Centre for Christian Living podcast

Digital technology like smartphones has revolutionised the way we navigate daily life and the way our whole society functions. Such technology has its downsides. Even so, our stance as Christians is often something like, “Let’s use this technology wisely, but not abuse it”, as if the technology is simply a neutral instrument. But the good things of our world (like technology or money) can become much more than this: they can become master-teachers that dominate and disciple us.In this final episode of the series, Tony Payne brings the discussion to its practical conclusion. If our smartphones are not neutral tools, but powerful forces that shape our habits, attention and desires, what does faithful Christian living with technology actually look like?Building on the foundations from episodes 1 and 2, this episode asks the key question: what should we do now? How do we respond as followers of Christ? What does it look like to live wisely and deliberately with the devices that are constantly discipling us?For an edited transcript and show notes, visit our website.To ask questions or to get in touch with us about this series, send us a voice memo or email to ccl AT moore edu au.Find out more and register for “Left right out: The strange position of the political Christian” (Wed 20 May 2026)Support the work of the Centre by making a tax-deductible donation.Please note: The episode transcript on your podcast platform may have been generated by AI and has not been checked for accuracy. If quoting, please check against the audio.

Digital technology like smartphones has revolutionised the way we navigate daily life and the way our whole society functions. We have supercomputers in our hands that can answer almost any question instantly and perform many tasks that make life easier.Such technology has its downsides, like the explosion of accessibility to pornography and the prevalence of online bullying. Even so, our stance as Christians is often something like, “Let’s use this technology wisely, but not abuse it”, as if the technology is simply a neutral instrument. But the good things of our world (like technology or money) can become much more than this: they can become master-teachers that dominate and disciple us.In this first episode of a special three-part series, we explore this issue—interrogate and ask questions about what the smartphone really is and how it does affect our lives. How does this technology disciple us? How does it reorder our attitudes, operating beliefs and behaviours—not just personally, but on a society-wide level? Finally, what have been the costs and disadvantages of all this?For an edited transcript and show notes, visit our website.(Please note: Part 2 will be published in a fortnight’s time, while part 3 will be published in a month’s time.)To ask questions or to get in touch with us about this series, send us a voice memo or email to ccl AT moore edu au.Find out more and register for “Left right out: The strange position of the political Christian” (Wed 20 May 2026)Support the work of the Centre by making a tax-deductible donation.Please note: The episode transcript on your podcast platform may have been generated by AI and has not been checked for accuracy. If quoting, please check against the audio.

If you’ve been saying the words of the Nicene Creed for most of your life, you’ll have some sense that this ancient creed is profound and important, and that it summarises something basic and unifying about the Christian faith.But why and how does it do that, exactly? Why is the Nicene Creed a big deal? Why have Christians been saying these words for around 1700 years? And what difference does it actually make to our Christian lives? Tony Payne talks to Mark Thompson, Principal of Moore College, who recently attended a conference celebrating the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea, when the Nicene Creed was first written.For an edited transcript and show notes, visit our website.To ask questions or to get in touch with us about this series, send us a voice memo or email to ccl AT moore edu au.Find out more about studying at Moore Theological College.Support the work of the Centre by making a tax-deductible donation.Please note: The episode transcript on your podcast platform may have been generated by AI and has not been checked for accuracy. If quoting, please check against the audio.

One of the commonplaces of our culture is to distinguish between sex and gender. However, it wasn’t that long ago, when filling in forms, that we were asked about our sex—whether we’re male or female. Now forms ask us for our gender, and they often give us more than two options.But did you know that the word “gender”, as applied to someone’s sexual nature or expression or identity, is a very recent invention? We only really started doing that in the late 1950s and 60s. The introduction of the idea of gender, and its separation or decoupling from the concept of sex so that we now have two potentially different things—sex and gender—is one of the extraordinary features of the story of Western culture over the past 30-40 years.In this episode of the Centre of the Christian Living podcast, Rob Smith tells the story of how that happened, why it’s had such a massive impact on our society, and how it all relates to God’s theory of sex in his word.For an edited transcript and show notes, visit our website.To ask questions or to get in touch with us about this series, send us a voice memo or email to ccl AT moore edu au.Find out more and register for the 2026 Priscilla & Aquila Centre Annual Conference(Mon 2 Feb 2026)Support the work of the Centre by making a tax-deductible donation.Please note: The episode transcript on your podcast platform may have been generated by AI and has not been checked for accuracy. If quoting, please check against the audio.

On the CCL podcast, we’ve been exploring the topic of “Neurodivergence and the Christian life” in a special three-part series. In Part 1, we opened up the issue and heard many wonderful and moving stories from neurodivergent people about their experiences, and the questions and issues that arise from their experiences—especially in relation to Christianity, the Christian life and church life. In Part 2, we looked at what the Bible has to say about these questions, and how to think about these things from the perspective of God and his revelation about his world and our lives through the themes of Creation and the Fall; ability, the Spirit and weakness; and community and the body of Christ.In this final episode of our series, we return to the experiences of neurodivergent people and to the questions we have about how neurodivergence affects our lives, families and churches as Christians, and we explore some paths forward.For an edited transcript and show notes, visit our website.To ask questions or to get in touch with us about this series, send us a voice memo or email to ccl AT moore edu au.Next CCL event: The smartphone disciple (Mon 27 Oct).Support the work of the Centre by making a tax-deductible donation.Please note: The episode transcript on your podcast platform may have been generated by AI and has not been checked for accuracy. If quoting, please check against the audio.

Neurodivergence, such as Autism and ADHD, is increasingly identified and understood in our society. Almost everyone has experience of neurodivergence either in themselves or in close friends or family.How do we think about neurodivergence as Christians? What particular challenges and opportunities does being neurodivergent bring with it, especially in responding to the gospel and living as a Christian? How can we love all people in our families and churches?In this first episode of a special three-part series on neurodivergence and the Christian life, we explore and assess what neurodivergence is—the experience, questions and issues of neurodivergent people, as well as the experience, questions and issues of parents, friends and ministers of neurodivergent people. We also look briefly at medical, clinical and social perspectives on neurodivergence. Finally, we raise questions that we will attempt to answer in more depth in Parts 2 and 3 of this series.(Please note: Part 2 will be published in a fortnight’s time, while part 3 will be published in a month’s time.)For an edited transcript and show notes, visit our website.To ask questions or to get in touch with us about this series, send us a voice memo or email to ccl AT moore edu au.Next CCL event: The smartphone disciple (Mon 27 Oct).Support the work of the Centre by making a tax deductible donation.Please note: The episode transcript on your podcast platform may have been generated by AI and has not been checked for accuracy. If quoting, please check against the audio.

Around 19 per cent of Australia’s population is of school age. A similar proportion—around 17 per cent—are seniors, if that’s defined as 65 and older. Are those percentages reflected in the time, people and resources that your church devotes to evangelising and ministering to these age groups?Most of us would admit that our church has put vastly more effort into youth and children’s ministry than we do into ministry to older people. But why is that the case? Is it just a natural focus on the next generation, or is it a blind spot and a huge missed opportunity?In this episode of the Centre for Christian Living Podcast with Ben Boland, chaplain for Churches of Christ Queensland, we think about the marvellous opportunities and challenges of ministering to older people.For an edited transcript and show notes, visit our website.Priceless People: Loving Older People and People Living with Dementia (Ben R Boland): available from Koorong, Reformers, The Wandering Bookseller, Word, 10ofThose and Amazon.Next CCL event: The smartphone disciple (Mon 27 Oct).Support the work of the Centre by making a tax deductible donation.Please note: The episode transcript on your podcast platform may have been generated by AI and has not been checked for accuracy. If quoting, please check against the audio.

Have you ever had one of those moments of self-awareness when some relationship or perhaps some conversation has just gone badly, and for some reason, you stop and think, “Why did that just happen? What did I do? What attitudes, behaviours and underlying thoughts did I bring to that conversation that contributed to what just happened?”If you’ve ever managed to do that and also thought to yourself, “I really should do that more often and more thoughtfully,” then this conversation between Tony Payne and Caroline Spencer is for you. Also, if you’ve never stopped to think about yourself, your thought patterns and your behaviours, then this conversation is even more for you. It’s about healthy self-reflection and how we can develop good habits of self-reflection to serve others around you.For an edited transcript and show notes, visit our website.Getting Over Yourself: Developing a healthy self-reflection habit to serve those around you (Caroline Spencer).Centre for Global Mission event: Embracing Hard Ministry: The Bible and the practice of Global Mission(23 July).Support the work of the Centre by making a tax-deductible donation.Please note: The episode transcript on your podcast platform may have been generated by AI and has not been checked for accuracy. If quoting, please check against the audio.

Last year in 2024, Tom Schreiner, Associate Dean for the School of Theology, the James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation and Professor of Biblical Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, USA, delivered the Annual Moore College Lectures on the Book of Galatians.In this episode of the CCL podcast, Peter Orr speaks with Tom about Galatians and how what God says in this marvellous letter directs the way we think and act as his people, and how it shapes the Christian life. Their conversation touches on the cross, justification by faith, the place of the law and of works in the Christian life, the role of the Spirit, and what the fruit of the Spirit looks like in those who follow Christ.For an edited transcript and show notes, visit our website.Find out more about our May ethics workshop: “Neurodivergence and the Christian life”Support the work of the Centre by making a tax-deductible donation.Please note: The episode transcript on your podcast platform may have been generated by AI and has not been checked for accuracy. If quoting, please check against the audio.

Gospel ministry in our schools is incredibly important and strategic, and has changed many lives. But what does it mean for the gospel to do its work in a school? What sort of work does a school chaplain do? In addition, how does the ministry that takes place within our schools sit alongside, complement and relate to the broader ministry of the gospel that we’re used to seeing in our churches?In this episode of the CCL podcast, Peter Orr chats to Peter Tong, chaplain at Barker College in Sydney, Australia, about what that ministry looks like, why school chaplaincy is important, and how we can support it.For an edited transcript and show notes, visit our website.Find out more about our May ethics workshop: “Neurodivergence and the Christian life”Support the work of the Centre by making a tax-deductible donation.Please note: The episode transcript on your podcast platform may have been generated by AI and has not been checked for accuracy. If quoting, please check against the audio.

As Christians, we know that evangelism is important. But most of us feel that we’re not very good at it and that we don’t do enough of it.In this episode, Peter Orr speaks with Dave Jensen, who works as an evangelist for Evangelism and New Churches Sydney Anglicans. Dave helps us think about how we can increase in our fervour and ability for evangelism, and how we can do it as Christians together.For an edited transcript and show notes, visit our website.Find out more about studying at Moore Theological College.Support the work of the Centre by making a tax-deductible donation.Please note: The episode transcript on your podcast platform may have been generated by AI and has not been checked for accuracy. If quoting, please check against the audio.

Our culture is obsessed with identity: we’re often told, “You do you” and encouraged to live according to our “true and authentic self”, expressing publicly how we feel about ourselves internally.However, the very concept of personal identity is inherently slippery. It encompasses things like ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, religion, belief, educational background, profession and personality, but it’s not fixed: it can change through time, circumstance, and even through self-invention.So as Christians, how should we regard identity? God created us as unique individuals; how does our creatureliness affect who we are? Furthermore, as sinners redeemed and sanctified by the Lord Jesus and adopted into the household of God, how does Christ’s work change the way we view ourselves? How does the encouragement to “find your identity in Christ” actually play out in the complexities of competing sources of identity?At our final event in our series on “Culture creep” in October 2024, Rory Shiner, Senior Pastor of Providence City Church in Perth, showed us how losing ourselves for the sake of the kingdom will help us find ourselves once and for all (Matt 10:39).For an edited transcript and show notes, visit our website.Complete our podcast listener survey.Support the work of the Centre by making a tax-deductible donation.