Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair talk with the co-hosts of The Missiology Podcast, Martin Rodriguez and Greg McKinzie to discuss mission. They discuss how the churches have been affected by modernity, and how mission needs to change. Sharing the disorientation they encounter among church leaders, they explore the tension between missiological scholarship and relationships with real people. And, drawing on their conversations with missiologists and missionaries, as well as their own missional experience - in South America, China and the United States - in prisons, with the homeless, and in their ..read more

Alan Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair talk with Sally Mann about her life in community in the East End of London in the UK, where her family has lived for six generations. Sally tells the story of Bonny Downs Baptist Church where she is one of the pastoral team of five, all of whom are co-vocational. The team shares a single stipend, a model that came out of shared living – what she describes as “lived hospitality.”  Sally describes her love for her community and the transformative work Bonny Downs is doing in a place that many consider a slum. Rather than having “a five year plan”, they find ..read more

Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair talk with John van Sloten about his experience of God’s “common grace” after more than twenty-five years as a pastor in Calgary, Canada.  John shares how the dyslexia he was born with has been used by the Spirit to help him recognize and engage God’s presence and agency in creation and nature.  He talks about stepping away from a more traditional pastoral ministry and how he is now leaning into a theology of encounter and “church without walls'', discovering God at work in unexpected places, like city hall and a multinational corporation. John Van Slote ..read more

Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair talk with Phillip Ullmann about his insights into how our economic systems need to be reordered for the common good. Phillip shares his own personal journey as a business entrepreneur and how “the Bible has opened up to me in the last three years in a way that has blown my mind.”  Invited to riff on the “Leaving Egypt” theme, Phillip talks about Egypt by starting with Joseph in the closing chapters of Genesis, recognising parallels to our contemporary unravelling.  He continues into the book of Exodus, noting that in “the manna story” and other parts of ..read more

Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair begin their conversation with Xenia Chan by talking about her experience of growing up in an “ethnoburb” of Toronto, Canada. Speaking both Cantonese and English, Xenia then reflects on the unravelling taking place across our societies from the perspective of a Chinese-Canadian doing doctoral studies in Jeremiah and Lamentations. Her PhD is addressing a kind of pastoral angst alongside Jeremiah as she explores the upheaval happening in the Canadian churches. Xenia talks about her experience as a pastor, her personal prayer life, and how she is trying to “restitch ..read more

Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair talk with Bill Cavanaugh about how, as Christians, we might understand the shifting and disruption of our times. Bill proposes that rather than reading the signs through the lens of secularisation, we should think in terms of “the migration of the holy”. He contends that the holy has migrated to the immanent categories of contemporary life in, for example, our captivity by money, consumerism, or the big tech oligarchs. In doing so, he gives us a helpful way of engaging the unravelling and understanding the nature of our modern “Egypt”.   William T. Cavanaugh ..read more

Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair talk with Roy Searle about his work in leading Christian communities over many decades. From anabaptist communities to monastic movements like the Northumbria community, Roy has witnessed most of the dynamic shifts in churches across the UK. He is equally at home with existing congregations and pioneers experimenting with ways of participating in the mission of God as current systems of church are going through a time of rapid change. In this wide ranging conversation Roy addresses the unravelling of the churches but, more importantly, points to places where he s ..read more

Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair talk with Matt Petrusek about the cultural challenges confronting Christian life. At a time when the culture of Self is so dominant and notions of truth are dissolving,  Matt makes a clear analysis of the tragedy unfolding, but also gives profound reasons for hope in the alternative story rooted in God’s Word. Drawing on the Catholic intellectual tradition, his incisive scholarship and deep humanism models a form of evangelical apologetics that can shape a radical new kind of Christian life in the “Egypt” in which we find ourselves.  Professor Matthew P ..read more

Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair talk with Tim Wray about the social, economic and personal challenges of farming and being a person of kingdom commitment.Tim is in his early forties. He is a bi-vocational Lutheran pastor and farmer in Alberta, Canada.  Along with his wife, Joanne and their three children they manage a cattle herd and a small flock of sheep. Coming from a family of farmers, Tim is dedicated to a deep relationship with land. As a Christian, he is involved in regenerative practices and is a member of Alberta’s Regenerative Agriculture Lab. As part of his formation as a Christ ..read more

At the end of the year, Al Roxburgh and Jenny Sinclair review the Leaving Egypt podcast since its launch in August 2023. They recall the fascinating range of guests and highlights from some of the conversations across the first episodes. They also look ahead to how the podcast will develop in 2024 and introduce their monthly discussion Forum, where paid subscribers can join with them in deeper reflection.  - Links - For Alan J Roxburgh: http://alanroxburgh.com/about https://www.themissionalnetwork.com/author/alan-roxburgh/ https://journalofmissionalpractice.com/alan-roxburgh Twitter: http ..read more