Episode 104: James Beck works with an organisation called A Rocha Aotearoa NZ (https://arocha.org.nz/) which is a Christian environmental conservation organisation. In this conversation we discuss the trajectory of his spirituality and work, especially how and why he made intentional choices to move away from the up-and-coming charismatic preacher kind of life, to become someone who instead is pouring his energy into environmental care, both in his own faith community and also in helping to cultivate this across a diverse range of faith communities in NZ. We talk about the tension between despair and active engagement that can come in this kind of work. We also reflect on how the 'outcomes' of ecological action (e.g. reversing climate change etc) are not the only measure of the importance of caring for our environment; there is something deeply human and deeply spiritual that can resonate in this space.

As a part of his work, James is the director of the Eco Church network in New Zealand (https://www.ecochurch.org.nz/), as well as the host of the podcast Ngā Here – the Many Connections - a podcast that explores the connections between faith, caring for nature, and living in the context of Aotearoa NZ.

Episode 103: Shane has recovered from his table-saw inflicted injury and is back to continue our conversation reflecting on the journey to 100 episodes of the pod - and more specifically, on where our spirituality, theology and meaning-making is heading. We tackle the slightly contentious phrase "reconstruction", what we might or might not find helpful about that idea, and reflect on what is shaping us as we move forward. In that sense, this felt like an energising conversation that was able to explore how we're thinking, feeling, believing and living now as we move beyond the toxic forms of faith we experienced in the past.

Episode 102: One of the predominant causes of our problematic relationship with the environment is the belief that humans are superior over, distinct from and independent to the rest of nature. We think this way partly due to our religious traditions that have understood humans as being at the centre of what God cares about, at the centre of the story of creation, and that salvation is ultimately all about us and our relationship with God. We're also shaped by our modern assumptions that put us in a dominant relationship with nature, setting us up to see it as something to extract value from, to make profit from, to make progress from, and ultimately to exploit. These stories, however, are not the only way to see things. There are alternative stories we can tell about what it is to be here, to be human, and the ways in which our existence is fundamentally interconnected with all of nature. And this can have a profound impact on our spirituality, our life and our behaviour.