quotes, links → The creation of Nomad’s thoughtful, ad-free content is entirely funded by our equally thoughtful and wonderful list...

This year we're bringing you an Easter reflection, with a twist. Rather than asking Christians to reflect on their own festival, we thought it'd be more interesting to ask people from other faiths and none to reflect on the symbolism of Easter. We're easing you in gently with Mark Vernon, a former Anglican priest, who now considers himself an agnostic.   Books, quotes, links → The creation of Noma...

Dave Tomlinson is effortlessly interesting and seems to effortlessly attract interesting people. He mentors the leaders of the now global atheist church, he took the funerals of two of the countries most notorious criminals, and his church is so cool even Bono turns up from time to time. But what we find even more interesting is the fact that Dave went from the emerging church back to the institut...

Wendy VanderWal Gritter is passionate about creating 'generous spaces' in churches, where people with different understanding of sexuality can meet together without judgment, listen to each others stories and to seek Jesus together. Sounds great! But is it realistic? “I think we are in a time of necessarily needing to reimagine what being the people of God in community will look like and same-sex...

2015 sees the resurrection of Nomad Spirituality! Nomad can be a bit cerebral, so we occasionally want to balance this with something a bit more experiential. Writer, poet and priest, Ian Adams, has stepped up and given us a meditation on stillness. So find a quiet spot, turn down the lights, and lose yourself in stillness... If you want more from Nomad, check out our website , and follow us on Fa...

Just in case you're suffering withdrawal symptoms from our 12 Days of Christmas series, and are slumped listlessly in front of your now empty mp3 player, we've got one final Christmas treat for you. We asked standup comedian and BBC comedy scriptwriter, Paul Kerensa, to record a wee Christmas Day message for you...   Books, quotes, links → The creation of Nomad’s thoughtful, ad-free content is ent...

And you thought we'd finished (so did we, actually!). This one, however, really is the great finale, and it's a corker. Krista Tippett has an award winning radio show, On Being, and was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Obama for "thoughtfully delving into the mysteries of human existence." And today she's on Nomad bringing you a Christmas message!  Books, quotes, links → The crea...

To close out our 12 Days of Christmas we've enlisted the services of 'Consumer Detox' author and founder of the Breathe Network ("Less Stuff, More Life"), Mark Powley. Apparently the issue isn't so much the way we go about Christmas, but the way we go about the rest of the year. Interesting!   Books, quotes, links → The creation of Nomad’s thoughtful, ad-free content is entirely funded by our equa...

Philosopher, sociologist and Christian feminist, Elaine Storkey has achieved a lot in her life. She's lectured around the world, written numerous books, she succeeded John Stott as Executive Director of the London Institute of Contemporary Christianity, and she served as the President of TEAR Fund. And now, she's on Nomad Podcast, bringing you her Christmas reflection! Books, quotes, links → The c...

Shane Claiborne - author of 'The Irresistible Revolution', and founding member of The Simple Way - would like to share some thoughts on Christmas. Anyone interested?!   Books, quotes, links → The creation of Nomad’s thoughtful, ad-free content is entirely funded by our equally thoughtful and wonderful listeners. By supporting us, you gain access to Nomad’s online spaces—like the Beloved Listener L...

Nadia Bolz Weber is the founding pastor of House for All Sinners and Saints, and a leading voice in the emerging church movement, known for her honest and provocative style. And today she's bringing a Christmas reflection just for you!  Books, quotes, links → The creation of Nomad’s thoughtful, ad-free content is entirely funded by our equally thoughtful and wonderful listeners. By supporting us,...

Greg Boyd is one of Nomad's favourite theologians and authors. He's a leading figure in the reformation of evangelicalism, passionately advocating everything from the importance of doubt, care for creation, a non-violent view of God, and much more. And today Greg is bringing a Christmas reflection from his unique perspective, just for you, the beloved Nomad listener. Enjoy!  Books, quotes, links →...

Author and lecturer, Phyllis Tickle, is one of the most influential voices in emerging church circles, and one of our favourite guests of 2014.  We asked Phyllis to reflect on Christmas from the perspective of the emerging church and emergence Christianity. Books, quotes, links → The creation of Nomad’s thoughtful, ad-free content is entirely funded by our equally thoughtful and wonderful listener...

Jenny Baker was one of the founders of the Sophia Network, an organisation that champions the equality of women and men in church. She's also author of the book 'Equals: Enjoying Gender Equality in All Areas of Life'. So we asked Jenny to reflect on the Christmas story from the perspective of gender equality.   Books, quotes, links → The creation of Nomad’s thoughtful, ad-free content is entirely...

Today's Christmas reflection comes from Nomad's favourite musician and activist, David Benjamin Blower. David sets up a showdown between Christmas and Empire and throws in a couple of your favourite Christmas carols for no extra charge. So brace yourself for a good measure of hope-filled challenge, served up with a sprinkling of musical creativity. Enjoy! Books, quotes, links → The creation of Nom...

Wendy is the executive director of New Direction Ministries in Canada, an organisation that exists to provide "safe and spacious places for those outside the heterosexual mainstream to explore and grow in faith in Jesus Christ." So we asked Wendy to reflect on an hospitable and inclusive Christmas. Books, quotes, links → The creation of Nomad’s thoughtful, ad-free content is entirely funded by our...

Robin Parry is an evangelical, but unlike most evangelicals he doesn't believe that Hell and death is the end of the story for most of humanity. Instead, he believes the Bible teaches that we will all ultimately be reconciled to God and enjoy eternity with him. So we set Robin a challenge. Can he find universalism in the Christmas story? Tune in to find out the results!  Books, quotes, links → The...

Dave Andrews has committed his life to serving the poorest and most marginalised people in Australia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Nepal for more than forty years. His wisdom and humility made him one of our most popular interviewees of 2014. In his Christmas reflection, Dave draws out some fascinating and surprising insights from the example of the Wise Men.  Books, quotes, links → The creati...

Carl Medearis - one of our favourite interviewees of 2013 - kicks off Nomad's 12 Days of Christmas. Carl was a missionary in Beirut, Lebanon for 12 years and now works as an international expert in the field of Christian-Muslim relations. He's uses Christmas as an opportunity to reflect on the 'fear' of God.  Books, quotes, links → The creation of Nomad’s thoughtful, ad-free content is entirely fu...

Nomad made a commitment a while back to have a lot more women on the show. So we thought it was about time we looked at the theology behind that decision. Jenni Williams lectures in Old Testament Studies in Oxford, is an Associate Minister in the Anglican Church, and wrote 'God Remembered Rachel'. So she seemed like a pretty good person to ask, 'why not women?'.  “The relationship with God is what...

Alister McGrath is the master of apologetics. With three doctorates under his belt and ranked among the '20 most brilliant Christian professors', he's publically locked horns with the likes of Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins. “In the past, we tended to say it’s important to stress Christianity is right. Today it think it’s very important to stress that Christianity works – in other words,...

Richard Rohr is a Catholic priest and a Franciscan Friar. He is well connected and respected across Christian traditions (including the emerging church), so he seemed like the perfect person to speak to about what the emerging church can gain from Catholic spirituality. “The Protestant Reformation pretty much reacted against the right brain and they’re only coming to realize that now. You can’t co...

Phyllis Tickle has her finger on the pulse of the emerging church like no one else. So if you're interested in why the emergence of a new kind of church is both inevitable and necessary, and the vital role of the Holy Spirit in this, then tune in. “For some reason, every 500 years Christianized culture goes through a huge upheaval...the whole of society goes ‘whoop’ and tosses everything into the...

Sara Miles was an atheist. Then one day, out of idle curiosity, she wandered into a church, had a bite of bread and a sip of wine and God came crashing into her life. Her response was to take the principles of communion and set up a food distribution centre around the altar of her church for anyone and everyone to enjoy. So tune in for some fascinating insights into what it means to eat at God's t...