Ascend Higher: The Podcast

In this conversation, Ric and Paul talk about friendship and how they grow together.

Stuart and Luke help us think about how we can use our stories to help bring people to Jesus. Including thinking about our testimonies and when to share them.

In this extended conversation, Ric shares his experiences of support groups where the focus is mainly on the members’ failings. He then advocates for a more positive approach, where the emphasis is upon connection and building community without shame, where we can encourage one another and see the Holy Spirit changing us from the inside out.

In this extended conversation, Stuart and Katherine talk about Katherine’s story and how to engage with Generation Z .

In this episode, Matthew, a Pioneer Minister for the United Reformed Church (URC) in Lincoln, who holds to an orthodox view of marriage and relationships, talks about being a minority voice on same-sex marriage within his denomination. Since 2016 the URC has allowed individual churches to register their buildings for same-sex marriage services.

In this podcast, Simon and Rob talk about Rob’s recent article for Ascend magazine on some key markers of good friendship from the book of Proverbs. Being friends themselves, they reflect on the importance of honesty, transparency and putting God in his rightful first place

Can one repent of their same-sex attraction? The pastoral outworking of the doctrine of concupiscence in this area has recently been a source of debate between those who otherwise hold to the historic Christian understanding of sex and marriage. For Sarah, this debate is a particularly personal one, as a disagreement between her and her pastor meant she felt the need to move on from her church. Here, Ruth and Sarah discuss this, making reference to other resources which outline TFT's response.

In this edition, Stuart sits down with Jonathan (an ordinand in the Church of England) and discusses how dispiriting it can be when some leaders seem to be constantly chipping away at the church’s long-held understanding of biblical sexuality. They take inspiration from Hezekiah’s example in the book of Isaiah, that encourages us to hold our nerve and and not be discouraged.

Ros Clarke has served as Associate Director of Church Society since 2017. In this podcast, Ros and Ruth discuss singleness, celibacy, and the role art can play in communicating Biblical truth.

We’re at a pivotal moment in the life of the UK church. Various denominations are having conversations about same-sex marriage-related matters. Join Ed Shaw, Ministry Director at Living Out, as he chats with Stuart about the impact of this on Christians who experience same-sex attraction, yet wish to hold to the historic Christian understanding of sexual ethics. Should these Christians leave their churches if the church changes its teaching? And just what is meant by the term ‘visible differentiation’?