Way Stations | Conversations Along the Journey

*Originally aired in 2021: Re-released in Way Stations Format for Podcast Join Steve as he interviews Bruce Hindmarsh (Professor of Spirituality and Christian History | Regent College), about "Dark Night of the Soul", a poem written by St. John of the Cross which inspired Steve to write the song.  https://www.brucehindmarsh.com/ Music Video/Song: Dark Night of the Soul Music and Lyrics by Steve Bell *Adapted from the poem by St. John of the Cross (circa 1577) Orchestral arrangement by Mike Janzen Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Rei Hotoda

In this fascinating episode, Steve talks to Dr. Stephen Backhouse about the field of Political Theology, who then demonstrates that discipline by applying it to the Gospel of Mark. During COVID, Dr. Backhouse released a 31-part podcast series in which he takes listeners through a political reading of the book of Mark. Each episode is 30-40 minutes long and presented in a delightfully casual, accessible manner.  Host Steve Bell found the series to be transformative and hopes this conversation will entice some of you to check it out.  Go To: https://www.tenttheology.com/ and click on The Gospel of Mark (it's free) Spoiler alert! For Dr. Backhouse, 'political' does not equal 'partisan.' This is not about how one should vote in an election. Backhouse invites listeners to consider that Political Theology is a more fully-orbed contemplation of how we use our power in the world in the light of Biblical revelation... particularly, the life and teachings of Jesus. We hope to have Stephen Backhouse back in the early new year to discuss his book, Kierkegaard: A Single Life (Zondervan, 2016).  From the slip cover: "This new biography introduces Kierkegaard in his many disguises—the thinker, the lover, the recluse, the writer, the controversialist—in prose so compelling it reads like a novel," You may want to order and read the book in advance. 

In this podcast, Steve and Carolyn discuss her music career journey as a songwriter and Christian recording artist, along with discussing her latest single "Fall In Love". This compelling conversation will take you behind the scenes of the industry, and will highlight some of her influences along the way and finishes with a lyric video of Carolyn's new song. Carolyn Arends is an internationally awarded singer/songwriter and author whose work has yielded 14 albums,15 top ten radio singles on the Canadian and US Christian charts, and 3 critically acclaimed books. Carolyn holds a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Regent College. She is a regular columnist for Christianity Today and serves as an adjunct professor at ACTS Seminary, Pacific Life Bible College, and Columbia Bible College.In addition to her busy touring and speaking schedule, Carolyn is the current Director of Education for Renovaré Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation.  Carolyn lives in Surrey, BC with her husband, Mark, and their children Benjamin and Bethany.  Websites:  https://www.carolynarends.com/  https://renovare.org/institute/overview

Good Grief: Honouring the Passing of Parents The podcast opens with Carolyn explaining her work with Renovaré Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation before she and Steve swap stories, insights and songs about their recent loss of beloved parents, and the songs each wrote in the wake of their grief. *note: to watch the video of this podcast click HERE…  Carolyn Arends is an internationally awarded singer/songwriter and author whose work has yielded 14 albums,15 top ten radio singles on the Canadian and US Christian charts, and 3 critically acclaimed books. Carolyn holds a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Regent College. She is a regular columnist for Christianity Today and serves as an adjunct professor at ACTS Seminary, Pacific Life Bible College, and Columbia Bible College. In addition to her busy touring and speaking schedule, Carolyn is the current Director of Education for Renovaré Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation. Carolyn lives in Surrey, BC with her husband, Mark, and their children Benjamin and Bethany.   Websites: https://www.carolynarends.com/ https://renovare.org/institute/overview   Discography and Books: https://www.carolynarends.com/releases   Articles: Stoicism Isn't Spiritual: What Grief Taught Me About Being Fully Human by Carolyn Arends Ain't No Grave Gonna Hold Our Bodies Down (Christianity Today) by Carolyn Arends   Songs: Videos for the songs included in this podcast can be watched independently on YouTube. Click song titles below to watch: To Cry for You  Music and Lyrics by Carolyn Arends Album: Recognition There's a lump in my throat There's a knot in my chest I am tired to the bone But I cannot rest But it's only right To feel like I do Cause it is my honour To cry for you All the memories come back Like the tide rolling in And the current is strong I go under again So I hold my breath What else can I do? Cause it is my honour To cry for you Blessed are the ones who weep Cause every tear is proof Of ties that bind so strong and deep That death cannot undo So it is my honour To cry for you I've got more than a hunch That you're somehwere so good It'd be wrong to come back Even if you could I will see you again But until I do It is my honour To cry for you Blessed are the ones who weep Cause every tear is proof Of ties that bind so strong and deep That death cannot undo So it is my honour To cry for you There's a lump in my throat There's a knot in my chest But the ache in my soul Tells me I am blessed Cause when the sorrow is great The love is too And it is my honour To cry for you I guess grief is the work That love must do So it is my honour To cry for you   In Memoriam  Music and Lyrics by Steve Bell Album: Wouldn't You Love to Know   Fresh tendernesses burgeoned with the dying of my dad I love him all the more for it He lived his life for others' gain His death, he gave away the same And I love him all the more for it   This son was fiercely fashioned By his father's dappled life The way he loved his children The way he loved his wife My dad was hardly perfect But I hardly give a rip I loved him all the more for it   Not scandalized by brokenness Not scandalized by pain But Dad could not abide the curse And hellishness of shame He'd absorb another's failures And return them as a gift We loved him all the more for it   My father was a trumpeter Those days have long since passed He passed along his passion to me Eager as I was We'd sit for hours and listen To the Tijuana Brass I loved him all the more for it   I tenderly remember When a beauty left me rent I was too young to consider then That love is never spent He told me pain would linger And would likely leave a dent I loved him all the more for it My dad was a believer He believed that God is good He was certain Jesus lived To show how everybody could And that all our earthly sorrows Couldn't be the final writ I loved him all the more for it   My father was a fortress  For my two sisters and I And more-so for our mom Who suffered so much of her life He taught us how to live  And then he taught us how to die We loved him all the more for it   Fresh tendernesses burgeoned  With the dying of my dad I love him all the more for it    

John Newton's Amazing Grace: The Man and the Story Behind the Song -with guest Dr. Bruce Hindmarsh Bruce Hindmarsh holds the James M. Houston Chair of Spiritual Theology at Regent College in Vancouver. He has published and spoken widely to international audiences on the history of early British evangelicalism. His recent book, Amazing Grace: The Life of John Newton and the Surprising Story Behind the Song, co-authored with Craig Borlase, offers a dramatic biography of John Newton, the 18th century slave-trader turned abolitionist who penned the poem, Amazing Grace, that has become the near universal hymn of humanity in the western world. Bruce joins Steve to talk about this page-turner of a dramatic biography which will also yield a feature-length documentary in 2024. WEBSITE: www.brucehindmarsh.com Books by Bruce Hindmarsh: Amazing Grace: The Life of John Newton and the Surprising Story Behind the Song  By Bruce Hindmarsh and Craig Borlase (W Publishing Group, an imprint of Thomas Nelson, 2023) Newton's story is shocking, and Amazing Grace does not try to airbrush or excuse his faults. There are glaring contradictions in the life of a ship's Captain who retreats to his cabin to study his Bible and write tender love letters to his wife while hundreds of slaves lie in chains in the hold below. The Spirit of Early Evangelicalism: True Religion in a Modern World By Bruce Hindmarsh (Oxford University Press, 2018) The Spirit of Early Evangelicalism sheds new light on the nature of evangelical religion by locating its rise with reference to major movements of the 18th century, including Modernity, the Scientific Revolution, and the Enlightenment. Hindmarsh draws on a wide range of sources to make meaningful connections between the evangelical awakening and the history of science, law, art, and literature.  For Christ and His Kingdom: Inspiring a New Generation By James Houston and Bruce Hindmarsh (Regent College Publishing, 2013) Dr. Hindmarsh presents the need for intellectual and spiritual integrity as essential to paradosis, the transmission of a living faith to the next generation, while Dr. Houston provides a compelling case for a fulsome theological understanding of the person in Christ as intrinsic to an authentic Christian education that avoids the reductionism of secular viewpoints. The Evangelical Conversion Narrative: Spiritual Autobiography in Early Modern England By Bruce Hindmarsh (Oxford University Press, 2005) In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, thousands of ordinary women and men experienced evangelical conversion and turned to a certain form of spiritual autobiography to make sense of their lives. This book traces the rise and progress of conversion narrative as a unique form of spiritual autobiography in early modern England. John Newton and the English Evangelical Tradition: Between the Conversions of Wesley and Wilberforce By Bruce Hindmarsh Dr. Hindmarsh draws upon extensive archival and antiquarian sources to provide a serious, scholarly consideration of the life and religious thought of John Newton (1725-1807). In addition, he uses the theme of Newton as a 'sort of middle man' to explore the religious understanding of a whole generation who knew themselves as 'evangelical' although this was different from those who later adopted the term as a badge of partisan loyalty.  SONG: Come To My Help (Psalm 70:1) By Steve Bell   *WATCH VODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/ZfLYdoPvxTA   SEE ALSO: In 2021 Steve released a independant vodcast with Dr. Bruce Hindmarsh discussing the life of St. John of The Cross and his poem "Dark Night of the Soul" which is the inspiration for Steve's song of the same name. The vodcast includes a performance video of the song at the end of the conversation. Watch: Steve Bell Video Podcast: Bruce Hindmarsh "Dark Night of the Soul" (St. John of the Cross)