Venn Presents Venn Foundation

The need to rest is a big feature of contemporary life. In the midst of these changing times, many people have been returning to the wisdom of the Sabbath, and learning to lean in to this ancient, delight-filled practice of God’s people.
Here at Venn, Sabbath-keeping is something we’ve been embracing. We’ve been learning about the Sabbath personally, and thinking and writing about what good Sabbath practice looks like. You can find some of this work in our new book How to Sabbath Well: Learning God’s Rhythms of Rest.
In the first episode of this two-part series on the Sabbath, Sam and John unpacked how the Sabbath is a practice of freedom for life with God. Here in Part Two, they get into the practical nitty-gritty. What does Sabbath-keeping actually look like? How firm is the command to rest? What about shift-work, or life with small children? How important is gathering for worship? Sam and John explore all these questions, talking about four key Sabbath postures: ceasing, resting, embracing, and feasting.
Perhaps you’ve tried a Sabbath, and found it all a bit hard. Perhaps you’re keen to sabbath, but don’t know where to begin. Either way, this is a rich, genuinely helpful conversation.

It’s a commonplace of contemporary life that we’re struggling to rest. Whether you’re a student, a worker, or a parent of small children, resting well is a challenge. We live busy lives and there is so much to do. Anxious, we fiddle with our work/life balance, we try to schedule “me time”, but it’s all, well, a bit hard.
In this context, it might seem counter-intuitive to talk about the Sabbath. Given how white-knuckled time management has become for many of us, how is a regular rule of rest going to help? The Sabbath is, however, what we need. In order to live well—in order to flourish together—we need to develop a thick, lived understanding of this ancient, delight-filled practice.
Here at Venn, Sabbath-keeping is something we’ve been leaning into, most recently in our new book How to Sabbath Well: Learning God’s Rhythms of Rest. In this first episode of a two-part series, John Dennison and Venn Presents host Sam Bloore talk about our need for rest and the rich and transformative practice of the Sabbath. They explore this profound theme of Scripture, and how the Sabbath calls us to live in light of God’s creative and redemptive purposes. If you’ve toyed with the idea of Sabbath rest, but have never really understood what it is or how to do it, this conversation is for you. Sabbath is a practice of freedom for life with God.

What is the nature of the artist’s vocation? And how exactly does art convey meaning? What might it mean for Christians to be artists? Such questions are commonplace when it comes to faith and art. It’s also questions like these that have shaped the thought and career of writer, philosopher and teacher Dr Adrienne Dengerink-Chaplin. 
Dr Chaplin was in New Zealand earlier this year on a teaching and speaking tour, which included the Venn Conversation Evening, “Why Art and Artists Matter”. The next day, we were fortunate enough to get some time in the studio with her to continue the conversation. In this special one-off episode of Venn Presents, Sam Bloore talks with Adrienne about how she came to be fascinated with art and about exactly how art conveys meaning. Their lively and wide-ranging conversation delves into some of the thorny questions of faith and art: on how the gospel can shape art practice, on art and Christian witness, and on the attitude of churches to artists. Adrienne offers a refreshingly grounded take on things. At its best, art is not an exceptional calling but simply a distinct out working of the human vocation: it can, as she puts it, be “honest labour”.
Whether you’re an artist yourself, a keen gallery goer, or just someone who loves thoughtful chat, you’ll love this episode. 

Welcome to part four in our series of conversations with women and men who are seeking to follow Christ in the whole of life. In this episode, host Sam Bloore is joined by Mark Mayhew to talk about his journey of understanding how the gospel speaks to everything we do, and how God has drawn him deeper and deeper into a gospel life.

Welcome to part three of our series Following Christ in the whole of Life. In this episode, Sam Bloore talks with Mark Compton about his vocational journey as a maker and visual artist. Mark reflects on the risk and challenge of full-time art practice, the Church and the arts, and the joys of hands-on problem-solving and collaboration.

Welcome to part two of our new series of conversations with women and men who are seeking to follow Christ in the whole of life. Today, host Sam Bloore is joined by Dr. Jin Russell to talk about what a "portfolio career" means, why she's so passionate about children and families, and what it means to pursue excellence rather than success.