Talks

This page contains a list of previous talks I have given, together with the video/audio where available. You can also listen to them via the Theology With An English Accent podcast feeds (Feed | iTunes | Google Play).

If you’d like to invite me to come and speak at a Theology on Tap or to a parish group, please contact me. My references are available on this page.

Christian Living

1. Getting more out of the Mass…in ten minutes (Download)
This is the short version of a longer talk where we look at how to get the most of our Mass-going experience.

2. What is the point of Christianity? (Download)
Oftentimes we think of the Christian life as simple improvement, to become a slightly better person. In this talk, I show that Christianity is not about mere improvement, but about complete transformation, to become a creature fit for Heaven.

3. Life in Christ: Not simply improvement, but transformation (Download)
This is based on the What is the point of Christianity? talk, but includes 15 minutes of bonus content, particularly focusing on the Mass, suffering and the Saints.

4. We are all called to ministry: Doing what you love for Jesus (Download)
It is very easy to think that “ministry” is something relegated to the clergy and perhaps salaried parish employees. In this talk, based on my Fiat Award acceptance speech, I show that every single baptized Catholic is called to ministry and how this isn’t as scary as you think…

5. Entrepreneurial Faith (Download)
Sharing in some of the ideas in the previous, We are all called to ministry, talk, this is a presentation which I’ve given to Young Adult Professionals in California and Texas. Christians are often encouraged to allow their faith to inform all areas of their lives, such as in their work life. However, is the reverse also true? How can put what we learn in our careers to the service of the Faith?

6. Is there life before marriage? (Download)
Is the single life like a waiting room where you twiddle your thumbs, waiting for Mr or Miss Right to turn up? In this presentation, I discuss marriage, dating, and how to spend your single years. This talk is also available in video format.

7. Social Media and Faith: How to use it without being used by it (Download)
How to stay connected to both God and Social Media.

8. What does it mean to be a Restless Pilgrim? (Download)
In this talk I explain why I chose the name “Restless Pilgrim”. I walk through salvation history, showing how it is really a story of a pilgrim people, I share some stories from my walking pilgrimage across Spain, and finally I explain why we all have restless hearts…

9. Jesus in disguise (Download)
What are the different ways in which we encounter Jesus in day-to-day life?

10. God’s Mercy: Freely received and freely given (Download)
I speak to a Youth Group about God’s mercy, focusing particularly on the Sacrament of Confession and how this should change our own treatment of other people.

11. C.S. Lewis: Apostle to the Skeptics (Download)
This is a whistle-stop tour of Lewis’ seminal apologetic work, Mere Christianity. Lewis argues for the existence of God, Jesus and Christian morality, as well as leading his readers to understand the Trinity in a deeper way. This would be a perfect talk to kick-off a study group at your parish.

12. Love is a many splendored thing (Download)
Drawing from C.S. Lewis’ book, The Four Loves, I talk about the natural loves of affection, friendship, and romance. I explain how these loves can go awry and how they need to be ordered by and infused with Divine Love.

13. Resisting Temptation with C.S. Lewis (Download)
Here we use C.S. Lewis’ book, The Screwtape Letters, to learn how we can resist temptation and annoy the Devil.

Evangelization

14. Evangelization for the Terrified (Download)
Jesus told his disciples to go out to the whole world and share the Good News. If it’s “Good News”, why does that seem so scary?! In this talk I explain why we shouldn’t be shared of doing evangelization and give some very practical tools for speaking to your friends and family about the Faith.

15. Apologetics for the confused (Download)
What do you say when someone asks you why you’re Catholic? In this talk I go through a few key principles to employ when being called upon to defend what you believe.

16. Catholics Come Home: Drawing the lapsed back to the Church (Download)
Based on a previous blog series, here I tell a little bit of my own story and discuss what you might do to try and draw people back to the Church.

17. Practical Tools for Everyday Evangelism (Download)
This is a combination of “Evangelization for the terrified” and “Doing what you love for Jesus”

Sacred Scripture

18. Reading Sacred Scripture for all its worth (Download)
How do Catholics read the Bible? What can you do to get the more out of Scripture at Mass? If you want to grow more familiar with the Biblical texts, where do you start?

19. Hidden Treasure: How the Old Testament is unveiled in the New (Download)
This is an exploration of “Biblical Typology”, the way of reading Scripture which was developed by the Early Church Fathers, seeing in the Old Testament foreshadowings of the events of Christ, His Mother and the Kingdom of Heaven.

20. How to read the Bible like a Catholic (Download)
This is a combination of the previous two Scripture talks.

Church History

21. The Worship of the Early Church (Download)
What did the first Christians do when they gathered together? If you could travel back in time to the end of the First Century and attend a Christian gathering, would you feel out-of-place?

22. Blood and Ink: How the Early Church Conquered the World (Download)
How did a small Jewish sect, started in the First Century, whose founder was publicly executed, manage to conquer the might of the Roman Empire? In this talk, I explain how the first Christians witnessed to Jesus both in their writing, lives and martyrdom, thereby winning the world for Christ.

23. Mary and the Early Church (Download)
I did not always accept the Catholic teaching concerning the Virgin Mary. In this talk, I tell the story of my struggles with Mary and how, with a little bit of help from the Early Church, I came to see the truth and beauty in the Catholic teaching concerning the Blessed Mother.

Video

FIAT Award Acceptance Speech
I received an award from the Diocese in December of 2018. This acceptance speech was the basis for the talk “Doing what you love for Jesus”.

Is there life before marriage?
Is the single life like a waiting room where you twiddle your thumbs, waiting for Mr or Miss Right to turn up? In this presentation, I discuss marriage, dating, and how to spend your single years.

Our Lady in the Old Testament
Here I tell the story of how I struggled with the Catholic teaching on Mary and how I was helped by finding her foreshadowed in the Old Testament…

Pints With Jack YouTube Series
A video series released at the end of 2018 where I discuss the theology of C. S. Lewis with my podcast co-host, Matt.

Epistle Of Joy 
For Lent 2015, over the course of twenty-two videos, I led an online Bible Study through St. Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians:

The Worship of the Early Church
What did the first Christians do when they gathered together? If you could travel back in time to the end of the First Century and attend a Christian gathering, would you feel out-of-place?

Reading Sacred Scripture for all its worth 
How do Catholics read the Bible? What can you do to get the more out of Scripture at Mass? If you want to grow more familiar with the Biblical texts, where do you start?

Potential Talk Ideas

Here are some ideas I’ve had for talks that I’d like to write. I’m simply waiting for someone to request them!

Catholic Apologetics 101
An introduction to Catholic apologetics covering the Eucharist, Baptism, Mary, the Saints, the Pope, Purgatory, and the relationship between faith and works.

Knock, knock. Who’s there?
What do you do when a Jehovah Witness or Mormon comes to your door? Over the course of this talk, I explain the origins of these groups and give some guidance on how to speak with them in a constructive way.

No God but God: An introduction to Islam
Approximately 23% of the world’s population identify as Muslim, but many Christians know relatively little about Islam. In this talk I provide an overview of the religion, as well as its similarities and dissimilarities to Catholicism.

Into the breach!
Following the Apostolic Exhortation by Bishop Olmstead of Phoenix, this talk is aimed at Catholic men and attempts to answer important questions, such as “What does it mean to be a Christian man?” and “How does a Catholic man love?”

The Problem of Pain
Where is God when it hurts? If there is a good God, then why is there pain and suffering in the world? In this talk I tackle the hardest question of the human heart and the best argument for atheism. Fortunately, I don’t try and do this on my own, with ample help from C.S. Lewis, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas and Dr. William-Lane Craig.