SDBC Podcast: Recent Episodes
Paul Park
South Delta Baptist Church (SDBC) is a missional Christian church in the Vancouver area in Canada. SDBC Podcast is for anyone interested in Christianity and culture. Our hosts, Pastor Paul Park and Mary Grierson, and various guests will discuss important issues in culture and how to navigate our world with Christ as our Lord and the bible as our lens through which we view the world.
In this episode, our guests, Juli and Jayson Oldham, share their experience of the Fellowship Pacific Ministry Workers' Family Camp at Sunnybrae Bible Camp. The Oldhams and the Parks enjoyed a fun, rejuvenating week at the family camp last week, and they discuss why it is so important for a church staff to practice "shared life; shared mission." We're so thankful for a healthy staff team at our church and we understand that we must intentionally invest in healthy relationships and rhythms in order to continue to enjoy a healthy team culture. Please continue to pray for our team!
Summer is here! With our guest, Kaitlyn Parker, we explore the beauty of the summer season and let you in on what summer looks like at our church; especially for our staff. Summer tends to be a season of exciting activities, rest, vacation, and preparation, but here in Vancouver, we also have the privilege of some glorious weather and beautiful nature all around us. Take some time to enjoy this episode while enjoying the beauty of God's creation all around you!
We are blessed with some highly competent and godly leaders in our church family, and Kaitlyn and Mary are excellent young leaders that serve our church so faithfully. In this episode, Kaitlyn and Mary invite us into their journey in the Immerse program, which is a theologically robust, cutting-edge leadership development program for Christian leaders. Moreover, they share their joys of serving our church family and honestly discuss the real challenges that they faced in the last few years. We are also given a glimpse into what their new roles as Director of SDBC Kids and Director of Community Life entail. Take a listen to hear how God has been using these two amazing women for his glory!
In this episode, we discuss the importance of education in our culture and host two guests who are teachers that teach in different contexts. With Ashley and Suzanne as our guests, we get an inside look on what it's like to be a teacher in today's classrooms and even explore how new technologies and trends are shaping the world of education today. We also discuss how following Jesus faithfully allows our teachers to serve our community more effectively. Join us for this engaging conversation about education and remember to pray for our teachers!
Dr. Timothy J. Keller leaves an incredible legacy of faith and effective gospel proclamation through his numerous sermons, books, articles, and other materials, but the way in which he lived for Christ is perhaps the most inspirational part of his legacy. In this episode, Paul and Mary are joined by Pastor Jayson Oldham as they reflect on Dr. Keller's impact on their lives and ministries. Hebrews 13:7 encourages us to "Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith." We are thankful to have had an awesome example of faith.
Anxiety impacts so many people's lives in today's culture. Whether it's at the workplace, in your home, or in other relationship contexts, you probably have experienced the challenges of anxiety yourself or perhaps you've walked alongside someone struggling with anxiety. In this episode, we want to get curious about anxiety, and in order to do that, we've enlisted the help of a clinical counsellor, Chelsea Conron, who practices professional counselling locally. Join us in an honest and vulnerable conversation about anxiety. We even dive into a biblically appropriate response to anxiety and other mental health challenges. This is an episode you don't want to miss.
Why do we need to understand shame/honour culture in order to appreciate the cultural context of the bible? In this episode, Mary and Paul discuss the importance of understanding the shame/honour worldview for every bible reader. If you want to fully engage with Paul and Mary's discussion here, it might be helpful for you to also watch the sermon that Paul preached on "Real Shame and Honour," which you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuOEPOrUe5g&t=2199s
In this episode, Mary and Paul discuss the importance of Christian community. Hebrews 10:24-25 teaches us to not neglect gathering with other Christ-followers and urges us to invest in Christian community. Our hosts also share about their recent trip to Nanaimo to participate in a Fellowship Pacific convention called, "Impact." Mary and Paul express their appreciation and love for the Fellowship family and how our staff practiced investing in Christian community by connecting with other Christ-followers.
In this episode, Paul and Mary discuss the popular animated film Encanto. While you might think this is just a movie for children, Encanto addresses much of our society's concerns such as struggling to find identity and purpose, breaking under heaps of pressure, trying to find our value in what we do rather than who we are, and so forth. This is a fun episode, so dive into the world of Encanto with us, and see if you can find biblical themes all throughout the story.
In this follow-up episode to our "Can You Find Biblical Themes in the Animated Film Encanto?" episode, Mary, Paul, and Kaitlyn draft the best animated films of all time. This is a fun episode. Please vote for your favourite "team" on our Instagram (@Southdelta) to let us know whose list you resonated with the most.
In this very special episode, Paul and Mary reflect on and have a very open and honest discuss about Mary's concussion and her journey toward recovery. This is Mary's first episode back on the podcast, and she blesses the listeners with a deep reflection on her painful experience of physical and mental illness. Thank you, Mary, for your vulnerability and willingness to let us into your heart and mind through this episode.
In this episode, Mary and Paul discuss the speculations and historical efforts to identify the human author of Hebrews. Who wrote the book? To whom did he write this letter? Why is it even important for us to explore who the author and recipients might have been? Come along as they geek out over the bible, history, and literature. In addition, we include a bonus portion of Pastor Jordan joining our hosts to draft a church staff from people from the bible. This is a super fun and informative episode. Highly recommended!
Burnouts and lack of healthy boundaries often rob us of the opportunity to be at our best when we're engaging at work or with our friends and family. In this episode, Mary and Paul host a guest from our church, Margrit, who is busily involved in corporate culture, single parenting, and serving her church and community, and we discuss the 4 Rs of resting intentionally: retreat, refuel, re-purpose, and re-engage. They also draft their favourite vacation destinations. Take a listen and let us know who drafted the best team!
In this episode, Pastor Paul is joined by three members of our Pickleball Ministry team. As silly as it sounds, no one can deny that pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in the world, and we discuss how a fun sport like pickleball can be an opportunity to live an authentic life in Christ as his missionaries.
For our first episode of Season 3, we welcome back Pastor Jordan from his sabbatical leave. We get to listen to Pastor Jordan reflect on his sabbatical and discuss what he did and how he and his family were able to enjoy this special time. We also discuss the rhythms and workflow of people in vocational ministry, and the need for intentional times of rest and sabbath. Enjoy this episode!
This is the final episode of season 2! We've really enjoyed interacting with you through these podcasts and we can't wait to come back with season 3 soon, but until then, enjoy this season finale episode where Mary and Paul talk about their favourite episodes in season 2 and some things they're cooking up for the next season.
In this episode, Pastor Paul and Mary discuss the ancient practice of communal reading of Scripture and why it is beneficial for Christ-followers to engage in a regular communal reading of the bible. They survey the history of communal reading and explore what it might look like in different contexts today. Moreover, they discuss how communal reading helps the church family practice radical hospitality and meaningful connections.
In this episode, special guest Pastor Garret Dekker and Pastor Paul continue to explore the Old Testament theme of "God as Host"; focusing on the more practical aspects of why this theology matters. God is the generous host that invites the undeserving people to be honoured guests at his eschatological banquet. Even better--God, as the king, invites us to be his heirs dining at the royal table every day as his adopted children! He provides his goodness at great cost to himself and calls us to invite others to this amazing banquet of grace, mercy, and love. If this is true about God, how should this truth inform the way we live our lives?
In this episode, special guest Pastor Garret Dekker joins Pastor Paul to explore the Old Testament theme of "God as Host." God is the generous host that invites the undeserving people to be honoured guests at his eschatological banquet. Even better--God, as the king, invites us to be his heirs dining at the royal table every day as his adopted children! He provides his goodness at great cost to himself and calls us to invite others to this amazing banquet of grace, mercy, and love.
In this episode, Mary Grierson is joined by Pastor Jayson Oldham, Pastor Jordan Scott, and Youth Ministry Coordinator, James Cox. All three of these guests have worked in youth ministry for a number of years. We discuss the topics of Gen Z, mental health, social media, and the impacts of COVID-19 on our younger generations. We hope that this episode will be helpful and informative for our listeners.
In this episode, Pastor Paul and Mary are joined by two tech enthusiasts from our SDBC family, Christian van Eeden and Phil Grierson. They discuss the topic of technology, including space travel, TikTok, and parenting during the digital age. We also look at how we can use technology to stay connected to our communities and glorify God. We hope you find this episode helpful and thought-provoking.
In this episode, Pastor Paul, Pastor Jayson, and Mary have a candid conversation about worship. There is a lot going on in our world right now that may or may not be affecting the way we see and worship God. Through this podcast, we hope to encourage and remind our church family that the worship of God is so much more than we likely have allowed it to become. As well as teaching and sharing about what worship is, Pastor Paul, Pastor Jayson, and Mary share their personal experiences of leading corporate worship and how God meets them in times of worship. They may even admit if they ever sing a cappella at the top of their lungs when they're home alone. We hope you enjoy this episode!
In this special episode of SDBC Podcast, our hosts Pastor Paul and Mary are joined by Pastor Jordan and Dave van Til (Chairperson of the Elder Board) to discuss the importance of slowing down from our busy lives to take Sabbath seriously. Sabbath is a part of God’s design, and it is good for us to enjoy it, but what does it look like to enjoy Sabbath in our modern context? The team explores this question based on biblical and theological insights. We invite you to carefully consider how you will keep Sabbath and plan ahead to make this happen.
You will want to listen to the very end of this episode to catch the special announcement near the end.
Phil Grierson, a film enthusiast (and Mary's husband), joins us to discuss why superhero movies are so compelling in today's culture, and how it might tell a story of a world that is crying out for a hero like Jesus. We talk about Marvel movies, Homi Bhabha's hybridity theory, cultural relevance, and much more.
In this episode, Pastors Paul and Jordan interview Jayson Oldham, who has been recommended for a pastoral call at SDBC. You will be able to learn a bit about Jayson's life, ministry experience, and his heart for God, his church, and people. We will be voting on Jayson at the upcoming business meeting, so please prayerfully consider this important motion as we prepare ourselves for the meeting.
In this episode, Mary and Paul host special guests Josh, Dylan, and Jason who are relatively new to the board of elders at SDBC. Jason and Josh were affirmed as elders last year via our online AGM, and Dylan joined our team of elders this year. Due to the pandemic and the limited access to in-person activities, our church family may not have been able to get to know these men in our church context. Check out this episode to get to know them and hear their stories.
Many Christians run away every time someone brings up politics and others think talking politics means, "Let's fight." In this episode, Pastor Paul and Mary are joined by guests who work in the political field (Dylan Kruger who serves as a councillor in the City of Delta and Abby Uher), and they discuss the issues of polarization and "othering," the definition of politics, and how Christians can participate in our communities and in politics.
In this final episode of Season 1, Mary and Paul discuss the origin story of SDBC Podcast: why they decided to start a podcast, how they made it happen, and what they had to learn along the way. You will also hear some teasers for Season 2 when we come back with new episodes.
Is it silly to believe that the miracles we find in the Bible actually happened? You may have engaged in conversations with people about this question and found it difficult to provide a reasonable answer to why you believe in the miracles found in the Bible. We hope this episode will help you process this question.
In this episode, we are joined by Rebecca van den Brink, Director of Discipleship & Care Ministries at South Delta Baptist Church. She explores eight reasons why prayer is so important in our walk with God and how to cultivate a healthy lifestyle of prayer.
In this episode, we discuss our new leadership development plan for Mary and Kaitlyn--two young leaders at our church who have shown great potential and a track record of excellence. The Immerse program is a unique, innovative approach to leadership development and seminary training in partnership with the local church, Northwest Seminary & College, and Fellowship Pacific. This cutting edge program leads to a Master of Divinity degree, but more importantly, it provides an academically rigorous and practically effective training ground for Christian leaders.
This episode features some of the First Steps Preschool team including Katie, Megan, and Kaitlyn. You'll hear about the challenges they faced as they operated the preschool during a pandemic, and you'll also hear how they continued to love like Jesus despite the global health crisis. When you listen to this podcast, you'll hear a story of God's faithfulness and goodness through the story of First Steps Preschool.
In this episode, we're joined by Rebecca van den Brink, our new Director of Discipleship and Care Ministries. You will get to hear personal stories from Rebecca and you will definitely hear her passion for God's work as we live as disciples following after our Lord Jesus Christ. Check out this episode and please remember to pray for Rebecca as she begins her ministry in this new role.
In this episode, Pastor Paul and Mary address the horrific discovery of the remains of 215 children found on the sites of a residential school in Kamloops. They discuss what a biblical response to this tragedy looks like, what it means to truly be good neighbours, and why it is so important to really listen and learn in tough situations like these.
In this episode, Mary and Pastor Paul welcome Andy Frew (Associate Pastor at Crossridge Church) and Jayson Oldham (Director of Worship Arts here at SDBC) to a conversation about worship in the time of COVID-19. They discuss what it means to be a worship leader, how COVID has impacted worship leaders in the last 16 months, and how we can support and encourage our worship leaders. We hope that you enjoy this episode.
In this episode, Mary and Paul discuss a new sermon series called, Have You Ever Wondered. You'll be able to hear the thought process behind putting this series together, and why we believe it will be an important series for many people. We hope you enjoy this episode.
In this episode, we will be discussing the doctrine of adoption and why this doctrine is so important for every follower of Jesus. We have a special guest joining us--Dr. Barton Priebe, who serves as the lead pastor of Central Baptist Church in Victoria, BC, and is also an author of several books, including a book on this topic titled, Adopted by God. We trust you will find this episode encouraging and inspiring.
In this episode Pastor Paul Park and Mary Grierson discuss the Netflix documentary, ‘Seaspiracy’. This documentary quickly rose to the Netflix top ten list and has gained a large amount of media attention since it was released in March. Paul and Mary discuss topics and themes like the importance of critical thinking, Genesis 3, broken relationships, stewardship, selfishness, and sustainability.
In this episode, we have the privilege of talking with Andrew Neufeld from Alongside You about the topic of mental health. We discuss the stigma surrounding mental health, how Covid-19 has impacted us, and the church's’ role on this topic.
In this episode, Mary and Paul interview Lisa Brooks (Executive Director) and Alyssa Gibson (Marketing Manager) of BabyGoRound, which is an organization that provides essential baby items including gear, diapers, and clothing to families in need throughout the Lower Mainland. We also introduce an exciting opportunity to partner with BabyGoRound to support families in our community in the next several weeks.
With the pandemic and the social distancing measures, we are not able to honour Doug Harris with a traditional funeral service, so our team decided to dedicate this podcast episode to reflect on the life and ministry of Dr. Doug Harris, who was a truly influential Christian leader in British Columbia and beyond. In this episode, you'll hear from Pastor Paul, Mary Grierson, Jayson Oldham, Pastor Jordan Scott, Pastor Rick Burdett, Pastor Paul Johnson, and Pastor Jeremy Johnson as we all reflect on Doug's influence on our lives. We hope you enjoy this episode.
In this episode, Mary and Paul discuss the Netflix documentary, "The Social Dilemma," and how social media platforms are impacting our society as it relates to mental health, fake news, curated content, etc. How can the church be a part of the solution? Find out in this episode.
In this episode, our host, Pastor Paul, is joined by Jayson Oldham, Jordan Scott, and Mary Grierson as they discuss racism and how Christians can respond with biblical wisdom.
In our very first episode of SDBC Podcast, Paul, Jordan, and Jayson go on a Zoom call to discuss how SDBC adjusted to a new reality with the COVID-19 pandemic. As churches all over the world find new, meaningful ways to "be church," these leaders share their struggles and prayers as they navigate through this unique challenge.