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It is no secret that the church in the West is in decline and there seems to have been unending talk about the church needing to change. Despite this, the number of sustainable alternatives or even smaller changes to what most would be familiar with as church is tragically low. This podcast is capturing thoughts of people who can see the Changes Ahead of us. Together we’ll be challenged, provoked even, by the views of people who are thinking about how the church might thrive going forward. S ...
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Flourishing at the margins, with Paul Fletcher
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Sometimes, it can be hard to see what the Spirit is up to in the church, but for Paul Fletcher, who spends most of his time beyond the walls of the church he leads with people who are on the margins of society, the activity of the Spirit is far more evident. We can learn a lot from those experiences if we are courageous. Paul’s work also involves s…
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Slavery, a modern day issue with Sarah Scott Webb
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Without stopping to think, it could be easy to assume that slavery is a thing of the past, but in this conversation with Sarah, we will find out just how prevalent it is and why the church should get involved in working to eradicate slavery from the world. Welcome back to season 3 of The Changes Ahead Podcast!…
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Reflecting on the year with the Wilberforce 'Faith and Belief' study, with Cathy and Steven
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We've reached the end of another season, and to wrap it up, Cathy and Steven reflect on The Changes Ahead that we've heard this year and are trying in our church spaces through the lens of the recently released Wilberforce 'Faith and Belief' study. Thanks for being on the journey with us for another year!…
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What if I can’t change the world? Faith, parenting, business and church, with Nat Milne
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When expectations don’t match reality, what is going to get us through? For Nat, a small business owner and mother of two, the values that underpin why she started her business sustained her in the professional and personal space she was in. As Nat shares her story, we get glimpses into how faith, parenting, business and church intersect to drive h…
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Why are you voting the way you are going to this week? How does faith inform the way you vote? Answering these questions can be tricky, but we reckon they're important ones to try. Since it’s election week, we thought we’d have a chat about what this means for us with Brook, someone who is passionate about engaging positively and faithfully in the …
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Faith in a post-Christian world, with Arunan Noble
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As someone with interests in the sciences, alongside studying law, Arunan helps us wrestle with what faith looks like in the post-Christian world he is living in. While holding a deep commitment to the benefits of the church to society, he challenges us to recognise our status and position in order to live up to the potential we have.…
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The life long journey of healing from harm, with Mary-Anne
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In this raw and vulnerable conversation, social worker Mary-Anne shares her story of experiencing abuse, the journey of healing she is on, and the place of deep relationships in faith communities in that healing. TW: conversations relating to child sexual abuse, rape, suicide and domestic violence.By Mary-Anne with Cathy Marston and Steven Goulstone
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Faith and the integration of body and mind, with Sarah Beisly
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After experiencing PTSD, Sarah explored her own trauma story and, from that experience, offers amazing insights for us as followers of Jesus into how we can better support people on the spectrum of mental wellness and what the posture of the church and those of us who make it up should be towards each other as we all seek to integrate our bodies, m…
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A family shares their experience of listening, loving, and understanding, with Deb and Alan
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With courage and vulnerability, Deb and Alan invite us to listen to their story of navigating the complexity of unexpected news from one of their children. Prioritising love and safety, they share their journey of deep listening which leads them to a more profound understanding of how to love (or understanding new ways to love) their child who is t…
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Do we really need to talk about porn? Yes! With Jo Robertson
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Jo is back to help us navigate conversations around porn, a topic that is too often ignored in church spaces. How do we have healthy conversations and give space to ask questions and figure out how to respond.By Jo Robertson with Cathy Marston and Steven Goulstone
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The death of a child and the place of lament and sorrow in faith, with Andrew Bollen
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With grace, vulnerability, and honesty, Andrew shares the story of the death of his son. Hear how people around him responded, and about how his search for, and understanding of God changed. Together we reflect on something of the place of lament in our church spaces, and wonder how they might be transformed with more raw honesty. This is a raw epi…
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Love for neighbour leads to sustainable living, with Chloe Vos
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What does our response to the climate crisis require of us as individuals and faith communities? How does this response relate to loving our neighbours? In this episode, we hear from Chloe about her passion for sustainable living and how her discipleship impacts her study, future, church engagement and activism in the community.…
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A youth pastor’s experience of serving Rainbow Youth, with Zach Bartley
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We’re invited to listen in to one youth pastor’s experience of serving and working alongside Rainbow Youth at youth group. How has this work changed him? How has it impacted him? We acknowledge that this is a sensitive topic for the church today, and are happy to engage with anyone who would like to discuss the topic or episode.…
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Feminism is good for everyone, with Jaimee van Gemerden
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What lenses do we bring to reading scripture? What are we missing by not considering the lenses different people bring to it? Jaimee offers us crucial insights into what a feminist lens offers the church today, including reflecting on the objectification of women that happens all too frequently in our church spaces. Jaimee’s reflections truly show …
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Deconstruction as an act of love, with Kenneth Fleck
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The word deconstruction within Christian circles can often have negative connotations. Kenneth encourages us, out of his story of living abroad in some really challenging contexts as well as his work in Spiritual Direction, to reconsider the way we think of the deconstruction process and find the love of God in the midst of it.…
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Escaping religious fundamentalism, with Lindy Jacomb
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In this episode, we listen to Lindy’s story of leaving a high-demand religious context. We get to hear what that process was like; the trauma experienced both inside the high-demand space and the trauma of leaving. If we let it, the story can also hold a mirror up to our practices to identify any red flags. We also hear the hope of healing the Chri…
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What does healthy sexuality look like? What are some of the challenges for people in faith-based contexts in this area? How can we celebrate the good that is our bodies? These are just some of the questions we explore in this frank and really important conversation with Sex Therapist, Jo Robertson.By Jo Robertson with Cathy Marston and Steven Goulstone
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Creativity, Justice and the Kingdom, with Andy Dickson
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We’re joined by fellow podcast host Andy Dickson from ‘Down to Earth Conversations’, who gives us an incredible vision for the simplicity of bringing a little bit of heaven down to earth by focusing on people first, embracing creativity, and always working towards what is just.By Andy Dickson with Cathy Marston and Steven Goulstone
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Women and holy discontent, with Grace Doak
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To acknowledge International Women’s Day, in a vulnerable and inspiring conversation, Grace talks about her journey following holy discontent into places of leadership and invites us to reflect on the way women are treated in the church, offering suggestions for the way forward.By Grace Doak with Cathy Marston and Steven Goulstone
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Communal politics and meaningful connections, with Jess McKnight
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We start this new season hearing from Jess about her experience with politics as a Youth MP and how that impacts her view of faith and church alongside the vital importance of meaningful representation and relationships so that all might thrive within faith communities.By Cathy Marston and Steven Goulstone
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What have we heard? With Cathy and Steven
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In our final episode of the year, Cathy and Steven reflect on what they’ve heard and what The Changes Ahead might be.By Cathy Marston and Steven Goulstone
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Do we love enough to listen? With Jody Kilpatrick and Andrew Bollen
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38:19
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As we begin to wrap up the first season of this podcast, we hear from two pastors who have listened to every previous episode. Together they highlight one of the themes that has been clear throughout all of the earlier conversations: of taking the time, and having a posture to listen to voices which bring challenge and critique.…
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Why did nobody tell me this? With Sacha Olson
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What is it like to be exposed to new and vastly different ways of thinking to what you are used to? When we realise that there is always more than one way at looking at an issue, a question or truth, how do we reconcile that with our previously held perspectives. In this episode we hear from recent Carey Baptist College Pastoral Leadership graduate…
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In recent times there has been some tension between the media and Christian faith. In this episode we talk to an award-winning journalist about how their faith intersects with their work in journalism, and explore together what the church can learn from those who are working in the media.By Justin Latif with Cathy Marston and Steven Goulstone
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Climate change and the church with Brook Warner
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How can science and faith co-exist? How can science inform our faith? With the concerning implications of climate change for now and future generations, and if care for the planet is something humans are responsible for, where is the church in those efforts? We speak with Brook about his journey of expansion and his passion for working to reduce th…
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What voices are informing us? With Halee and Rui Peng
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In this episode, we speak to Halee and Rui, an entrepreneurial couple who are seeking to serve their community through sustainable business, alongside learning from people who are often not heard from in church that offer different and new insights into who God is.By Halee & Rui Peng with Cathy Marston & Steven Goulstone
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Questions are OK, right? with Sarah Buckwell
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In this episode we talk to Sarah about what it’s like to join a church without having grown up in one and the inevitable questions that come up in that process. Can we say, we’ll try to be like Jesus, instead of promising we definitely will be? What about how the church has contributed to the shame that some adolescents feel, and what can we do abo…
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Who are we aspiring to be? with Jaimee van Gemerden
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In light of the release of the Pathfinding report on the ARISE church, and Jaimee’s own reflections on its implications for the wider church, we unpack with Jaimee what it might look like if we were to take the 92 recommendations seriously. We’re invited to turn the spotlight on ourselves and consider our part to play as we wrestle with what the ch…
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Education or formation? with Caleb Haurua
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Are we just downloading information into people, or is it about journeying together to be formed in Christlikeness? In this episode Caleb reflects on his experience from his time pastoring and in his present role lecturing on the function of discipleship and how both church and theological institutions can either help or hinder that process. How to…
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As someone who loves Jesus and is following the Spirit’s call to a different way of living, Nicole wonders if church as we know it is really it? Is church really what we get from the radical life of Jesus? She helps us imagine what could be and invites us to step into the unknown future ahead of us, without being weighed down by the pressures of th…
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What’s this all about? With Cathy and Steven
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In this first episode of The Changes Ahead Podcast, your hosts, Cathy and Steven chat together about why this podcast exists, and reflect on their hopes for what Changes Ahead there are for the church.By Cathy Marston and Steven Goulstone
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It is no secret that the church in the West is in decline and there seems to have been unending talk about the church needing to change. Despite this, the number of sustainable alternatives or even smaller changes to what most would be familiar with as church is tragically low. This podcast is capturing thoughts of people who can see the Chang…
…
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