Down to Earth Conversations

Cathy Marston and Steven Goulstone, the hosts of the Changes Ahead Podcast, a Baptist New Zealand podcast hosting conversations that discuss the changes the church needs to think about if it is to have a meaningful presence in the future.

We talk about the unheard voices of our church communities, the desire to be faithful by keeping things the same, when perhaps faithfulness demands change, hearing people's stories rather than discussing theology abstractly, and why the church might be worth changing to save.

If you like this conversation then make sure you check out the Changes Ahead podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

Sharon 'Rocky' Roggio has spent years in the film and television industry, working in a variety of roles on many well known shows (e.g. House of Cards, Parks and Recreation) and films.

In this conversation we discuss her directorial debut film, '1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture'. The film has won over 25 awards at film festivals around the world.

The film documents the first time the word homosexual was included in a Bible translation (as recently as 1946), the subsequent decision by that same committee to take the word out again in their next revision, looking at how and why the committee came to those decisions.

The film features personal stories of the key characters which makes it compelling to watch.

Rocky and I discuss her career, why and how the film came about, why she included a storyline of her own journey with her dad, who believes very differently to her, and what she is hoping for as people watch this film.

Jaimee van Gemerden holds a PhD in theology but, unlike some academics, is great at connecting deep thought about God with real issues in and around the Christian faith in a way that the average person can connect with. 

With her friend Andrew, she is the founder of Metanoia, a platform for hosting conversations about faith in public spaces that might otherwise be held behind closed doors, if they are had at all.

We talk about how deliberately bringing her understandings and experiences as a woman into her theology has helped her see different angles on things, what Metanoia is and how it came about, the church's response, or lack of it, to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into abuse in care report that came out last year, and the idea that we aren't supposed to empty ourselves of who we are as Christians, but in fact to embrace all of who we are in partnership with God to live our fullest lives. We talk about what the church might need to be saved from, and indeed, whether it should be saved at all.