Mike Lloyd

Nicky Gumbel, vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton, joins Graham, Mike and Jane to discuss the use of the Bible in public preaching and in personal spirituality. How are our different personality types suited to various approaches to spirituality? How can church leaders use the Bible in preaching and pastoral ministry? And what is the place of interpretation in our approaches to the Bible? [Recorded 19 March 2009]

GodPod’s resident theologians are joined by Dave Bookless and Will Campbell-Clause from the Christian environmental organisation A Rocha. What might it mean for us to be stewards of creation? [Recorded 26 February 2009]

Graham, Mike and Jane discuss prayer with Pete Greig, a founder member of the 24-7 Prayer movement and Director of Prayer at HTB. Covering the history of the movement, they look at the growth of new monasticism and the uniting of prayer with social justice. And what are we to do with unanswered prayer? [Recorded 22 January 2009]

Nigel Biggar, Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at the University of Oxford, joins the GodPod team this week. How might Christians approach debates about ethical issues, such as euthanasia and abortion, in the public square? And what about the place of forgiveness and reconciliation between communities in troubled areas like Northern Ireland?

The resident theologians are joined by Luke Bretherton, Senior Lecturer in Theology and Politics, and Convenor of the Faith and Public Policy Forum at Kings College, London. Luke explores what contemporary urban spirituality might look like, and the team discuss the relationship between church and state in US politics, in the light of Barack Obama’s victory in the American presidential elections.

Should Christians be vegetarians for ethical reasons? The regular team debates this, and the question of how Old Testament laws fit into New Testament ethics.

Why didn’t Jesus write his own Gospel? Chris Tilling joins Graham, Mike, and Jane again to discuss the legacy of Jesus in the writing of the New Testament, the sending of the Holy Spirit, and the institution of the sacraments. And can God answer the prayers of people who wouldn’t consider themselves Christians, or who follow other faiths? How might we think about the intercession of saints?

Stephen Backhouse joins the resident theologians to discuss patriotism and citizenship in the context of the Christian faith. Who exactly is our neighbour? Author of a report for the Christian think tank Theos entitled ‘Red, White, Blue… and Brown: Citizens, Patriots and the Prime Minister’, Stephen explores the insights of the Danish philosopher-theologian Søren Kierkegaard on the relationship between nationalism and the Christian faith. And in this discussion of church and state, there is a new addition to the team – Chris Tilling, New Testament lecturer at SPTC, who joins the GodPod regulars for the first time.

Andrew Walker, Professor of Theology and Education at King’s College London, joins Graham, Mike, and Jane to discuss ecumenicism and the Holy Spirit. Taking us through the debates and councils of the early church, Andrew explains the background to the different understandings of the nature of the Holy Spirit between the eastern and western churches. He also adds a personal note, talking about his own journey of faith and his membership of the Orthodox Church.

Andy Emerton, Director of St Paul’s Theological Centre, joins the GodPod team for the first time. The team open the discussion this week with consideration of Christian ideas about souls and physicality, in contrast with Platonic and Gnostic thought. They continue with the issue of poverty and the church, and go on to look at differences in approaches to the Bible between the Catholic, Orthodox and Protestants churches, particularly the canonicity of the Apocrypha.