Imaginative Discipleship

<p>What happens when a love of mythology meets theology? In this episode, Caleb Woodbridge talks with Nate Morgan Locke, self-described Reformed Mythologist and (now former) Creative Director at Speak Life, about how myth, story, and imagination can be “baptised” to see the world through the lens of Jesus as the true myth.</p><p>Watch this episode on YouTube: <a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/6LUGgxNjPUM">https://youtu.be/6LUGgxNjPUM</a></p><p><strong>Links & Resources:</strong></p><p>* Nate Morgan Locke on YouTube: <a target="_blank" href="https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCQbwBilmEZaBBfq9X16dQBQ">@ReformedMythologist</a></p><p>* Speak Life on YouTube <a target="_blank" href="https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCJjwJMzkkVyXg3BNGUMcT0g">@SpeakLifeMedia</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.heroscreed.com">Nate’s new project, </a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.heroscreed.com"><strong>Hero's Creed</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.heroscreed.com"> — www.heroscreed.com</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.equip.org/articles/stealing-past-watchful-dragons-how-reading-the-bible-imaginatively-helps-bypass-our-overfamiliarity/">Caleb’s article on Stealing Past Watchful Dragons by Reading the Bible Imaginatively</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bethesdahay.org/special-events/hay-festival-big-talk">Nate’s unofficial “fringe” Hay Festival event with Bethesda Church, Hay-on-Wye – “</a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.bethesdahay.org/special-events/hay-festival-big-talk"><strong>Invisible String In The Books We Love and the Lives We Live</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.bethesdahay.org/special-events/hay-festival-big-talk">”, Sunday 24th May, 5.30pm.</a></p><p><strong>Follow Imaginative Discipleship</strong></p><p>* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/imaginative.discipleship</p><p>* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imaginative.discipleship</p><p>* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@imaginative.discipleship</p><p>Timings</p><p>0:46 The lost episode!</p><p>2:22 Introducing Nate</p><p>2:41 What is a 'Reformed Mythologist'?</p><p>4:33 What is (was) Nate's work with Speak Life?</p><p>7:20 Analysing the lunchbox stories</p><p>8:46 All time favourite stories</p><p>10:48 Meatloaf and Charles Wesley</p><p>13:08 Recovering the glory of the ordinary</p><p>17:36 Portal fantasy and Doctor Who</p><p>20:22 Reception of C S Lewis outside Christian circles</p><p>27:19 Seeing pop culture in light of Christ</p><p>34:52 Baptism of the imagination</p><p>41:54 Reading the Bible and enjoying myth</p><p>44:53 Anansi and the genesis of story</p><p>50:35 Wrapping up</p> <br/><br/>Get full access to Bigger on the Inside at <a href="https://www.biggerinside.co.uk/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_4">www.biggerinside.co.uk/subscribe</a>

<p>We become what we behold. The images, stories, places, and heroes we pay attention to shape who we are and what we value. So how do we make sure we're becoming the people we want to become? </p><p>Lanta Davis explores this in her book <em>Becoming by Beholding: The Power of Imagination in Spiritual Formation. </em>She is Professor of Humanities and Literature at Indiana Wesleyan University, and I’m delighted to have her join me to discuss her book and explore imaginative discipleship with me.</p><p>We dive into the historical roots of Christian imagination from icons to cathedrals to medieval bestiaries, and what they can teach us today.</p><p>Lanta Davis' website: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lantadavis.com">https://www.lantadavis.com</a></p><p>Subscribe to the Imaginative Discipleship podcast: <a target="_blank" href="http://imaginativediscipleship.com">http://imaginativediscipleship.com</a></p><p>Sign up for Bigger on the Inside, Caleb's newsletter on story, meaning-making, imagination and faith: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.biggerinside.co.uk">https://www.biggerinside.co.uk</a></p><p>Follow Imaginative Discipleship:</p><p>- Facebook: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/imaginative.discipleship">https://www.facebook.com/imaginative.discipleship</a></p><p>- Instagram: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/imaginative.discipleship">https://www.instagram.com/imaginative.discipleship</a></p><p>- YouTube: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/@imaginative.discipleship">https://www.youtube.com/@imaginative.discipleship</a></p><p><strong>Timings</strong></p><p>00:00 Intro</p><p>00:40 Becoming by Beholding</p><p>03:31 Why is the imagination important?</p><p>09:51 Icons and Seeing Jesus</p><p>17:16 Medieval Bestiaries and Wonder</p><p>20:45 Sacramental Imagination</p><p>24:19 Form Matters: Worship and Space</p><p>31:30 Dante and the Virtues</p><p>35:11 Modern Authors and Green Shoots</p><p>39:48 Contemplating Death</p><p>46:11 Practical Practices</p> <br/><br/>Get full access to Bigger on the Inside at <a href="https://www.biggerinside.co.uk/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_4">www.biggerinside.co.uk/subscribe</a>

<p>In this episode, I sit down with philosopher <strong>Esther Lightcap Meek</strong> to explore how our understanding of knowledge shapes everything, from faith to creativity to everyday life. Esther challenges the modernist assumption that knowledge is merely information gathering, arguing instead for a view of knowing that is personal, participatory, and artful.Listen or watch as we discuss:</p><p>* How the "knowledge as information" paradigm cuts us off from reality</p><p>* Michael Polanyi's concept of subsidiary-focal integration</p><p>* Why imagination is essential to all knowing (including science!)</p><p>* The relationship between attention, love, and knowledge</p><p>* How artful knowing can help us navigate crises of faith</p><p>* The doctrine of creation and wonder in the ordinary</p><p>* Re-enchantment vs. the “lively real”</p><p>* Comparing Esther's work with Iain McGilchrist’s brain hemisphere approach</p><p>Whether you're wrestling with doubt, seeking deeper understanding, or simply curious about how we know what we know, this conversation offers profound insights into making contact with reality.</p><p>Also available to watch on <a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/PHvscKBjV5w">YouTube</a>.</p><p><strong>Timestamps</strong></p><p>0:00 - Introduction & Opening Reflections</p><p>2:43 - Welcoming Esther Meek</p><p>4:23 - How did Esther come to philosophy?</p><p>8:35 - On navigating crises of faith</p><p>13:33 - How Polanyi helps us</p><p>17:32 - Subsidiary focal integration</p><p>20:57 - Attention, love and knowledge</p><p>29:23 - Is re-enchantment helpful?</p><p>42:15 - The creativity of logic</p><p>49:16 - Imagination and reason - one form of knowing?</p><p>53:33 - Imagination as a point of integration</p><p>57:02 - Practicing artful attention</p><p>1:02:09 - Concluding reflections</p><p><strong>Books Mentioned</strong></p><p>* Doorway to Artistry - Esther Lightcap Meek</p><p>* Longing to Know - Esther Lightcap Meek</p><p>* Loving to Know - Esther Lightcap Meek</p><p>* A Little Manual of Knowing - Esther Lightcap Meek</p><p>* Personal Knowledge - Michael Polanyi</p><p>* The Master and His Emissary - Iain McGilchrist</p><p>* The Matter with Things - Iain McGilchrist</p><p>* Sophie's World - Jostein Gaarder</p><p><strong>Connect with Esther Meek</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.estherlightcapmeek.com">https://www.estherlightcapmeek.com</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://facebook.com/estherlightcapmeek">https://facebook.com/estherlightcapmeek</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/esther_l_meek">https://twitter.com/esther_l_meek</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://instagram.com/estherlightcapmeek">https://instagram.com/estherlightcapmeek</a></p><p><strong>Also mentioned</strong>Esther Meek on Grail Country: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMYjXpgoMNc&#38;pp=0gcJCXwKAYcqIYzv">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMYjXpgoMNc&pp=0gcJCXwKAYcqIYzv</a>Caleb's article on C. S. Lewis, Iain McGilchrist, creativity and inspiration: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.biggerinside.co.uk/p/creativity-and-spiritual-inspiration">https://www.biggerinside.co.uk/p/creativity-and-spiritual-inspiration</a></p> <br/><br/>Get full access to Bigger on the Inside at <a href="https://www.biggerinside.co.uk/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_4">www.biggerinside.co.uk/subscribe</a>

<p><strong>Edited 25th March 2026:</strong> Join me for an online <em>Galahad and the Grail</em> book group, starting in April! Vote for the best time slot for you here: <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd9ZcpfK9ky5-JuDbYjaQhqdYLcncrIg7VTBaa97VGXeKVe_g/viewform?usp=header">Register your interest</a>.</p><p>Welcome to season 2 of the Imaginative Discipleship podcast - exploring meaning, imagination and transformation for Christians and the spiritually curious!</p><p>In this episode, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr Malcolm Guite, a poet, priest and scholar who has thought deeply about the imagination. Discover how imagination can unveil our sight to see reality more deeply.</p><p>Guite is also soon to release the first book in Merlin’s Isle, his epic poetic retelling of the story of King Arthur. We got into all sorts of interesting topics from dinosaurs to Doctor Who to dragons.</p><p>So listen in and let me know what you think in the comments!</p><p>Episode 2 is also now available:</p><p>This episode is also available to watch on the <a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/p93MBO9UmWQ">Imaginative Discipleship YouTube channel</a>.</p><p><strong>Malcolm Guite</strong></p><p>* YouTube: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/@MalcolmGuitespell">https://www.youtube.com/@MalcolmGuitespell</a></p><p>* Twitter: <a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/malcolmguite">twitter.com/malcolmguite</a></p><p>* Facebook: <a target="_blank" href="http://facebook.com/malcolm.guite">facebook.com/malcolm.guite</a></p><p>* Blog: <a target="_blank" href="https://malcolmguite.wordpress.com/blog/">malcolmguite.wordpress.com/blog</a></p><p><strong>Malcolm Guite’s books discussed</strong></p><p>* <em>Lifting the Veil: Imagination and the Kingdom of God</em> - <a target="_blank" href="https://canterburypress.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9781786224545/lifting-the-veil">Canterbury Press (UK)</a>; <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Lifting-Veil-Imagination-Kingdom-God/dp/1941106226">Amazon.com</a></p><p>* <em>Merlin’s Isle Book 1: Galahad and the Grail</em>, illustrated by Stephen Crotts - <a target="_blank" href="https://www.rabbitroom.com/merlinsisle">Preorder from the Rabbit Room (US)</a>; <a target="_blank" href="https://canterburypress.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9781786227126/galahad-and-the-grail">Preorder from Canterbury Press (UK)</a></p><p>* <em>Faith, Hope and Poetry</em>: <em>Theology and the Poetic Imagination - </em><a target="_blank" href="https://www.routledge.com/Faith-Hope-and-Poetry-Theology-and-the-Poetic-Imagination/Guite/p/book/9781409449362">Routledge</a></p><p><strong>Arthurian literature and criticism</strong></p><p>* <em>Le Morte d'Arthur</em> by Sir Thomas Malory</p><p>* Geoffrey of Monmouth, <em>Historia Regum Britanniae</em></p><p>* Alfred Lord Tennyson, <em>Idylls of the King</em></p><p>* T. H. White, <em>The Sword in the Stone and The Once and Future King</em></p><p>* Roger Lancelyn Green, <em>King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table</em></p><p>* <em>The Inklings and Arthur,</em> edited by Sørina Higgins</p><p><strong>Also mentioned</strong></p><p>* C S Lewis - <em>Surprised by Joy, The Chronicles of Narnia,</em> “Three Ways of Writing for Children”</p><p>* G K Chesterton - <em>The Ballad of the White Horse</em></p><p>* Samuel Taylor Coleridge - <em>Biographia Literaria</em></p><p>* James K A Smith - <em>Desiring the Kingdom</em></p><p>* Esther Meek - <em>Loving to Know; The Mother’s Smile</em></p><p>* Sir James Frazer - <em>The Golden Bough</em></p><p><strong>Episode timings</strong></p><p>0:00 Intro</p><p>0:42 Welcome to Imaginative Discipleship Season 2</p><p>2:36 Welcoming Malcolm Guite</p><p>6:18 Imagination as Organ of Meaning</p><p>10:23 Creativity and the Image of God</p><p>16:39 Discerning True Imagination</p><p>23:25 Baptized Imagination and Death to Self</p><p>27:56 Chronicles of Narnia and Doctor Who</p><p>31:41 Epic Poetry, Merlin's Isle and Mythopoetic Storytelling</p><p>41:17 Favourite Arthurian Tellings</p><p>55:13 Arthur, England, and National Identity</p><p>59:32 Retelling Arthurian Legend</p><p>1:01:22 The Growing Imaginative Resistance</p> <br/><br/>Get full access to Bigger on the Inside at <a href="https://www.biggerinside.co.uk/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_4">www.biggerinside.co.uk/subscribe</a>

<p>Are you looking to go deeper in your own discipleship journey as a Christian, or to more effectively disciple others in the Christian faith? I’ve got just the thing for you!</p><p>I’m excited to share that I’m running an <strong>online course</strong> on <strong>The Place of Imagination in Discipleship</strong> with the Navigators. It’s free with registration (you have to be registered as a NavNetwork member, but there’s no charge to sign up either for NavNetwork or the course itself).</p><p><strong>Register here: </strong><a target="_blank" href="https://navigators.co.uk/navnetwork-member-modules/theplace-of-imagination-in-discipleship/">https://navigators.co.uk/navnetwork-member-modules/theplace-of-imagination-in-discipleship/</a></p><p><strong><em>When and where is it?</em></strong></p><p>The course will be held on Zoom and will be interactive, with teaching, discussion and exercises:</p><p>I. Monday 29th September 7:30-9pm</p><p>II. Monday 6th October 7:30-9pm</p><p>III. Monday 13th October 7:30-9pm</p><p><strong><em>What will the course cover?</em></strong></p><p><em>Session I: Why does imagination matter to discipleship?</em></p><p>Why we experience the “discipleship gap” and how imagination relates to the biblical theme of “the heart”. Exploring how we imagine God and how we can move from distorted images and idols to spiritual reality.</p><p><em>Session II: Imagination and spiritual disciplines</em></p><p>The place of imagination in enriching and deepening our regular spiritual habits, such as prayer, reading the Bible, solitude and fellowship, focusing on our inner transformation.</p><p><em>Session III: Imagination and whole-life discipleship</em></p><p>The place of imagination in our active living out of our faith to reflect the kingdom of God, including in community, loving our neighbours, seeking justice and caring for creation.</p><p><strong>What is NavNetwork?</strong></p><p>NavNetwork is the free membership scheme of the Navigators. Navigators (or “Navs”) isn’t anything to do with orienteering or sailing, but is a Christian ministry focused on discipleship.</p><p>I was part of the Navigators as a university student, and I really appreciated their emphasis on whole-life discipleship and grew a lot through my Navs group. So it’s a delight to be working with them many years later to deliver this material!</p><p>Find out more at <a target="_blank" href="https://navigators.co.uk/"><strong>navigators.co.uk</strong></a></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://www.biggerinside.co.uk?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_1">www.biggerinside.co.uk</a>