Category: Podcast

We recorded a min-series on Open and Relational Theology and engage with emerging thinkers who wrestle with the experience and presence of God.

• S04E01 – Season Introduction. This is a short miniseries. In this intro we look briefly at why we took this tangent into Open and Relational Theology, and how we came across our four wonderful guests. Episode link.
• S04E02 – Delvyn Case III. In this first episode of the miniseries, Delvyn Case joins us in conversation on his first experiences of God, his work and ministry in ecumenical spaces. Del is a musician, educator, writer, scholar and speaker. You can head across to his website to connect with some of his current work, or connect with him on Facebook. You can find out more about Del on his website and listen to via the Episode link.
• S04E03 – Rory Randall. Rory the Center for Open and Relational Theology joins us in conversation on this week’s episode of the podcast. Rory has published a book recently entitled, “An Open Theist Renewal Theology: God’s Love, the Spirit’s power, and Human Freedom“. We asked Rory to share some handles with which to understand this emerging theology. As usual though the theory is woven into the backdrop of life story, and so Rory shares his first experiences of God within the telling of his life story. Towards the end of the episode we return to the question of how we experience God and what it means to ‘practice the presence of God’.  Episode link.
• S04E04 – T.C. Moore. TC Moore joins us this week on the podcast for a conversation about Open and Relational Theology. Of course, we start by digging into his life story and first experiences of God – and it’s a fascinating story. We also spend some time looking into TC’s ROSE acronym which he offers in contradistinction to John Calvin’s 5 points of Calvinism – most often referred to by the TULIP acronym. You can access the Youtube link hereto a longer and deeper dive into TC’s work on Open and Relational Theology. Episode link.
• Bonus Episode – Tim’s FaceBook post. This is a bonus episode we’re squeezing in between conversations with our miniseries guests. It arises from a Facebook post Tim wrote (link) about healing and how we follow the Kingdom of Jesus behaviour to go in an ambassadorial way into the world to do as Jesus did/does.  It is a stand alone conversation, though in many ways it connects deeply with so much of our thinking and conversing over the past year.  At the root is a desire to take seriously the God who speaks and acts in this world, and draw near to that God, to self and to others in a way that acknowledges the living presence and desire of this alive God. Episode link.
• S04E05 – Robert D Cornwall. In this week’s episode we squeeze in one final guest to our exploration of Open and Relational Theology. Tim stumbled across an article Bob had written and so we decided to extend the series and include our conversation with him. Bob has also published a number of books, some of which he speaks to in this conversation. You can find his work here if you would like to dig further into his thinking. Episode link.
• S04E06 – Season Conclusion. This is the final episode of our miniseries on Open and Relational Theology. Tim and I wrap up our thinking following all of the conversations with our guests and take aim at some of what we hope the future holds for us. It is also our book giveaway episode. Thomas Jay Oord, of the Center for Open and Relational Theology, was kind enough to send us some copies of his new book to giveaway to some fortunate listeners. Thank you for listening, we look forward to hearing from you. Episode link.
• Bonus Episode – Phil Drysdale. This episode we speak to Phil Drysdale from The Deconstruction Network. With deconstructers standing as perhaps the fastest growing spiritual movement in the west, this research is tremendously important. Phil is among those doing research into deconstructers which evidences a different picture to what institutional supporters paint them out to be. This is a bonus episode that best slots in with Season 2 where we spoke with fellow deconstructers. Episode link.
• Bonus Episode – Wayne Jacobsen. In this episode we speak to Wayne Jacobsen. Wayne generously gave us an hour and a half of his time to explore his experience, his thinking and current work and life. Wayne leads us to “new spiritual trailheads” as he works with “hungry people” – hungry people who are interested and yearning for engagement with God. It is a conversation which covers more than 40 years of life history; so a rich and insightful tapestry. Episode link.

In this season we continue our exploration of the tension between faith and experience in relation to thinkers wrestling with Open and Relational Theology and the presence and activity of God.