Westminster John Knox Press Radio

WJK Radio 28: Allan Cole Responds: What Makes a Good Spiritual Life?

What makes a good spiritual life? Allan Hugh Cole Jr. helps us try to answer that question in this month's episode. In his new book, A Spiritual Life: Perspectives from Poets, Prophets, and Preachers, Cole gathers two dozen leading Christian writers who share their understandings of what makes a good spiritual life.

Allan Hugh Cole Jr. is Academic Dean and Nancy Taylor Williamson Professor of Pastoral Care at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. An ordained Presbyterian minister, he is the coauthor of Losers, Loners, and Rebels: The Spiritual Struggles of Boys, and author of Good Mourning and The Life of Prayer.

PLAY NOW

Related Resources:

Marjorie J. Thompson, Soul Feast: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life

Brian D. McLaren, A New Kind of Christian: A Tale of Two Friends on a Spiritual Journey

Lynne M. Baab, Fasting: Spiritual Freedom Beyond Our Appetites

 

Music Credit:

“Shadows,” by David LaMotte

WJK Radio 27: Michael Duffy Makes Sense of Sex

Many singles struggle with decisions about sex. Michael Duffy visits with us to offer thoughtful guidance on the issue. His book, Making Sense of Sex: Responsible Decision Making for Young Singles, offers a framework for sexual decision making for single twenty-somethings. His book is appropriate for non-Christians and Christians alike. 

Michael Duffy is Professor of Theological Studies at Hanover College in Indiana, where he teaches a popular course on sexual ethics. He is also the author of The Skeptical, Passionate Christian.

 

PLAY NOW

 

Related Resources:

Michael Schwartzentruber, Lois Huey-Heck, Mary Millerd, and Charlotte Jackson, The Spirituality of Sex

Marvin M. Ellison and Kelly Brown Douglas, editors, Sexuality and the Sacred, Second Edition

Meg Hickling, Meg Hickling's Grown Up Sex: Sexual Wholeness for the Better Part of Your Life

Dale B. Martin, Sex and the Single Savior: Gender and Sexuality in Biblical Interpretation

 

Music Credit:

“Shadows,” by David LaMotte

WJK Radio 24: Don McKim Responds to Presbyterian Questions

Popular Presbyterian author and editor Don McKim joins us to discuss More Presbyterian Questions, More Presbyterian Answers: Exploring Christian Faith. This follow-up to the Geneva Press best seller is a study-friendly guide that articulates the basic tenets of the faith and answers some of the most frequently asked questions about being a Presbyterian.

Donald K. McKim is Executive Editor for Westminster John Knox Press. McKim has served as Academic Dean and Professor of Theology at Memphis Theological Seminary and as Professor of Theology at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary in Iowa. He is the author or editor of over twenty-five books.
 

PLAY NOW

Related Resources:

Donald K. McKim, Presbyterian Beliefs: A Brief Introduction 

Louis B. Weeks, To Be a Presbyterian, Revised Edition 

Ted V. Foote Jr. and P. Alex Thornburg, Being Presbyterian in the Bible Belt: A Theological Survival Guide for Youth, Parents, & Other Confused Presbyterians

Music Credit:

“Shadows,” by David LaMotte

WJK Radio 23: Martin Thielen Explains the Least We Can Believe

Martin Thielen joins us to discuss ten things Christians need to believe—and ten things they don’t—to “qualify” as Christians. His new book, What’s the Least I Can Believe and Still Be a Christian? A Guide to What Matters Most is a lively and engaging book for seekers and believers who may find themselves questioning some of the assumptions they grew up with. The book is available at a great discount from TheThoughtfulChristian.com.

Ideal for individual, group, or congregational study, the book is accompanied by a free online leader's guide, featuring unique and easily implemented aids for carrying out a seven-week, congregation-wide initiative that will help local churches reach out to their communities.

Martin Thielen is Senior Pastor of Lebanon First United Methodist Church, in Lebanon, Tennessee. He has been a national worship and preaching consultant, seminary professor, and author, and has led more than one hundred church leadership workshops across the country.

PLAY NOW

Related Resources:

Rowan Williams, Tokens of Trust: An Introduction to Christian Belief

Erik Kolbell, What Jesus Meant: The Beatitudes and a Meaningful Life 

Brian D. McLaren, A New Kind of Christian: A Tale of Two Friends on a Spiritual Journey

 

Music Credit:

“Shadows,” by David LaMotte

WJK Radio 22: Elise Erikson Barrett Offers Guidance on Dealing with Miscarriage

Elise Erikson Barrett joins Dan and Jana to offer theological and practical guidance on a difficult subject: miscarriage. In What Was Lost: A Christian Journey through Miscarriage, Barrett draws on her own painful experiences as well as on interviews with others who have experienced miscarriage. She explores complex questions in an effort to help women grieve and, in time, to think theologically about pregnancy loss. Barrett also offers some much-needed practical advice about breaking the news to others, coping with insensitive comments, and grieving what is often a private loss, unmarked by the world. 

Elise Erikson Barrett, a United Methodist pastor, has worked in a variety of ministry settings, including youth work, hospital and college chaplaincy, and church ministry. A native of Indiana, she now makes her home in South Carolina with her husband and children.

PLAY NOW

Related Resources:

Allan Hugh Cole Jr., Good Mourning: Getting through Your Grief

Virginia Stem Owens, Caring for Mother: A Daughter’s Long Goodbye

Nancy Reeves, Found Through Loss: Healing Stories from Scripture and Everyday Sacredness

 

Music Credit:

“Shadows,” by David LaMotte

 

WJK Radio 19: Sharon Baker “Razes” Traditional Notions of Hell

Sixty percent of Americans believe in hell, as do ninety-two percent of those who attend church every week. Sharon L. Baker is here to speak candidly about our traditional views of hell. In her accessible and engaging new book, Razing Hell: Rethinking Everything You’ve Been Taught about God’s Wrath and Judgment, Baker explores how these traditional views have damaged our understanding of a loving God. She ultimately proposes an alternate theology of hell that is more consistent with the image of God as a loving creator who desires to liberate us from sin and evil.

Sharon L. Baker is Associate Professor of Theology and Religion and Coordinator of the Peace and Conflict Studies Program at Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania. She has published numerous articles and speaks frequently throughout the United States on nonviolent atonement and hell. A former stay-at-home mom, Baker received her PhD from Southern Methodist University in 2006.

 PLAY NOW

 

Related Resources:

Keith Wright, The Hell Jesus Never Intended

Rowan Williams, Tokens of Trust: An Introduction to Christian Belief

Music Credit:

“Shadows,” by David LaMotte

WJK Radio 6: Kathleen Long Bostrom on 99 Ways to Nurture our Spiritual Growth

Sitting down with Dan and Jana today is Kathleen Long Bostrom to discuss 99 Things to Do Between Here and Heaven by Kathleen Long Bostrom. From the sublime (watch the sun rise) to the wonderfully silly (dance in the rain), her imaginative suggestions will breathe new life into readers’ lives while opening them up to new spiritual experiences.

Kathleen Long Bostrom is the author of dozens of books for children and adults, including Finding Calm in the Chaos: Christian Devotions for Busy Women. She has been an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) since 1983. Kathy and her husband, Greg, currently serve as Co-Pastors of the Wildwood Presbyterian Church in  Wildwood, Illinois.

Running Time: 30:33 minutes 

PLAY NOW

 

Related Resources:

Kathleen Long Bostrom, Finding Calm in the Chaos: Christian Devotions for Busy Women

Kathleen Long Bostrom, 99 Ways to Raise Spiritually Healthy Children

Kathleen Long Bostrom, Making Space for the Spirit: 100 Simple Ways to Nurture Your Soul

 

Music Credit:

"Shadows," by David LaMotte

WJK Radio 5: Rebecca Barnes-Davies on 50 Ways to Help Save the Earth

 

Rebecca Barnes-Davies discusses simple steps we can all take—as individuals and within our communities and congregations—to help ensure the survival of God’s creation. Her new book, 50 Ways to Help Save the Earth: How You and Your Church Can Make a Difference, is now available from Westminster John Knox Press.

 

Rebecca Barnes-Davies has been an environmental activist for well over a decade, advocating for public policy changes, educating groups of concerned Christians, and writing numerous articles. She has served as director of Presbyterians for Restoring Creation and as a program assistant in the Environmental Justice Office of the Presbyterian Church USA. An independent consultant for environmental and social justice ministry, she is currently studying at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Kentucky.

  

Running Time: 34:02 minutes

PLAY NOW

 

 

Related Resources:

 

Christian Iosso and Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty, editors, Prayers for the New Social Awakening

 

Thomas Friedman, Hot, Flat, and Crowded 2.0: Why We Need a Green Revolution—And How it Can Renew America

The Green Bible: Understand the Bible’s Powerful Message for the Earth 

 

Music Credit:

"Shadows," by David LaMotte