The Plunge with Derek Holser

The End is Music: George MacDonald for Every Generation | Stephanie Staples

Welcome to the final episode in our series George MacDonald for Every Generation.
 
 
Joining me today is Stephanie Staples, a Nashville based singer-songwriter. Stephanie has spent over half of her life writing, recording and sharing her songs all over the world. 
 
 
She has recorded ten full-length records and multiple EP's. Stephanie's studio albums tell part of her story but it is in her live performances that she truly shines, captivating audiences and fostering a reflective and prayerful atmosphere. She pours the full depth of her life experiences into her music and never shys away from the suffering and dark times but always reflects a light that persists through it all.
 
 
Stephanie's music can be found everywhere. Check out the links below to listen!
 
Https://www.stephaniestaples.com
 
Https://www.youtube.com/@stephaniestaplesmusic
 
 
 
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Legacy: George MacDonald for Every Generation | Erik Ritschard & Jenni Cannariato

Welcome to Episode Seven in our series George MacDonald for Every Generation.Joining me is a father-daughter duo: Erik Ritschard and Jenni Cannariato. We discuss growing up in a MacDonald-enriched household, and the power of the legacy of a healthy an loving image of our heavenly father. 
 
 
Erik is a lifetime educator who's taught "just about every subject offered." Now Head of Schools at Grace Cascade Christian Schools in Medford, Oregon, Erik and his wife Jani enjoy dogs, goats, working at school, getting out the the coast as often as possible, and of course re-reading some George MacDonald from time to time. Both consider their five children and eight grandchildren among their greatest joys and blessings, and both point to Jesus as their perfect Father and Good Shepherd. 
 
 
Jenni spends her days raising three rambunctious and creative boys. In the small spare moments, she works as a freelance editor, helping authors of all backgrounds polish and develop their writing. If there's any time remaining, you can find her reading a good book, lingering over a cup of coffee with her husband, or whipping up something tasty in the kitchen.
 
 
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George MacDonald for Every Generation: Aging & Death | Kerry Dearborn

Welcome to Episode 6 in our series George MacDonald for Every Generation, Aging & Death with Kerry Dearborn.
This episode is dedicated to my father, Neil Holser, who passed away on June 18, 2025.
Kerry Dearborn is the very grateful wife of Tim Dearborn, mother of three amazing daughters, Alison, Andrea, and Bethany, mother-in-law of their wonderful husbands, and grandmother of their 8 delightful children. She completed her PhD at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland on Theology and Imagination, with particular focus on George MacDonald.
David Elginbrod: https://tinyurl.com/tuusu8jy
Kerry taught theology at Seattle Pacific University, for almost 20 years, as well as teaching at Fuller Seminary and Regent College for shorter stints. She has written numerous articles and authored two books: Baptized Imagination, the Theology of George MacDonald, and Drinking from the Wells of New Creation.
Baptized Imagination: The Theology of George MacDonald by Kerry Dearborn: https://tinyurl.com/3ntv3f3z
She is now a professor emerita of theology at SPU, and enjoys swimming, hosting gatherings, reading, hiking, biking, gardening, and time with family, friends, and new acquaintances. Most of all, she is deeply grateful she was drawn as a child into the love of God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—, and for the gift of God’s immense faithfulness throughout her life.
Books on Aging/Dying referenced in this episode:
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
https://tinyurl.com/msnf8nxb
The Lost Art of Dying: Reviving Forgotten Wisdom by L.S. Dugdale https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Art-Dying-Reviving-Forgotten/dp/0062932640
Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
https://tinyurl.com/3nv5a3ta
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Hospitality & Community: George MacDonald for Every Generation | Kirstin Jeffrey Johnson

Welcome to Episode Five in our series George MacDonald for Every Generation. 
 
 
Today's episode features Dr. Kirstin Jeffrey Johnson, renowned George MacDonald scholar, and in my estimation, the living embodiment of Hospitality, Community, & Ecology. 
 
 
Kirstin is a Georeg MacDonald scholar who lives on a farm in the Ottawa Valley, Canada. She writes and lectures internationally on MacDonald, The Inklings, the 19th century, and Faith & the Arts.
 
 https://www.kirstinjeffreyjohnson.com/
 
 
 
She is on the Advisory Board of Inklings Journal VII, a founding Borad Member of the C.S. Lewis & Kindreds Society of Eastern & Central Europe, and co-chair of the George MacDonald Society. She directs Windstone Farm Linlathen, a non-profit that seeks to "cultivate community through Theology, Ecology, & the Arts."
 
https://www.windstonebeckwith.com/
 
 
Passionate about (re)integrating ecological care, local community, art, and academia, Kirstin (and WFL) occasionally partners with the environmental network of A Rocha. https://arocha.org/en/
You can find some of her photography on Instagram: #Mythopoeic_Life
 
 
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George MacDonald, Matchmaker: Jenni & Thomas Cannariato

Welcome to Episode Four of our series, George MacDonald for Every Generation.
 
 
Today's episode is entitled "George MacDonald, Matchmaker". That's right, my guests today, Jenni and Thomas Cannariato, began dating and were later married as a direct result of George MacDonald!
 
 
Jenni and Thomas share this story and many more, as we discuss courtship, marriage, and raising young children in light of George MacDonald's influence. 
 
 
Jenni spends her days raising three rambunctious and creative boys. In the small spare moments, she works as a freelance editor, helping authors of all backgrounds polish and develop their writing. If there's any time remaining, you can find her reading a good book, lingering over a cup of coffee with her husband, or whipping up something tasty in the kitchine. 
 
 
Thomas is a writer, a musician, and an academic. He is a jack of all trades, master of one. Originally from Long Island, NY, Thomas lives in Northern California with Jenni and their three boys, where he cooks all of his favorite Italian meals out of desperation for good food. He is on a pilgrimage to discover the Father's heart and reveal the heart of the Father to his family first and his community thereafter. 
 
 
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Transition & Vocation: George MacDonald for Every Generation | Amanda Vernon

Welcome to Episode 3 in our series George MacDonald for Every Generation.
 
 
This episode features a new friend to the Plunge, Amanda B. Vernon. Amanda is winsom, jolly, hopeful, and quite learned. We discuss the transition of young adults to discovering their vocation, purpose and meaning in life. In particular, how young people today are moving toward what she calls the beginning of the end of the post-critique, post-critical era. 
 
 
Amanda is a writer, teacher, and academic working at the intersection of 19th-century literature and theology. She is a teaching fellow at the University of Tübingen in Germany, and an honorary junior fellow of the University of Buckingham in the UK. Her work has been published in Victorian Review and Victorians. She is co-editor with Daniel Gabelman of Unsaying the Commonplace: George MacDonald and the Critique of Victorian Convention. 
https://www.amazon.com/Unsaying-Commonplace-MacDonald-Victorian-Convention/dp/1935688448
 
 
Amanda is currently writing her first monograph, Reading with the Trinity: Theology in Literary Form in George MacDonald. 
 
 
To discover Amanada's work, please go to https://www.amandabvernon.com
 
 
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Boy to Man: George MacDonald for Every Generation | Bret van den Brink

Welcome to Episode Two in our series George MacDonald for Every Generation. This episode focuses on the journey every one takes from childhood to early adulthood. 
 
 
Joining me today is Bret van den Brink. Bret is an MA (and future PhD) student in English at the University of Toronto. He completed his BA at Trinity Western University, where he twice received its C.S. Lewis and Friends Scholarship. He has presented on the Inklings and related authors at events organized by the Inklings Institute of Canada, the George MacDonald Society, and the Conference on Christianity and Literature. 
Bret is a contributing editor for Traces Journal and he co-hosts the podcast Mandatory Media. Bret is winsome, endearing, thoughtful and truly a rising star in the world of literary scholars. 
 
 
We discuss his journey to faith, the influence of MacDonald in his life, the passage from boy to man, and the current challenges and opportunities awaiting his generation. 
 
 
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Childhood: George MacDonald for Every Generation | Julie Canlis

Welcome to Episode One in our series George MacDonald for Every Generation. This episode features Julie Canlis and Leah Holser.
 
 
Today's conversation reviews George MacDonald's background and his own experience within a community that embraced Federal Calvinism, a very strong and austere derivative of Calvinism. We explore how MacDonald gently resisted some of these ideas, and how his imaginative works brought to life the inherent hypocrisy and danger that lurked within the constructs of Federal Calvinism.
 
 
We discuss how our ideas of God are shaped in childhood and how parents and ministers can feel liberated to allow the child's imagination to run free in the love of God. 
 
 
Julie Canlis, PhD St. Andrews - Author and acclaimed Calvin scholar, Canlis is a sessional lecturer at Regent College Vancouver, and a guest lecturer to many institutions. Her research was awarded the prestigious Templeton Prize, and her first book was awarded a Christianity Today Award in Theology. While raising four children, she produced the microbook A Theology of the Ordinary and developed the non-profit associated with her husband's documentary Godspeed. She is also co-founder of The Abbey School in Scotland and is liturgical director for Trinity Church in Wenatchee, WA.
https://tinyurl.com/5wfvs49n
https://tinyurl.com/4r2mf7ew
 
 
 
Leah Holser will complete her Master's in Theology & Culture at St. Stephen's University in 2025. She has been active in parenting and children's ministry for nearly 25 years, and has a passion for families to be full of God's love and to flourish in every way. She is the President of the Board of Directors of Northwest Family Life, a Seattle-based nonprofit organization dedicated to ending the cycle of domestic violence. 
https://northwestfamilylife.org/
 
 
 
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All Things New: Jordan Daniel Wood | Part Two

Welcome to episode two of two featuring Jordan Daniel Wood, Assistant Professor of Theology at Belmont University.
 
 
In this conversation, Jordan and I conclude our discussion of Time and Trauma and the work of the Incarnation in his to-be-published essay: The End of Trauma: The Patristic Doctrine of Deification and Trauma Theory.
 
Jordan holds an M.A. from St. Louis University and a Ph.D. from Boston College, both in Historical Theology. His interests range from Greek patristic theology to modern philosophy, especially Idealism. He is married to Alexis, a registered nurse, with whom he has four wonderful daughters.
https://www.amazon.com/Whole-Mystery-Christ-Incarnation-Confessor/dp/0268203474
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All Things New: Jordan Daniel Wood | Part One

Welcome to episode one of two, featuring Jordan Daniel Wood, Assistant Professor of Theology at Belmont University.
 
 
In this conversation, Jordan and I discuss Time and Trauma in light of his to-be-published essay, The End of Trauma: The Patristic Doctrine of Deification and Trauma Theory.
 
 
Jordan holds an M.A. from St. Louis University and a Ph.D. from Boston College, both in Historical Theology. His interests range from Greek patristic theology to modern philosophy, especially idealism. He is married to Alexis, a registered nurse, with whom he has four wonderful daughters.
 
 
Jordan is ever intriguing, enlightening, and most of all, hope-spreading. You can read his excellent work on the ideas of Maximus Confessor here:
https://www.amazon.com/Whole-Mystery-Christ-Incarnation-Confessor/dp/0268203474
 
 
 
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