The Forum Podcast

What does it mean to lead from a place of weakness? In this episode of the Forum Podcast, Calvin Theological Seminary President Jul Medenblik sits down with author and pastor Dr. Mandy Smith to explore what it truly means to be a vulnerable, human leader in ministry. Drawing from her book The Vulnerable Pastor: How Human Limitations Empower Our Ministry, Smith reflects on the leadership crisis tha...

In this episode of the Forum Podcast, Phillip Palacios, Director of Communications, sits down with Dr. Karin Maag, Director of the Meeter Center for Calvin Studies and Adjunct Professor of the History of Christianity, and Dr. Ronald Feenstra, Professor of Systematic Theology, to discuss a new edited volume they have co-edited together. Their conversation explores how the project began as a series...

In this episode of the Forum Podcast, Jonah Gollihugh, Communications Team Member and MDiv ’16 alum, sits down with Dr. Neil Martin, ThM ’13 alum, pastor, former design professional, and scholar, for a remarkable conversation about faith, suffering, vocation, and an unconventional path to ministry. Martin reflects on growing up in the UK with no Christian background, coming to faith through a smal...

Why does Christian formation matter as much as knowledge and skill? In this episode of The Forum Podcast, Jeff Sajdak, Dean of Students, joins Phillip Palacios to reflect on spiritual formation, community, and what it means to be shaped in Christ for ministry at Calvin Theological Seminary. Drawing on years of pastoral experience and student formation work, Jeff explores the difference between for...

What does it mean to confess “We believe” if our lives are not being shaped by Christ? In this episode of The Forum Podcast, Cory Willson, Professor of Missiology, World Christianity, and Public Theology at Calvin Theological Seminary, joins Phillip Palacios for a conversation on the Nicene Creed, Christian mission, and the relationship between doctrine and lived faith. Recorded during Calvin Theo...

Why does the Nicene Creed still matter 1,700 years later? In this episode of The Forum Podcast, Sam Ha, Theological Librarian and Curator of the Meeter Center for Calvin Studies, joins Phillip Palacios to reflect on the enduring significance of the Nicene Creed and its place in the life of the church today. Recorded in the context of Calvin Theological Seminary’s 150th anniversary, the conversatio...

In this insightful episode of the Forum Podcast from Calvin Theological Seminary, current ThM student Leah Jolly talks with Dr. Madison Pierce, Associate Professor of New Testament at Western Theological Seminary, whose scholarship centers on Hebrews, the Catholic Epistles, and Scripture’s use of Scripture. Dr. Pierce shares how her early love for teaching and Scripture led her from small group Bi...

In this episode of the Forum Podcast from Calvin Theological Seminary, current ThM student Leah Jolly sits down with Dr. Karin Maag, longtime editor of the Calvin Theological Journal (CTJ), to discuss the journal’s 60-year legacy of advancing Reformed scholarship and mentoring new voices in theology. Founded in 1966, CTJ continues to offer a unique blend of biblical, theological, and historical re...

In this powerful episode of the Forum Podcast from Calvin Theological Seminary, current ThM student Leah Jolly sits down with Shawn England, a current MTS student and graduate of the Calvin Prison Initiative (CPI). Once serving a 35-year prison sentence, Shawn encountered Christ behind bars—and through the Calvin Prison Initiative, he discovered not only an education but a calling. Today, he’s stu...

In this inspiring episode of the Forum Podcast from Calvin Theological Seminary, we sit down with Dr. Charles Oh, 2025 Doctor of Ministry graduate, whose groundbreaking research explores the spiritual vitality of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) living and working in religiously restrictive countries. Drawing from years of missionary experience in the Philippines and interviews conducted in the Mi...

In this Lifelong Learning episode, Dr. Aaron Einfeld, Director of Lifelong Learning at Calvin Theological Seminary, speaks with leadership coach and church consultant Tom Clegg, Clegg Consulting Group, about the transformative role of coaching in Christian ministry. Together, they explore how coaching — unlike traditional mentoring or teaching — equips leaders to grow through intentional reflectio...

Dr. Mary Vanden Berg, Emerita of Systematic Theology, talks with Dr. Aaron Einfeld, Director of Lifelong Learning at Calvin Theological Seminary, about the often-avoided realities of death, suffering, and grief—and why Christian formation must include them. From lament psalms to funeral liturgies, from the daily prayer of “into your hands I commit my spirit” to the spiritual weight of complicated...

In this stirring episode, Dr. Constantine R. Campbell—New Testament scholar, jazz musician, and author—returns to the Forum Podcast with Dr. Aaron Einfeld, Director of Lifelong Learning at Calvin Theological Seminary, to explore how personal crisis, ministry burnout, and spiritual deconstruction can become doorways to deeper grace and renewed faith. Drawing from his own story of vocational collaps...

Dr. Constantine R. Campbell, Professor and Research Director at the Australian University College, joins Dr. Aaron Einfeld, Director of Lifelong Learning at Calvin Theological Seminary, for a profound Lifelong Learning conversation on theology, jazz, and the crisis within American evangelicalism. A professional jazz saxophonist and New Testament scholar, Dr. Campbell speaks candidly about reconcil...

In this compelling episode of The Forum Podcast, host Dr. Aaron Einfeld, Director of Lifelong Learning at Calvin Theological Seminary, sits down with licensed therapist Kurt Visker to explore the nature of anxiety, the role of counseling, and how individuals can build resilience in challenging seasons of life. Kurt shares insights from years of clinical experience, including how counseling helps p...

Change is hard—even when we want it. In this Forum Podcast episode, Alida van Dijk, Executive Director of Community Counselling Centre of London Ontario and therapist, joins Aaron Einfeld, Director of Lifelong Learning at Calvin Theological Seminary, to explore why personal and organizational change is often slow, complex, and emotionally charged. Drawing from her work at Community Counselling Lon...

What happens after seminary? And how do ministry leaders keep growing in the midst of challenge, change, and burnout? In this episode, Calvin Theological Seminary’s Dr. Aaron Einfeld, Director of Lifelong Learning at Calvin Theological Seminary, and Wendy Fisher, Associate Director of Lifelong Learning, join Leah Jolly, ThM Student, to share how the Lifelong Learning program equips pastors and Chr...

In this episode of the Forum Podcast, Dr. Dorothy Jenkins discusses her dissertation exploring the ministry journeys of Black women in pastoral ministry. Drawing from interviews with women pastors, Dr. Jenkins identifies faith, support, and opportunity as essential factors for breaking through barriers in ministry. She shares with Doctor of Ministry's program director, Jeff Sajdak: Her personal ca...

In this episode of the Forum Podcast, Dr. Cory Willson, Professor of Missiology, World Christianity, and Public Theology at Calvin Theological Seminary, shares his powerful journey of faith – from growing up in a small evangelical church in California to becoming a leading academic voice. He opens up about how losing his place on the college soccer team led him into a season of darkness that deepe...

When's the last time you checked your smartphone? Does the mere mention of your phone make you reach for your pocket? If your use of your smartphone borders on addiction, you're not alone. Calvin Seminary held what we called a "Smartphone Retreat", a week-long series of exercises and practices designed to help us answer the questions “how much and how well do we use our smartphones?” and “what are...

How can the church speak into a time of bitter partisan divisions? How can we be a redeeming presence in politics? How can the insights of John Calvin guide us even today? Dr. Matthew Tuininga, Professor of Moral Theology and the History of Christianity at Calvin Seminary, asked these questions in his new book, Calvin's Political Theology and the Public Engagement of the Church: Christ's Two Kingd...

It is estimated that 50 million people around the world suffer from dementia. Individuals with dementia lose the sense of who they are, as their cognitive and behavioral functioning diminishes. Their loved ones who care for them are faced with a slow and agonizing decline which takes a physical, emotional, and financial toll on them. How can we show the love of Christ in the midst of this loss? Ho...

Dr. Jennifer Powell McNutt is a renowned church historian, theologian, and professor at Wheaton College, specializing in the history of Christianity from the Reformation through the Enlightenment. In this episode of The Forum Podcast, she joins host Leah Jolly, MDiv student at Calvin Seminary, to discuss the legacy of Mary Magdalene and how historical misconceptions have shaped our understanding o...

The Museum of African American History and Culture and the Holocaust Museum are devoted to telling stories that risk being forgotten or overlooked or even ignored. They also deal with stories of trauma, loss, and profound grief. Dr. Danjuma Gibson took a class to Washington, D.C., to see these museums and wrestle with questions about oppression and suffering in a class entitled Pastoral Theology a...

In this episode, Leah Jolly, MDiv and ThM student at Calvin Seminary, sits down with Dr. Karin Maag to discuss Maag's reception of the honorary doctorate from Theological University of Utrecht. Maag is the director of the Center for Calvin Studies and adjunct professor of History of Christianity and she also serves as co-director of the Master of Theology program. This honorary doctorate recognize...