patheological: The Podcast for the Pastor Theologian

Todd Littleton
patheological: The Podcast for the Pastor Theologian

patheological aim to offer interviews with a variety of guests covering a wide range of topics the show up at the intersection of pastoral work, pastoral ministry, pastoral care and theology. Todd Littleton, the host of patheological looks for rarely heard from voices with great insights.

  1. -4 ДН.

    Marty Duren and The Disparate Ones

    I scraped off the cobwebs, blew out the dust, and set up the mic to converse with my friend Marty Duren. We have been friends and have shared our writing for almost twenty years. Sometimes, the projects were collaborative. We often wanted another set of eyes on something we were putting down on paper. Today, we discuss a collection of essays Marty has put in book form. Inspired by a piece of art by Banksy and the discovery of an appropriate word in a Thesaurus, Marty draws out a more profound sense of the Christian adage, “in the world but not of the world.” Maybe you grew up in the era where the exhortation of Christian piety came wrapped in the phrase we are to be in the world but not of the world. If so, you have likely also grown to understand that the expression entails something more important, a reality that cuts both directions. What does it mean to be in? What does it mean to be not of? Indeed, it is more than an adult’s charge to avoid adolescent temptations. Yet, no one talked about what this might mean for the human pursuit of power. Take, for instance, Marty’s essay titled Evangelicals in the Room When It Happens. Too many have opted for a form of power in the world masked by a claim to be not of the world. We hope that by the end of the conversation, you want one of these pocketbooks in your back pocket and on your mind as you assess the issues on the ground that may matter differently when the question arises from within the scope of Scripture. Put another way, if we claim that the Bible gives us the Story of God, what do we do within that story to reflect the character of God when we consider issues and ideas in our day?

    49 мин.
  2. 03.07.2024

    The God of Wild Places

    My mentor preached at my ordination service. He was the third preacher to preach in the service. When he stood to preach he said, “I am the preacher who preaches after the preacher who preached after the preacher who has already preached.” Knowing Rick, he made that observation during the service and thought it might be a moment of levity. It was. I am the interviewer who interviewed after the interviewers who have already interviewed. But, I may have read the book before the interviewers who have already interviewed. Last year Jason called and said, “Hey, would you want to make a trip to the Boundary Waters, BWCA, with Tony Jones?” “Sure.”  One of the prerequisites before arriving in Minneapolis was to read the pre-publication manuscript of The God of Wile Places. We would have conversations around the book over evening campfires or as we took turns paddling with Tony, our guide.  We cobbled together a group and last September we undertook a trip for which I thought I was prepared but was not. If you have never portaged a canoe over at least one portage trail of over 1000 feet of rock and mud, uphill then downhill, while carrying a 60lb pack, then you would not have been ready either. I had never portaged anything before. And, I have never written a book and wondered how it would turn out. Friends liken it to birthing a baby though I would expect a mother or two would object. But, like birthing a baby, there is the working and waiting to see how your nurtured child fares as he or she grows. I half apologized to Tony for the late arrival to the podcast marketing team. “We are in month two.” “Crickets,” he said. The delay of this interview is not strategic. If Tony is counting on my little part of the Interwebs to rocket sales in month two, he will likely be sorely disappointed.  But you, dear reader and listener will not be. Tony gives me about an hour to talk around his book. Yes, around and of course about. What I mean is that I want you to both listen to the interview, buy the book, and purchase the audiobook. I don’t want to give the book away to you in the interview. If there is a teaser, this is it: If you must choose a format, go with the audio. There is nothing like hearing a person’s story in their voice. I don’t know which format produces more for the author, but you will thank me after listening. Why? Like Tony, all of us have been pigeonholed for one decision or another, for one rumor or another, for one doctrinal position or another. Often without a conversation. For example, when D.A. Carson published the book, Becoming Conversant with Emergentbut refused to have a conversation with those he condemned.  Take a listen. For those still unsure, even demotivated by my little intro, let me give you this one: Tony may have headed into the woods but he has not left Jesus behind.

    56 мин.
  3. 06.02.2024

    When Your Pen Pal Is Your Son

    Sharing Your Faith Is Not A Single Format Opportunity Those who know me know I am a talker. The corollary is that I tend to process my thinking out loud. Now you know why posts are sometimes infrequent and my podcast frequency is worse. Can We Talk? is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribed My penmanship is terrible. Were my maternal grandmother alive, she would be pounding the Like Button. I don’t recall if it was my senior year of high school or my freshman year of college. I had to type a paper for an assignment. Nan, as we called her, offered to type it for me. I dropped it off to her. When I returned to pick it up, she said she would gladly do that again for me but never to leave her a draft with such poor penmanship.  Lesson learned.  I never took her another draft. Period. Who has time to improve their penmanship at that late date? Nan had great penmanship. She never sent a birthday card or anniversary card without including a handwritten note. Hallmark could never capture all that she wanted to say. The handwriting in her journals is a work of art. My first podcast of the new year is not about perfect handwriting. It is about letter writing. Specifically, my new virtual friend Curtis Freeman wrote Pilgrim Letters: Instruction in The Basic Teaching of Christ. Curtis wanted to talk to his son about faith in Jesus Christ. His son was unsure he was ready for that kind of conversation. Curtis asked his son if he could write him some letters. The result? Pilgrim Letters. We all may know someone who prefers to communicate the more serious and particular things of life by handwriting a note. I do. If you do, then you will find my conversation with Curtis helpful. You may even pick up Pilgrim Letters and Pilgrim Journey: Instructions in the Mystery of the Gospel.  Enjoy.

    37 мин.
  4. 25.07.2023

    An Influential Mentor

    Marv Levy takes his dry humor around the globe in the comedy series The Reluctant Traveler. Levy’s travels leave him perplexed and curious. His episode-ending reflections include themes he picks up along the way. Often sounding surprised, he finds that folks living in Finland enjoy life outdoors, even if it is cold. Smiles greet him, and he cannot figure out why. After a few episodes, you get the feeling that he may enjoy a habit he never dreamed he would. Maina Mwara describes his recent book as a project that called him. And after our conversation, I wondered if Howard Hendricks could be described as The Reluctant Mentor. Not resistant but reluctant.  Mentoring hit the craze level some years ago in Christian leadership circles. Books on mentoring, how to be a mentor, and successful mentoring became the rage. I recall receiving a free book or two at a conference on the subject. The desire to be a mentor has a dark side. It feeds a nascent narcissism that may be latent in all of us. “You need to listen to me.” Like Hendricks to those who saw him as their mentor, my mentors have not self-identified as such. I have recognized they are my mentors. The relationship developed into a mentoring relationship. Rick did not tell me one day as Darth told Luke, “I am your mentor.” Reluctant does not mean resistant. Influential does not always mean intentional. Relationships predicated on a contractual arrangement seldom reach the depths of mentoring relationships. And lack of intention does not mean accidental. Christian discipleship is organic, not programmatic. “Don’t pluck the weeds lest you pluck the wheat also.” Time and interactions are the soil in which mentoring relationships emerge. Howard Hendricks’s story as an influential mentor rises from within an uncomfortable context, reaching diverse people, and results in an investment that yet survives his short sojourn. Remember, no matter how long we live; it is like a vapor. Pick up a copy and observe what it means to be an influential mentor. You don’t need a program. You only need an interest in people.

    47 мин.
  5. 07.06.2021

    Common Places: A Conversation with Brad Mason

    I tried to work in one of my favorite lines from Cold Mountain into the title. I imagine God is weary of being called down on both sides of an argument. Inman, Cold Mountain Next week Messengers to our denominations’ annual meeting may hear proposed Resolutions on Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality. One feature of the debate over the past couple of years has been working out just how the conception of race as a social construct should inform our awareness of the way racialization has become part of the legal structures of the U.S. legal system thereby making it normal to subordinate non-white people. Some disagree with this assertion having opted for a derivative definition of CRT. In this episode, Brad and I talk about my own difficulty understanding and agreeing that race is, in fact, a social construct. What caught my attention is that both those who see the benefit of CRT analysis and those opposed agree – race is a social construct. Even Christians agree. However, at that point it is a matter of disagreement as to who’s side God is on when it comes to the usefulness of such a conclusion. It is here where I would echo Jude Law’s character, Inman. Where interests intersect is what some refer to as common places. Bradly Mason joins me as we continue our series of conversations on Critical Race Theory. On this episode we discuss the common places, areas where shared interests converge in search of understanding, if not action. I should note here that I have been helped, and indebted to, Brad for taking time out of his schedule to have these conversations. In the past week a couple of friends, pastor types, who resisted any benefit of CRT, have found these conversations helpful and admit to drawing conclusions without exploring the original sources and ideas. One young friend sent along a document dated to the Wilberforce era where the conditions that gave rise to CRT, the organized subordination of others, existed before Derrick Bell’s seminal essay just more than 30 years ago. If you missed our previous episodes you will find them here:The Danger of Mediating IdeasWhen the Law Does Not DeliverCan Two Walk Together If you find the podcast helpful, share it with your friends. Share it with your pastor friends as well as folks you know involved in leadership that touches on the pastoral. Also, consider heading over to iTunes, login, search for patheological and give us a five-star rating and a kind review.

    1 ч. 7 мин.
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patheological aim to offer interviews with a variety of guests covering a wide range of topics the show up at the intersection of pastoral work, pastoral ministry, pastoral care and theology. Todd Littleton, the host of patheological looks for rarely heard from voices with great insights.

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