Nomad Podcast

Dave Andrews has committed his life to serving the poorest and most marginalised people through small, local Christian communities. He's clearly a man who knows Jesus intimately, and has gained tremendous experience and wisdom. So why doesn't he consider himself, or even strive to be, a 'great man of God'? “I have deliberately chosen to locate myself in my local community and see myself not as a g...

Dr. Bex Lewis is a research fellow in social media at Durham University and author of the popular book Raising Children in the Digital Age . So we thought we'd have a chat with her about what it means to live well in a digital world. “It is very easy to go into a discussion and not know when to let go. So, if you’re chatting in a pub with someone and they just get really rude, you can maybe go, ‘I...

Robin Parry is an evangelical, but unlike the majority of evangelicals he doesn't believe that Hell and death is the end of the story for the majority of humanity. Instead he believes the Bible teaches that we will all ultimately be reconciled to God and enjoy eternity with him. Tune in for a fascinating conversation. “Universalism occupies this space between heresy and dogma. So, it’s not heretic...

Krista Tippett has built a career on listening. Through her award-winning public radio show and podcast, On Being , she listens to people from all religious and spiritual traditions, learning about what it means to be human and how to live life. So she seemed like the perfect person to speak to about the lost art of listening.  “The thing about listening – about real listening – is that it involve...

David Benjamin Blower is a prophet in the Old Testament tradition. Using music and the written word, he creatively and insightfully points the finger at himself and the world around him railing at the injustices he sees.  “I think the image of God is rooted in the love of other and to base the economics of your society on self-interest creates a very uncomfortable place for me to live in as someon...

Gail Dines is a professor of sociology and women's studies. She has been studying porn and its effects on society for over 20 years, and has become one of the world's leading anti-porn activists. Why has she dedicated so much of her life to this one issue? Because she believes the effects of porn is one of society's main public health issues. “If you use porn and you become addicted to porn, what...

Richard Wilkinson is professor of social epidemiology (that's the distribution of disease within a society, in case you were wondering!). His book, The Spirit Level has caused quite a stir, because he believes he's answered a very long-standing question. Why are we increasingly blighted by so many social problems when we're materially better off than we've ever been? Tune in to find out the answer...

Nadia Bolz Weber is anything but boring, Raised in a fundamentalist church, she rebelled, immersed herself in a hedonistic lifestyle, found faith again, and now leads House for all Sinners and Saints . Tune in for a fascinating interview, full of insight, wisdom, and gritty honesty. “I’m why we have bishops. Someone like me should have a bishop. I shouldn’t be doing my own thing out there. I would...

Bob Ekblad serves immigrants, inmates, homeless people and people struggling with addiction in the US. What's even more interesting about Bob though is how he seamlessly combines social justice with a miraculous healing ministry! “What’s happening that’s most exciting to me in the larger body of Christ is the cross-pollenization and the coming together of people from different camps to learn from...

Lecturer in evangelism, theology and Chrisitan spirituality and author of The Mystic Way of Evangelism , Elaine Heath joins us on the show. We chat with Elaine about contemplative prayer, and the healing and outreach that naturally flows from it. So tune in if you want to know how to experience God and change the world. “We have been so captured by rationalism since the enlightenment – it’s really...

Theologian, church leader, and author Greg Boyd is back on the show. Greg believes a call to non-violence is at the heart of the gospel. He also believes this call impacts how we relate to animals. That's right, Greg's a vegetarian. Check out the interview to find out why. “Legalism sees the rules as an end in and of themselves and therefore there are no exceptions, whereas a holistic life princip...

Sharon Baker is a theologian and author of the controversial Razing Hell . Sharon takes issue with the traditional understanding of a violent atonement and hell, and instead holds to universal reconciliation where all people are refined by God's love. “I don’t believe that God desired the violence of the cross. I think that the violence of the cross was our doing. It was a human endeavour and not...

Pete Rollins is a philosopher, writer and founder of the Ikon community. Pete believes that unless we die to certainty and embrace doubt then God becomes just another consumer product. God, in effect, becomes an idol. Sounds interesting! “Often the church looks at the Bible or theology and says, ‘What’s the right answer?’ When really, perhaps we should look at it more like a work of art and say, ‘...

Paul Kerensa is a stand-up comedian and BBC scriptwriter for shows like Miranda and Not Going Out. S o he seemed like just the chap to talk to about the relationship between humour and religion, and to ask 'What would Jesus laugh at?' “You’ve got to always think, ‘Who’s the victim of this joke? And if the victim were me, would I mind?’ And so, I try not to do jokes which have an overall victim. Of...

Michael Hardin is a theologian, founder of Preaching Peace , and author of The Jesus Driven Life . He's got a rather colourful background and doesn't mince his words, which always makes for an interesting interview. So we asked him whether God is really as violent as the Old Testament makes out, and whether he really had to kill his own son in order to forgive us.  “Every ‘penal substitutionist’ a...

We've somehow managed to persuade Tom Wright, one of the world's leading New Testament theologians, to come on the show for a third time! We ask Tom to summarise his 1680 page 'Paul and the Faithfulness of God', and ponder whether if he met him whether he'd actually like Paul? “What Paul does is not give a blueprint for what everyone must do on all possible occasions. He teaches them how to think...

We at Nomad recently had a revelation, perhaps we can learn from non-Christians as well as Christians. So we headed down to London and visited the Sunday Assembly , or The Atheist Church as it's become known. After 'worshipping' with 300 atheists, we chat with Pippa Evans one of the founders of what's becoming a global movement, and try to figure out what the Church can learn from the friendlier f...

Steve Chalke is one of the UK's most influential evangelicals and he recently blessed a same-sex civil partnership. Needless to say, this caused a bit of a stir! So we caught up with him and asked him what led him to take this controversial step. “If the Bible’s right that ‘God is love’ and ‘God is truth,’ then truth is love. Therefore, any message that sends people into depression, that sends peo...

Mark Wakeling is a man with a conscience and a man that's got the energy and creativity to follow it. He's a social entrepreneur who has founded Global SeeSaw , which sells ethical and Fair Trade products made by women in India exploited by human trafficking. So we asked Mark to begin to unpack the issues surrounding the social impact of the clothes we buy. “Unless we’re uncertain, we don’t listen...

Scot McKnight is professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary, Illinois, a prolific author and founder of the hugely popular Jesus Creed blog. Scot recently wrote a book called The King Jesus Gospel , so he seemed like the man to help us understand the real meaning of the good news. “The question I would ask is this: is there any evidence in the New Testament that the apostles or Jesus evangeli...

As well as life coaching, creative project management, tea making, and helping run the popular ReJesus website, Bruce Stanley has also helped pioneer the Forest Church movement. Forest Church is an experiential community group that helps people connect with God in creation. Check it out, it's really rather interesting. “What’s unique about forest church is that we’re actually participating with na...

Stuart Murray is chair of the Anabaptist Network in the UK and author of The Naked Anabaptist. So we ask him what's so special about the Anabaptists tradition, and what the it has to say to our post-Christendom culture. “The table is a place of community building, of friendship, of openness and of equality. Things happen around the table. They don’t happen when you’re sitting in rows of pews. And...

Brian McLaren is an internationally recognised and sort after author, speaker and activist. In this episode we're chatting with Brian about his latest challenging and provocative book that explores the vital topic of Christianity's relationship with other religions. “We Christians already know how to do two things well: we know how to have a strong Christian identity that’s hostile toward people o...

Carl Medearis worked as a missionary for many years in Beirut, Lebanon and as a result is recognised as an international expert in Muslim-Christian relations. Carl has some fascinating insights into cross-cultural mission from his years of working with Muslims, and he believes these principles are just as relevant in our Western context. I'll give you a hint, it's all about Jesus! Definitely an ep...

Alastair Gordon is a professional and accomplished artist who exhibits around the world. He's also a follower of Jesus. Apparently following Jesus and being a professional artist is a rather tricky thing these days, so we spoke to Ally about this tension and what mission in the world of art might look like. “Today, to call yourself a sincere religious believer kind of equates you with fundamentali...