Podd: Spiritual Misfits Podcast

Mikenzie Ling: God my Father, Land my Mother

15 februari 2025 | 64 min

Jonathan Cornford: What if Jesus meant what he said about money?

8 februari 2025 | 71 min

Sarah Bacaller on 'Apostate: Stories of Deconversion'

1 februari 2025 | 76 min

Geoff Bullock: after Hillsong...and after that

25 januari 2025 | 60 min

Jono Ingram on everyday spirituality and sustainability

18 januari 2025 | 68 min

Liz Charlotte Grant on seeking God in Genesis after losing faith in the Bible

11 januari 2025 | 73 min

Summer replays: Carolyn Meers on pastoring through deconstruction

4 januari 2025 | 62 min

Summer replays: Michael Frost & Shane Meyer-Holt on the other side of 'mega'

28 december 2024 | 78 min

ad-Vent Live: a Merry Christmas Rant with Mitch Forbes & Ella Evans

21 december 2024 | 65 min

Simon Nixon on navigating hard conversations at Christmas

14 december 2024 | 74 min

Tanya Riches on leaving Hillsong, church with wombats and real-world theology

7 december 2024 | 59 min

Kelly Latimore on Icons, Advent and learning how to see

30 november 2024 | 62 min

Joel Hollier and Christine Redwood: Why Future Church?

23 november 2024 | 66 min

Tim Whitaker on The New Evangelicals, Christian Nationalism and resisting Trump’s America

16 november 2024 | 57 min

David Gushee: After Evangelicalism [a timely post-election Replay]

9 november 2024 | 61 min

I presume many of you, like me, are feeling a deep swirl of emotions coming out of a week where we have witnessed the re-election of Trump.

Honestly it feels so baffling to me that someone can so blatantly be a convicted felon, a misogynist, an authoritarian, completely void of compassion and empathy for vulnerable people…and with all this and so much more on full display and public record… still be worshipped and adored and actively chosen by a majority of voters.

And one of the most disturbing realities is how many white Evangelical Christians unashamedly throw their support and indeed their votes behind this man.

There’s a strong argument to be made that Evangelical support for Trump in 2016 has been one of the major catalysts for people deconstructing faith and leaving the institutional church. The #exvangelical movement can largely be traced back to that election.

White Evangelicals aren’t solely responsible for Trump — and why he had such a clear majority of support in this election is beyond my ability or this podcast’s ability to answer. And yet, this disturbing confluence of politics and religion and the questions it raises has obviously been very real and personal for many of us.

And so this week I actually wanted to replay an earlier podcast conversation from a couple years back now, with David Gushee (that I think remains very relevant).

David has been one of the voices that has helped me understand the history that led to what American Evangelicalism is today. He has also been a strong advocate for defending democracy — and my second of two interviews with him was discussing his book ‘Defending Democracy from its Christian Enemies’. You may want to go back and listen to that though I understand if the wound feels too fresh right now (though of course the need to defend democracy only increases after this election result).

But I actually wanted to revisit my first conversation with David, in which we mainly spoke about his book ‘After Evangelicalism’ which asks where do you go when you’ve seen the ugliest manifestations of Evangelical Christianity and want none of that…but you still want a faith that makes sense and approaches the world in ethical, compassionate, just ways? David speaks so well about this.

I’m reminded this week — as I often am — that the most important choice is not between theism or atheism. Between religious or non-religious. Christian or not Christian. The choice is what kind of Christian will I be? What kind of human will I be? What kind of neighbour will I be? Evil arrives under the guise of many labels. So too does love.

And when we fail to see love through the most powerful leaders in this world — we might want to throw our hands up in despair. Yet, I think it only becomes more essential that we choose the alternate reality — the truer reality — of self-giving love lived out in our lives and neighbourhoods

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

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Will and Joel Small debrief Tim Winton’s CPX lecture (on climate crisis, toxic positivity and today's prophets)

2 november 2024 | 65 min

Anna Robinson (from Nomad podcast) on wilderness, wonder and contemplative practices

26 oktober 2024 | 69 min

Sally Longley on violence, silence and Ignatian spirituality

19 oktober 2024 | 57 min

Pub Theology: politics, faith and community action (with Jack Turner)

12 oktober 2024 | 74 min

Scott Erickson (Scott the Painter) is creating a visual vocabulary for the spiritual journey

5 oktober 2024 | 65 min

Pub Theology: Listener questions (hedonism, lament and the limits of language)

28 september 2024 | 84 min

Scott Parker: 'Hillsong Boy'

21 september 2024 | 62 min

Jason John on sex, evolution and a poem you’ll never forget

14 september 2024 | 68 min

Jason John is a fascinating human being with a very interesting story doing very interesting things. He’s an ordained minister in the Uniting Church, has a PhD in zoology and is, amongst other things, a ‘forest chaplain.’

In this conversation we talk about evolution, sexual ethics, eco-faith communities and poetry.

At the end of this episode Jason shares a couple of his poems — which in my opinion are brilliant. One of the poems in particular uses strong language that you may not want to listen to with kids around. Or if you’re the kind of person who potentially may be offended by some strong language, you’re also welcome to not listen to it. In my opinion it is an excellent piece of art, that provokes some great questions around language and offence and patriarchy and divinity, and we do unpack some of that briefly afterwards.

That poem starts at around 53 minutes. Everything before then is great if you want to listen that far and then tap out. Of course, you’re also welcome to skip straight to the juicy bit if you are now desperate to hear strong language.

In our conversation we talk about one of Jason’s books, called ‘Christian Sex Today’, which Jason has very generously made free for listeners of the pod. What a top guy! Listen to the episode, download his book and then send him a warm message of gratitude.

Learn more about Jason and his work: https://ecofaith.org/

Get Jason’s book ‘Christian Sex Today’ FREE!
https://ecofaith.org/freebies
Password: SpiritualMisfits

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

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Amy Kenny: 'My Body is Not a Prayer Request'

7 september 2024 | 60 min

Amy Kenny, author of 'My Body Is Not A Prayer Request,' joins Will for a discussion about disability justice and ableism in the church. She shares her experiences of being prayed over for her disability to be erased and the harmful treatment she received in the church. Amy emphasizes the importance of recognizing the image of God in disabled bodies and reframing our understanding of healing and curing. She challenges the ableist language, assumptions, and practices that exist in churches and calls for a more inclusive and holistic approach to faith. The conversation explores the themes of inclusivity, disability in scripture, and creating communities that fully receive the gifts of all members. Amy Kenny shares her journey of accepting and being proud of her disabled identity and how her theology has evolved to embrace disability. She emphasizes the need to move beyond tolerance and charity towards celebrating and learning from disabled individuals. Amy also discusses the importance of unlearning ableism, creating cultures of access, and developing a community care network for disabled members. The conversation concludes with final thoughts for both disabled and non-disabled listeners.

Amy's website: https://amy-kenny.com/

Amy's book: 'My Body is not a Prayer Request'

Keywords
disability justice, ableism, church, disabled bodies, healing, curing, image of God, inclusive faith, inclusivity, disability, scripture, theology, identity, acceptance, pride, ableism, access, community care, unlearning, celebration

Chapters

00:50
Introduction and Background of Amy Kenny

04:02
Feeling Like a Spiritual Misfit

08:00
Encountering Jesus in Unexpected Places

11:03
The Harmful Ableism in the Church

17:40
Reframing Our Understanding of God and Disability

31:54
Reshaping Conceptions of God for Inclusivity

38:18
Moving Beyond Tolerance to Fully Receiving Gifts

44:11
Developing a Community Care Network for Disabled Members

48:43
Architecting Life and Community for Co-Flourishing

50:47
Learning from and with Disabled Individuals

58:29
Embracing Divine Identity as Disabled Individuals

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

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Mental Health and Loneliness with James Aaron and Sarah Bishop

31 augusti 2024 | 60 min

Technology, AI and Spirituality with Aditee Vora, Somerset Drayton and Jonty Cornford

24 augusti 2024 | 58 min

Racial injustice and the Church with Nathan Tyson, Radhika Sukumar-White and Liesl Homes

17 augusti 2024 | 63 min

Navigating eco-anxiety, finding ways forward with Joyce Tangi, Karina Kreminski & Jono Row

10 augusti 2024 | 49 min

‘My Generational Deconstruction’ with Joanna Drayton, Ken Day and Ella Evans

3 augusti 2024 | 63 min

Christine Redwood, Belinda Groves & Nathan Nettleton on the Open Baptists

27 juli 2024 | 61 min

Karen Pack on starting loved and restoring the erased

20 juli 2024 | 63 min

Thomas Jay Oord on 'God After Deconstruction'

13 juli 2024 | 61 min

In this conversation, Will Small, Thomas Jay Oord, and Becca De Souza discuss open and relational theology, the challenges of suffering, and the process of deconstruction and reconstruction in faith. They also touch on the topic of LGBTQ+ affirmation within religious institutions. Thomas shares his personal journey from a classical theist position to open and relational theology, emphasizing the importance of understanding God's power as love. The conversation explores the need for a faith that embraces doubt and uncertainty while still providing comfort and meaning. They also discuss the role of certainty in children's faith development and the importance of allowing space for questioning and exploration. They explore the idea that salvation is not just liberation from pain, but also survival and quality of life, requiring the cooperation of both God and humanity. They also delve into the role of prayer in an open and relational theology, emphasizing that prayer is communication with God and can bring about change through our actions. They touch on the concept of miracles and how they occur when God and creation work together for something good. The conversation concludes with a reflection on the value of open and relational theology in providing a picture of God that is true for all people, especially those who have been marginalized and oppressed.

Keywords open and relational theology, suffering, deconstruction, reconstruction, LGBTQ+ affirmation, faith, doubt, certainty, children's faith development, God, suffering, open and relational theology, salvation, cooperation, prayer, miracles

Takeaways

Open and relational theology views God as interactive and responsive, and recognizes the limits of God's power. It offers a framework that aligns with our experiences and intuitions about love and free will.
Certainty is not the goal of faith. Embracing doubt and uncertainty can lead to a more mature and honest understanding of God and the world.
Children's faith development involves different stages, and it is natural for young children to have a black-and-white view of God. As they grow, it is important to create a safe space for them to ask questions and explore their beliefs.
Traditional theologies can be traumatizing and dismissive of our experiences. Open and relational theology provides a more inclusive and compassionate perspective that takes into account the diversity of human experiences.
The process of deconstruction and reconstruction in faith can be challenging but also liberating. It involves reevaluating our beliefs and theological frameworks, and embracing a faith that is more aligned with our values and experiences. Salvation is not just liberation from pain, but also survival and quality of life, requiring the cooperation of both God and humanity.
God is always acting and working in the world, and our response to God's

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

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5 Big Ideas for the Future Church (Future Church Conference Night: Joyce Tangi, Jessica Morthorpe, Karen Pack, Mitch Forbes & Joel Hollier)

1 juni 2024 | 73 min

Well hello again my friends!

If you’ve been listening in recent weeks I hope you have enjoyed these talks from Future Church Conference. I am excited to share that a few of us met this last week to start planning the next one — it’s going to be great. Follow New City Church or Spiritual Misfits on Instagram for a date announcement soon.

This will be the last piece of content for now from the inaugural Future Church Conference — and it’s a little different. On the evening of the day we asked 5 different speakers to give a 7 minute pitch for an idea they think is vital for the future church. So now you have the opportunity to hear these fantastic talks — micro in length, but each one packs a punch.

Keep listening and you will hear:

JOYCE TANGI on anti-racism

JESSICA MORTHORPE on climate justice

KAREN PACK on LGBTQIA+ Inclusion

MITCH FORBES on the place of tradition as we move forward

JOEL HOLLIER on being trauma-informed

And to round it there are a couple of songs at the end from Marion St — you may remember Gabi and Mikali who have previous been on the podcast (if you didn’t catch that one go back and listen to those legends).

So there is a lot of good stuff jam-packed into this episode.

Before we jump in my dear friends, listen up. I’m about to have a couple weeks off after a very big start to the year. Normally I’d line a couple of replay episodes — but as I mentioned last week we are just about to launch a Spiritual Misfits rebrand. And so, here’s what’s going to happen. For the next 2 or 3 weeks there will be a Spiritual-Misfits-shaped-hole in your podcast player. But make sure you’re subscribed — because after that we’re going to pop back into your feed with a new look, a new website and plenty of amazing and important new conversations coming your way.

Between now and then, hit up our extensive back-log and catch up on any episodes you haven’t heard yet. Some recommendations: as we continue to witness and grieve the horrendous genocide the Israeli government is committing in Palestine, can I suggest listening to my friend Sara M. Saleh’s episode if you haven’t? Or if you want to participate in non-violent love and resistance in this world listen to the episode with Jarrod McKenna. There are so many others I could suggest, but those both feel timely.

We’ll be back in a few weeks! Until then, big love and remember — you are not alone.

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

The Spiritual Misfits Survival Guide (FREE): https://www.spiritualmisfits.com.au/survivalguide

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The Future Church is...Intersectional (Will Small at Future Church Conference)

25 maj 2024 | 47 min

Hello again friends!

The last few weeks there’s been less of my voice on the pod, which has probably been a refreshing change. However if you proceed with listening to this one, it is my talk from Future Church Conference. Which ironically strongly reinforces the point that you should listen to many voices other than mine. I won’t redo my talk in the intro spiel here — but you will hear both my slight discomfort and embrace of the topic I was asked to speak about.

Hey, if you’ve been listening to the podcast for a while, you would have heard me say that this year we are working on some other things to add to the spiritual misfits eco-system.

Well, can I tell you my friends that there are some exciting things coming very soon now. We have been doing a Spiritual Misfits rebrand — which is actually kind of the first time we’ve done proper branding for it. If you look for example at the Spiritual Misfits website or at the podcast cover art you will notice the logo for Meeting Ground Church. You may already know this but in case you’re confused Meeting Ground is a small, local church on the Central Coast of NSW of which the podcast emerged from. Obviously though the audience of the podcast goes well beyond Meeting Ground’s geography. And as much as I would love to invite every one of you beautiful listeners to be part of Meeting Ground that wouldn’t work. However, it is my hope that the podcast can be just one part of a larger work that helps connect people with other people, with different ideas, with avenues for support…so I know it’s been a slow burn, because we’re also pretty resource limited. However, on the near horizon there will be a new website, with some videos and other resources to help misfits navigate the disorientation that can come with feeling like you’re on the fringes. And there will be some other cool things that pop-up there over time. So, be warned. There will come a day soon when you look at your podcast app and the cover art for the podcast is new and beautiful and different.

I can also tease that just around the corner there is a limited series of episodes created in collaboration with very good humans. And I think they are going to be something special.

Anyway, that is enough teasing of things. Tell your friends, share the love, join the Facebook group. Enjoy this little talk from Future Church Conference (and follow New City Church on Instagram to make sure you don’t miss a pending date announcement about the next one).

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

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The Future Church is....LGBTQIA+ Inclusive (Karen Pack at Future Church Conference)

18 maj 2024 | 52 min

Hello Spiritual Misfits!

This week I have another brilliant talk for you from Future Church conference which happened in January this year. We know the questions and themes we were exploring in the room that day are so pressing for many of us, and so it’s great to be able to share these talks with you if you weren’t able to join us.

A reminder that there will be another Future Church Conference — and if these talks are wetting your appetite to be in the room if possible, make sure you give New City Church a follow on social media, or drop an email to [email protected]. We will make sure you’re in the loop when a date and other details are announced. You can also check out futurechurchcon.com — all these links will be in the show-notes too.

This talk you’re about to hear is from the brilliant Karen Pack. Karen’s topic was ‘The Future Church is…LGBTQIA+ Inclusive’ — but as you’ll hear this talk actually has much broader applications. Karen weaves aspects of her personal story with a pretty confronting look at how histories are formed and told, and the power there is, in the way we tell the story.

As with all of these Future Church conference talks really there are themes explored here that may bring up your own trauma — particularly if you are a queer person who has spent time in religious spaces that did not treat you with the full dignity and acceptance that you do deserve. Karen does touch on themes of suicide. And if this brings anything up for you as you listen, then please reach out for help. You can call lifeline on 13 11 14.

Karen does reference the slides she was using on the day, but she does a fantastic job of explaining what’s on those slides, and I think you should be able to follow along without much trouble.

Big shout-out to Kaz for this challenging, moving, vulnerable and deeply important message for anyone who finds themselves interested in what the church of tomorrow — and today, looks like.

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

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The Future Church is...Decolonising (Safina Stewart at Future Church Conference)

11 maj 2024 | 48 min

Hello good people!

In January this year a group of us hosted the first ever Future Church conference. It was a fantastic day — we had people travel from South Australia, Queensland, Victoria…converging in Redfern Town Hall for an exploration of what the church of tomorrow could look like at its most expansive, welcoming and imaginative. We delved into some heavy topics, but it was a really inspiring and wonderful space of connection and possibility.

There will be another Future Church Conference — if you want to make sure you don’t miss any announcements about that give New City Church a follow on the socials — or even feel free to send an email to [email protected] and we will make sure you’re in the loop when a date is announced.

In the meantime, I’m going to be playing some of the talks from last time here on the podcast. They were all brilliant, in my opinion, and are well worth sharing around and using as the basis for ongoing conversations.

We were so grateful to be joined by Safina Stewart on the day. Safina is a proud Wuthathi and Mabuiag Island woman who grew up cross culturally in New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Australia. She is an artist, the Relationships and Storytelling Coordinator at Common Grace, and a brilliant storyteller in her own right.

Safina gave a talk at Future Conference called ‘The Future Church is Decolonising’. This was such a powerful and palpable talk to be in the room for. If you couldn’t be in the room this recording is absolutely worth listening to! At certain points in the talk Safina used her body to illustrate the points she was making. For example, when she talks about looking back at the past to inform our future she turned away from the audience. Knowing this I’m sure you can imagine those moments as you listen.

Are you part of a church that wants to find out more about partnering with Common Grace? Email [email protected]

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

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The Future Church is....Trauma Informed (Joel Hollier at Future Church Conference)

4 maj 2024 | 49 min

Scott M. Coley on 'Ministers of Propaganda'

24 april 2024 | 76 min

Adis Duderija on progressive Islam and process theology

20 april 2024 | 67 min

Growing up my understanding of Islam was largely informed by Christian sources telling me what was wrong.

I actually remember a book I owned called ‘why are there so many gods?’ In and of itself this is not a terrible question, but the contents of the book included a 1-2 page summary of all the major (and many minor) religions of the world. And at the end of each one it had ‘the catch’ - a couple short sentences on why it was false.

Of course on the page about Christianity ‘the catch’ section said ‘there is none!’

These days I find the project a book like that is trying to engage in preposterous and arrogant. I would much rather look for the common ground across spiritual traditions. I’m happy to acknowledge and discuss differences, but I’m not looking for ‘the catch’ in every view that differs from mine!

Speaking of common ground, this week I had a conversation with Adis Duderija, a scholar of contemporary progressive Islam. Perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised to discover so much of what Adis outlines in terms of his approach to faith is deeply resonant with my own. And many of the tensions he describes within the tent of his tradition…sound like they could just be describing the same trends within Christianity.

I desire a spirituality that sees people from all perspectives as conversation partners and fellow learners. So I was very grateful for this chat with Adis. There’s so much more we could have explored. But if, like me, your engagement in inter-faith dialogue has been more limited than you’d like, I hope this provides an opportunity to listen, learn and see common ground in our pursuit of a good, just and beautiful life.

About Adis Duderija:
Adis Duderija is an academic, working at Griffith University. Teaching and researching on contemporary Islam with a special focus on the theory of progressive Islam, salafism and religious extremism, Islam and Gender, western Muslims’ identity construction and inter-faith dialogue theory and practice.

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

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Rachel Collis on doubt, faith and showing up either way

13 april 2024 | 60 min

Pub Theology (with Carlynne Nunn) on shame and disappointment

6 april 2024 | 62 min

Josephine McDonnell Inkpin on Trans Resurrection Reflections

30 mars 2024 | 70 min

James Watson wrote a song for Spiritual Misfits (and you can help name it)

23 mars 2024 | 62 min

Rob Waters (National Poetry Slam champion) on reminders of truth and love

16 mars 2024 | 67 min

Karen Pack, Tash Holmes & Karl Hand on Queer Christian Pride [Replay]

9 mars 2024 | 71 min

Hello my friends

A few words at the top here before the episode starts.

I had to rearrange some interviews I had lined up for this week — so I’m pulling a great conversation out of the archive for you. Given that last weekend was Mardi Gras, I thought I’d replay this wonderful panel conversation we recorded just over a year ago in conjunction with World Pride. It was a great chat with Karl, Karen and Tash — certainly worth listening to either for the first time or to catch something new on a second listen.

I also wanted to take a moment here to highlight the Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimages which have been happening during Lent. The circumstances in Gaza continue to be horrendous. I’m sure so many of you, like me, feel at a loss for words and for the right actions. If you haven’t already heard of the Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage this has become a worldwide movement of Christian groups hosting 41km walks — the length of Gaza — as an act of solidarity as well as a nonviolent protest, calling for a permanent ceasefire. These walks are hosted by Christians, welcoming of people from all or no faith background, and are built around strong core convictions, including condemning anti-semitism, which is not the same thing as critiquing the Israeli government.

At Meeting Ground church, we will be doing 4 10km walks during Holy Week, starting on Palm Sunday. As we prepare to reflect on the crucified Christ at Easter, I cannot think of a more pertinent time to try to connect our bodies, minds and hearts with those who are unjustly crucified, scapegoated and oppressed — in our world today. If you happen to be on the Central Coast and you want to join us reach out. Otherwise, check out gazaceasefirepilgrimage.com to learn more and connect with groups and organisers in your neck of the woods. I know many listeners will have already participated in pilgrimages in recent weeks, and if that’s the case, big respect to you and your crew.

Where ever you find yourself this week may you turn your ears and your voice and your being in the direction of love that perseveres.

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

The Spiritual Misfits Survival Guide (FREE): https://www.spiritualmisfits.com.au/survivalguide

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Will & Hannah debrief 'Prosper'

2 mars 2024 | 67 min

Emily Hayes (& Mitch Forbes) on learning to listen

24 februari 2024 | 78 min

Sarah McCammon on 'The Exvangelicals'

17 februari 2024 | 58 min

Peter Espevoll & Jon Reichardt: death metal, deconstruction & mental health

10 februari 2024 | 74 min

Kristen LaValley on faith after the formulas fail

3 februari 2024 | 54 min

Nils von Kalm on lifting people’s dignity

27 januari 2024 | 60 min

Liz Cooledge Jenkins on 'Nice Churchy Patriarchy'

20 januari 2024 | 53 min

'Filthy Misfits' (Spiritual Misfits x Filthy Hope crossover episode)

13 januari 2024 | 77 min

Summer replays: Becca de Souza on God as midwife

6 januari 2024 | 66 min

Summer replays: Dave Tomlinson on how to be a bad Christian and a better human being

30 december 2023 | 69 min

I’m taking a little breather between the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024. Thankfully, there are so many incredible conversations in our back-log. I’m pulling a few favourites out to revisit - like this one!

If you’re in Sydney (or willing to travel) join us on the 25th of Jan for Future Church Conference (futurechurchcon.com) with Joel Hollier, Safina Stewart, Karen Pack and Christine Redwood. They’ve all been on the podcast before and they’re all great. So we’d love to see you then.

It’s going to be a big year for Spiritual Misfits. Jump in our Facebook group or join our mailing list to stay in the loop.

DAVE TOMLINSON
Dave is a vicar from London, a wonderful storyteller and truth seeker and has written many books including ‘how to be a bad Christian and a better human being’ which we discuss in this conversation.

Simon Buckingham Shum who is a part of meeting ground church joined me to co-host this one - as a Brit who has been following Dave’s work for a long time.

Simon and Dave make reference a few times to Greenbelt, which is an annual festival in the UK bringing together faith, justice, philosophy, art and a shared space for people from all walks of life. There’s a link in the shownotes if you want to learn more.

At the end of the conversation Dave gives one of the best definitions of hope I’ve ever heard.

This was a delightful conversation to have and I hope it encourages you.

Listen to Dave's talks at Greenbelt here:
https://www.greenbelt.org.uk/talks-archive/#~tomlinson

Check out Dave's YouTube channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpGqunuXebtPE1SaSlVjsdA

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

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Christmas Liturgy: Subversive Incarnation

23 december 2023 | 30 min

Advent Liturgy [Replay - New one coming next week!]

16 december 2023 | 31 min

Pub Theology: Tradition vs Progress

9 december 2023 | 71 min

Sara M. Saleh on Palestine, liberation and poetry

2 december 2023 | 47 min

Noah Small on the nature of God, love and kindness (a little episode with big heart)

25 november 2023 | 21 min

Radhika Sukumar-White on lament, suffering and inclusive community

18 november 2023 | 57 min

Michael Frost & Shane Meyer-Holt on the other side of 'mega'

11 november 2023 | 78 min

Mikali Anagnostis and Gabi Cadenhead on Gen-Z spirituality and Marion St

4 november 2023 | 68 min

Olivia Jackson on '(Un)Certain: a Collective Memoir of Deconstructing Faith'

28 oktober 2023 | 70 min

Gregg Morris: examining our 'cultural tales' after the referendum

21 oktober 2023 | 67 min

Is there hope in our heavy world? + Mitch reads the bible.

14 oktober 2023 | 74 min

Benjamin Hastings on honest worship and feeling alone in the flock [Replay]

7 oktober 2023 | 60 min

Grant Wilson, a quadriplegic pastor, on disability and grace

30 september 2023 | 67 min

Jarrod McKenna on liberating love and nonviolent resistance

23 september 2023 | 82 min

Pub Theology: 'The Experience of David Bentley Hart'

13 september 2023 | 89 min

David Gushee: 'Defending Democracy from its Christian Enemies'

9 september 2023 | 72 min

Safina Stewart and Bianca Manning: Season of Creation & the Voice

2 september 2023 | 71 min

Janet Kellogg Ray on religious science denial and its consequences

26 augusti 2023 | 68 min

Kelly Skilton on neurodiversity, spirituality and digital community

19 augusti 2023 | 52 min

Jesse Mawson on the prison and the monastery

12 augusti 2023 | 62 min

Sally Douglas on Jesus Sophia, the divine feminine and the trinity

5 augusti 2023 | 75 min

Will Nicholas on sci-fi spirituality, apocalypses and interplanetary meaning-making

29 juli 2023 | 72 min

Pub Theology: Listener questions (Hannah, Mitch & Will)

22 juli 2023 | 84 min

Pub Theology: should every Christian read the Bible?

15 juli 2023 | 79 min

Mason Mennenga: theology for the people, from the internet’s youth pastor

8 juli 2023 | 56 min

Larissa Minniecon on the Voice

1 juli 2023 | 69 min

Post-evangelical parenting? (Becca De Souza, Carolyn Meers & Will Small)

24 juni 2023 | 78 min

LIVE: Is Christianity still good news? (Panel: Gregg Morris, Sally Douglas, Will Nicholas, Carlynne Nunn)

17 juni 2023 | 86 min

Priyanka Bromhead on decolonising faith and 'We are the Mainstream'

10 juni 2023 | 60 min

Priyanka Bromhead, amongst many things, is the founder of ‘We are the Mainstream.’ — a collective of First Nations, Women of Colour and Gender Diverse folk of colour, creating spaces for courageous conversations, that challenge systems and structures of power and centre perspectives that have often been forced to the edges.

Priyanka shares more about We are the Mainstream during our conversation, but also opens up about her own personal experiences of the faith she grew up with and the ongoing work of decolonising that faith. And in this there are some really beautiful and profound descriptions of what faith means to her today.

At one point in our conversation, Priyanka talks about not being made in the image of a white man.

I’m increasingly conscious that our images of God can be so interwoven with the people we surround ourselves with and expose ourselves to. So, for me, as a white man — I want to enter a conversation like this one ready to learn more about the many faces and voices that reflect God. Because the truth is, the under-representation of diverse voices and perspectives doesn’t just minimise those individuals and groups — it means all of us, end up with a distorted and reductive image of the divine.

In our chat Priyanka also mentions Larissa Minniecon, a First Nations woman who will be on a Spiritual Misfits episode in the coming weeks — which will be partly around the referendum, and I think will be a really important episode to share far and wide, so I encourage you to look out for that.

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LIVE: Pub Theology & Poetry at The Rogue Scholar

3 juni 2023 | 76 min

Dean Johnston: 'can an atheist plant a church?'

27 maj 2023 | 71 min

LIVE: Wisdom for the Wilderness (Panel: Joel Hollier, Becca De Souza, Carolyn Meers, Simon Nixon)

20 maj 2023 | 72 min

God as Mother

13 maj 2023 | 18 min

Matt Glover on rejection, reinvention and connection

6 maj 2023 | 74 min

Pub Theology: is God violent? (Hannah, Mitch and Will)

29 april 2023 | 86 min

Alexis Halverson: (re)discovering Christianity as a trans person

22 april 2023 | 67 min

Jon Owen on 'no us and them'

15 april 2023 | 54 min

Tripp Fuller on open and relational theology and resurrection

8 april 2023 | 103 min

Happy Resurrection Sunday if you’re listening on the day this episode is being released. To coincide with the Easter long weekend, this is a longer serving of podcast goodness with a very special guest.

Tripp Fuller of Homebrewed Christianity, legendary podcaster, brilliant theologian, prolific talker, very generously said yes to a conversation with myself and Simon Nixon.

Shout-out to Simon who teed this one up.

If you want to meet Simon and myself, and many other misfits in person, we are organising our first ever Spiritual Misfits live in Sydney. Saturday 13th of May at Newtown Mission. More details in the Facebook group, or if you’re not in there, keep an ear out and we will no doubt share more details in coming weeks on the pod.

I did considered editing out parts of this conversation that may be a little more theologically niche, but I decided to keep them in, because if you’re one of the people that care about that niche, you’ll probably be pretty interested in those sections.

However, if that’s not you, don’t worry, I’m going to give you some navigation tips up the top here.

The first 45 minutes of this episode is a combination of Tripp’s story with a decent overview of open and relational theology. If you listened to the episode with Becca De Souza a couple weeks back and were curious about some of the questions raised about whether or not God is in control, this is a further dive into that. And I think many of you will find it very interesting.

Around 45 minutes in, I ask Tripp a question about the compatibility or not of open theism with David Bentley Hart’s arguments for universal salvation. This is where things get a little nerdy and a little niche until around the 75 minute mark.

After that the remainder of the episode is essentially an Easter sermon from Tripp, about resurrection. And it’s great. And I recommend you listen to that.

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

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Good Friday Meditation: Psalm 22 [Replay]

6 april 2023 | 15 min

(Dry-ish) Pub Theology for Lent (Hannah, Mitch & Will)

1 april 2023 | 70 min

Becca De Souza on God as Midwife

25 mars 2023 | 63 min

Damon Gameau on 2040, meaning-making and creating social change

18 mars 2023 | 46 min

A few years ago, (pre Spiritual Misfits) I was making a podcast called Man;Kind. It was primarily a show about the unhelpful gender moulds we place on each other, with particular reference to manhood and masculinity etc. The name of the show was supposed to beg the question: could the word ‘man’ become more associated with kindness than power or strength or aggression.

During the production of that show I got to do one of my favourite interviews that I’ve done to date, with someone I admire very much. Australian film maker, Damon Gameu. His films include ‘that sugar film’, ‘2040’ and more recently ‘Regenerating Australia’.

For various reasons I won’t bore you with that interview got a little lost and never really got the audience I think it was worthy of. And I think you dear misfit listeners, are very likely to love and benefit from this chat.

Although the angle of the interview is somewhat grounded in ideas of gender and manhood in particular, there is so much about this conversation that relates to what we often explore on Spiritual Misfits (and of course I should also note that many of the issues around masculinity are extremely relevant to Christian spaces which can be responsible for doubling down on outdated gender roles, rather than helping us critique and transcend them).

But beyond gender, Damon and I asked questions around how we make new meaning when our old models have largely let us down. How we tap into awe and wonder. And how we can care for our one planet in the midst of ecological crisis. We also touch on the desire for the transcendent and the need for collective social change rather than just individual responsibility.

It was such a helpful conversation for me at the time and I learned a lot from Damon.

So, with all that in mind I hope you enjoy this conversation!

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

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Guided contemplation: self-compassion across time

11 mars 2023 | 21 min

Dr. Rod Pattenden on art, religion and breaking the boxes

4 mars 2023 | 57 min

WorldPride Panel: Karen Pack, Tash Holmes, Karl Hand

25 februari 2023 | 68 min

Nicola Morley on overseas mission, coming out and sincerity through changing faith

18 februari 2023 | 57 min

Brad Brisco on covocational church leadership

11 februari 2023 | 67 min

Church attendance in the West is on the decline.

I think any church interested in having a future needs to do some serious reflecting on what may need to change.

And I’m pretty convinced there’s a big gap to be filled for people who still desire a faith community, but aren’t looking to return what they may have left for good reasons.

So...what kind of churches could fill that gap?

At least one component of that conversation is about the moolah. How to resource and staff churches in a changing world.

Sustaining the budget of a church with full-time staffing expenses isn’t cheap. (and perhaps for some of us the business oriented nature of church is part of what we wanted to leave behind.)

At the same time, coordinating and organising any kind of community does take time, effort and resources. And I still think there’s an important role for pastors and ministers of all kinds.

I’ve been trying to live in the tension of these questions for many years now.

For several years I’ve personally been bi-vocational. Working a day or two in paid ministry and a few days in other spaces.

A few years ago I read a book by Brad Brisco that introduced me to a concept I liked even more than BiVo. The book was called 'Covocational Church Planting', and in this week's podcast episode you'll hear why covocational can be a more holistic approach. I am delighted to have Brad join me on this episode for a chat about the future of the church and how CoVocational staffing may play a role in that. More broadly we discuss how the shape and structure of church is interwoven with what we believe about God and the purpose of the church.

Brad has spent many years navigating these questions, and I think has some great wisdom to offer.

During the conversation Brad mentions some resources around the ‘five-fold/APEST’ gifts. You can check them out here in blog or video form:

https://www.missionalchurchnetwork.com/blog/the-importance-of-5-fold-apest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RUUzOf8TPg

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

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Dave Andrews on Christi-anarchy, rejections and interfaith dialogue

4 februari 2023 | 60 min

There are plenty of people whose behaviour in the name of Jesus is the very thing that would often lead me to want to reject the Christian faith I’ve grown up with. Dave Andrews, on the other hand, is the kind of person who makes me feel the opposite. He speaks about Jesus in a way that makes me feel like I am encountering this story for the first time. I think this is largely because Dave has modelled a life around ‘sermon on the mount ethics’ more than most people you meet in the average church. I think you’ll see what I mean, as you listen.

During our conversation we talk about Christian anarchy, Dave gives a pretty powerful critique of the early Christian creeds, and we also explore inclusive theology that works alongside and with people from different religious traditions.

I want to give you a heads up that this conversation gets really heavy in places. Dave’s commitment to a radical following of Christlike ethics has meant he’s been rejected, excommunicated and banned from multiple Christian groups over the years. Dave shares openly about the ways some of these occurrences impacted his health, including thoughts he had around taking his own life. If that’s personally sensitive territory for you, I encourage you to be gentle with yourself as you listen, and please reach out to services like Beyond Blue or Lifeline (13 11 44) if you need to.

If you have experienced any form of rejection or loss of Christian community, I hope listening to this gives you a sense of solidarity. And I want to emphasise again, our whole ethos in making this podcast is to let you know, regardless of what you believe, you are worthy of belonging. And you are not alone.

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

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Pub Theology: Will, Hannah & Mitch discuss prayer and miracles

28 januari 2023 | 67 min

Joel Hollier & Steff Fenton on creating trauma-informed church

21 januari 2023 | 71 min

Rob Buckingham on inclusion without limits

14 januari 2023 | 66 min

Rob Buckingham is the pastor of Bayside Church in Melbourne.

In many ways Rob is as Christian as they come. He loves Jesus, he loves scripture, he loves the church. He’s a pastor through and through.

At the same time, by his own confession he has always been somewhat of a misfit — and if you have any experience of the pentecostal church in Australia, you may listen to some things he says and wonder how that is the world he is coming from (which we do touch on).

As you will hear in this conversation Rob has asked many good questions over his faith journey — and on many occasions has changed his mind. And even more than that, has sought to take responsibility for where his former views have been harmful. In the back half of this conversation we talk quite a bit about his journey and Bayside Church’s journey towards fully welcoming and including all people, including those who are diverse in their gender and sexuality. It’s powerful to hear a fairly traditional leader with a pretty large platform acknowledge and apologise for past mistakes. I wish we saw this more often.

I would say Rob and his ministry are characterised by two values that this whole conversation essentially revolves around. A willingness to ask questions when aspects of faith and Christian teaching do not make sense. And a desire to create increasingly inclusive faith communities. I think those are deeply held values within our podcast community. And so, whilst there may be things you see differently to Rob, I hope this conversation inspires you to keep asking questions and to keep seeking broader, wider and deeper inclusion.

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

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The unholy hustle and the sacred now [Replay]

7 januari 2023 | 51 min

Dr. Christine Redwood on women, the Bible & the pulpit [Replay]

31 december 2022 | 57 min

A poetic Christmas message (final episode of 2022)

17 december 2022 | 34 min

One week until Christmas day. Wild!

This will be the last episode of the podcast for 2022. We put something out every single week since launching in January. And I really feel like we’re just getting started here. We have such a beautiful sense of community growing around the pod, and I love hearing stories about the connections facilitated through these episodes. I know that they have created space for really courageous conversations to continue. So thank you for being part of that, as one of our listeners! And stick around in 2023 as we continue to create conversations and resources to let any misfits listening know, you are not alone.

To wrap out the year, here’s a sermon I’ve dug out that I preached around Christmas in 2019. It’s a little different as I built it around three poems I wrote that year in the lead-up to Christmas. And so, it is kind of a hybrid poetic sermon of sorts.

But looking back, the timing of it is really interesting in hindsight. For one, this was just on the brink of 2020. We had no clue what was coming. And in fact, as I make reference to in the sermon, the skies at the time were smoke-filled, as the Black Summer bushfires were in full effect. In many ways this was on the eve of what has become such a transitional point in history for us.

It was also at a transitional point for me personally, as I knew at this point in time that in 2020 we were going to start this alternative faith community called Meeting Ground. And at the time I remember really feeling like I had so much love for the community of the church I was on staff at — yet I also felt so strongly that the people I was most interested in being with had largely left church spaces like this one.

Given the recent context of fracturing denominational lines and recent episodes on that I think this message is actually even more pertinent.

So, long story short, I wanted to share it with you, as some final thoughts to wrap out the year. It’s a message about what God is like, who God is with and how God chooses to be revealed.

A God who draws near.

Love to you my friends. I hope the final days of 2022 treat you kindly.

Will

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

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Christine Redwood, Josh Dowton & Hayley-Jayne Bernhardt: to be or not to be…Baptist

10 december 2022 | 95 min

Alright friends, as promised here’s another conversation about the ramifications of the NSW & ACT Baptist rumblings of late.

Recognising that listeners will have varied levels of engagement with this situation, here are the essential points you need to know upfront:

At the most recent Baptist Assembly, there were a large and complicated set of motions essentially requiring uniformity around a traditional view of marriage, and beginning to establish a mechanism to remove pastors and churches with theology that affirms same-sex marriage.

On the same day, a set of motions were put forward about increasing the representation of women in leadership on boards and decision making bodies.

In this conversation we talk about both of these things — as in many ways they do share some significant overlap.

We tried to hold this conversation in a way that is useful for Baptists processing what is happening, as well as those watching on from other denominational spaces. Or those who have left institutional/denominational spaces but who may still feel like this process brings up old wounds.

I also want to say upfront there are many other voices that could have been a part of this conversation, and even though this is a longer episode, it’s still limited.

I am conscious that there isn’t a queer voice on this episode sharing how this experience has impacted them; I’ve also felt conscious of not wanting to add to the burden and vulnerability of queer people by expecting them to open up their trauma around this. So many of you have given energy in that way many times and I want to say to you, this conversation is in no way, shape or farm a discussion about your worth, value or place at the table. Those are assumed truths here. I primarily chose these three guests because they are truly Baptist in the best sense of the word — and I have valued what they have modelled through an extremely uninspiring process.

Having said that, I recognise the limitations of our lenses and privileges - and if you are an LGBTQI+ person who has been impacted by this situation wanting to share some of your perspective (whether publicly or anonymously) please do message me.

Well, I think that’s probably all you need to know upfront. Here’s Christine Redwood, Josh Dowton, Hayley Bernhardt and I processing how we see this situation at this point in time.

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

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An Advent Liturgy

3 december 2022 | 27 min

It has always been our intention to create resources to support spiritual practice, as well as hosting honest conversations and interviews.

This episode is a little different to any of our previous ones, but it is intended to help you experience and enter the Advent season, with your mind, body and heart.

We've created an advent liturgy of sorts.

A collection of poetry, music and scripture, with space to pause, to breathe, to be.

At this time of year, many of us may feel like we particularly struggle to do these things.

And yet, one way to understand the Christmas narrative, is to see divinity, entering human spaces exactly as they are. Messy. Uncertain. Under the shadow of empire. On an ordinary night. Amidst the feeding troughs of animals.

God comes in vulnerability.

And so, as you listen to this short liturgical experience....

...whether you are cleaning up around your house, preparing dinner, driving laps around a shopping centre carpark or whatever the case may be, it is our hope that your awareness of divinity and love might sneak in to whatever cracks it can, in your life.

Almost all of the stunning music in this episode is used with grateful permission from Bjear. His two Christmas albums ‘a Christmas with Bjear and friends volumes 1 and 2’ are available now. You can go and grab them on Bandcamp here and support an independent Australian artist this Christmas.

Are you ready? Let's begin...

(special thanks to Erin, Leksi, Ellaina, Caro, Emily, Becca, Hannah, Mel, Kerry and Sam for reading on this one, as well as Noah and Leo who had brief cameos).

Scripture:
Luke 1:46-55

Poetry:
Advent: Mary, Will Small
Sometimes I Wonder, Kaitlin Shetler

Songs:
Have Yourself a Merry Christmas, performed by Bjear & friends
The First Noel, performed by Bjear & friends
Christmas Eve, 1818, performed by Bjear & friends
Midnight, Christians, is the Solemn Hour, performed by Bjear & friends
O Holy Night, performed by Bjear & friends

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

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Carolyn Meers on pastoring through deconstruction

26 november 2022 | 61 min

Tash Holmes on the centrality of creativity to community

19 november 2022 | 63 min

Leaving loud (emergency pub theology w. Mitch, Hannah & Will)

17 november 2022 | 66 min

Dave Tomlinson on how to be a bad Christian (and a better human being)

12 november 2022 | 66 min

Pub Theology: Mitch and Will discuss Rob Bell (after seeing him live)

5 november 2022 | 61 min

Rev. Dr Karina Kreminski on the church of tomorrow (and its mission)

29 oktober 2022 | 61 min

Karl Hand on Queer Bible Commentary

22 oktober 2022 | 55 min

Karl Hand is the pastor of Crave Church in Sydney, he has a PhD in the New Testament, and is a contributor to the recently updated Queer Bible Commentary with a chapter on the book of Ephesians.

During our conversation Karl described this beautiful gift that queer people have for using humour as a means of survival in the face of oppression. He describes how in a way Mardis Gras is a response to police brutality involving people dressing up and throwing a party — and when you think about it, this is an incredible example of subversively comical resistance.

It isn’t just police brutality that has been used against queer people historically — often scripture has been tragically used as part of the arsenal of weapons used to discriminate against them. Well, as Karl is going to show us in this conversation, at least one queer response is to re-read the text in brilliantly creative ways that see the humour, even through the trauma.

I’m wary of anyone who says there’s only one way to read the Bible. I firmly believe that if it’s a living word — like I was taught growing up — then we can’t stop it from speaking in different ways to different people at different moments in time. And this conversation with Karl has given me fresh ways to see next time I open my Bible. Listen in, and by the end I hope you’ll be able to say the same thing. If nothing else, may you be inspired by the beautiful creative resistance of queer people.

Check out the Queer Bible Commentary here.

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

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The church of tomorrow with Simon Nixon

15 oktober 2022 | 61 min

Many of us have experienced significant changes in our faith, spirituality or worldview in recent years (which by the way is a normal and healthy thing). And of course, those changes are taking place right across human societies in the information age we are living through.

I’ve heard people speculate that we’re living in a new church reformation — and I think there’s something to that idea.

So what will the Church of tomorrow look like? We can think about this question as a purely imaginative exercise. Or we can play a role in answering it. By experimenting and starting our own communities. By having large, imaginative conversations where we dream about what’s possible — and then give it a go.

This episode is an attempt to begin a conversation like that.

Through spiritual misfits we want to help you know that you are not alone. It says that every week in the intro. So what could and can communities look like where people move through their processes of change and growth and doubt and faith and all the things together?

Simon Nixon had the idea for this one — and we also threw out the invitation to our Facebook group for anyone who wanted to join us on zoom while we recorded this conversation. It was excellent to see a number of your faces and to spend a little time outside of the recording just connecting with people and hearing where you’re from.

The facebook group is becoming a really great space, so if you’re not already in there feel free to join us, and from time to time we are planning to organise more live recordings you can join us for as well as other online meet-ups.

Let’s shape this thing together.

Here is the first (of many) conversations about what the church of tomorrow could look like.

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

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Bruce Macauley on seeing through the eyes of the other

8 oktober 2022 | 53 min

Dr. David Gushee on Christian humanism after evangelicalism

1 oktober 2022 | 57 min

A 'belonging of misfits' (poems and stories live at Hamilton Baptist Church)

24 september 2022 | 42 min

A couple weeks ago there was a very special convergence of communities at Hamilton Baptist Church. I know many of you have listened to the episodes with Andrew Dodd and Scott Higgins sharing their stories and the story of Hamilton. If you haven’t listened yet add those to your up next.

Anyway, Andrew invited me to come along to Hamilton and share some thoughts and poems. And Mitch Forbes and some of the New City Baps crew came along, as well as a few others from Meeting Ground church. So we ended up with a very special mix of people in the room, and honestly it was so lovely to meet a number of podcast listeners in person and to celebrate being a bit of a rag-tag group on the fringes of faith. Which can be a pretty fun place if you make it a party.

Before the morning Andrew Dodd asked me if we could make this a ‘live’ podcast episode. So that’s what you’re about to hear. Andrew’s the host for this one. And there’s a bit of variety. First, a conversation with Mitch Forbes. Then we hear from one of our listeners, Alison. Shout-out to you Alison. And then the bulk of the episode is a mix of Andrew interviewing me and me sharing some poems around evolving faith and LGBTQI+ inclusion.

This was a lot of fun and I hope you get the sense that you’re in the room with us experiencing the energy of it.

On that note, if you would be interested in hosting or collaborating on some sort of spiritual misfits meet-up or live gathering, hit us up. Who knows what could happen?

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

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Laurie Wevers on deconstruction, therapy and spiritual direction

17 september 2022 | 62 min

Monasteries, mustard seeds and all this mess

10 september 2022 | 34 min

Kissing purity culture goodbye (and the pursuit of a better sexual ethic for our kids?)

3 september 2022 | 62 min

Did you grow up within ‘purity culture’?

If you’re unsure, here are some signs that maybe you did:

You or your friends had a crack at ‘kissing dating goodbye.’
God’s love seemed entirely contingent upon your sexual abstinence
You got the impression that boys/men were unable to control their sexual desires, and girls/women were entirely responsible for any ‘sexual immorality.’
Sex outside of marriage felt like the worst and most shameful thing you could possibly do…
…after getting married though, a flip would switch and sex would suddenly be an amazing gift from God!

The epicentre of purity culture was evangelical America in the 90s. But it certainly made its way to Australian shores.

In this week’s episode of the podcast, Hannah and I reflect on our own experiences of purity culture and the ‘hangover’ left in its wake.

Towards the end of the episode we turn our attention towards the question of what we would like to pass on to our own kids when it comes to understanding sexuality and spirituality. Is there a Christian sexual ethic that ditches the shame while still treating our sexuality with care and sensitivity?

We don’t claim to have an answer to this question. But we at least want to talk about it!

We reference several books in this episode that are worth reading if you want a deeper dive after this discussion:

Pure, Linda Kay Klein
Jesus and John Wayne, Kristin Kobes Du Mez
After Evangelicalism, David Gushee
The Deeply Formed Life, Rich Villodas

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

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Pub theology: fracturing denominations (with Mitch Forbes)

27 augusti 2022 | 67 min

Hannah interviews Will about all the things

20 augusti 2022 | 60 min

Jo Saxton on grief, lament, race and gender

13 augusti 2022 | 49 min

Hello friends!

As I mentioned last week, with the birth of a new member of our family, I’ve dug out a couple of my favourite interviews from other shows I’ve hosted in the past, while I take a short break from doing interviews. This week’s conversation is truly top-shelf in my opinion and I’m sure you’ll learn something if you listen.

For this week, I’ve grabbed an interview my friend Benj Gould and I originally did for the Forming Church podcast. We interviewed a diverse range of people about what the future of the church might look like in a post-pandemic world (taking into consideration all the other cultural and technological shifts we have been living through in recent years).

This was a very special chat with Jo Saxton. Jo was born in London to parents who immigrated from Nigeria, and now lives in the US. She’s an internationally sought after author, speaker and leadership coach, and as you’ll see she’s just brilliant.

We spoke with Jo about grief, lament, and both racial and gender inequality, and how the church of the future must genuinely grapple with these things if it’s going to survive and thrive.

This interview was done in February 2021, and involves some COVID-specific reflections from that moment in time, but the majority of the conversation remains incredibly relevant for where we are right now.

This is a conversation about some topics that’d can be difficult to speak about, but remain so deeply important. Check it out, and then join us in our Facebook discussion group to share your thoughts.

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

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Joel McKerrow on removing the blindfolds

6 augusti 2022 | 40 min

Simon Buckingham-Shum on the DNA of communal, creative worship (and 90s dance music)

30 juli 2022 | 52 min

Prepare for an experience with this one…featuring some tunes that are bound to get you moving!

Simon Buckingham Shum is an academic who works at the intersection of education, technology and ethics.

But, today we’re talking about his experiences as a part of a movement of alternative expressions of liturgy, worship and church back in the 90s in England.

I was fascinated the first time Simon shared about some of these experiences with me and although I was never really into electronic dance music, Simon was ultimately talking about creative pioneering and experimentation and trying to find new ways of engaging the sacred And that’s a bigger conversation than any particular musical genre.

In the decades since then Simon’s faith journey has seen its own evolutions, and he’s been in a few different spaces stylistically as well as theologically.

So, in this conversation we’re following the threads of a particular story but we’re also talking about more broadly about the interwoven relationships between communities, creativity, forms of worship and our underlying motivations.

Simon’s also written a really helpful reflective piece of writing about this journey. It’s immersive and includes pictures of event flyers from that time. That’s on our website here and I would recommend you read it alongside listening to this episode, as they play off each other.

After listening join us in our Facebook discussion group to share your thoughts and keep the conversation going.

Music in this episode:

“I Lift My Cup (To The Spirit Divine”) by Gloworm 1992 (5 mixes) https://hoojchoons.bandcamp.com/album/i-lift-my-cup-to-the-spirit-divine

“Miserere” by Sue Wallace (composed for Visions services in early 90s). More tracks at: https://suevisions.bandcamp.com

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

The Spiritual Misfits Survival Guide (FREE): https://www.spiritualmisfits.com.au/survivalguide

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Graeme Anderson on following Jesus for the next 10 minutes

23 juli 2022 | 55 min

I think a lot of us have come to know the forms of Christianity that we don’t want. We’ve seen politicised versions of faith that we want nothing to do with. We’ve witnessed institutional failings, scandals and cover-ups that we want to distance ourselves from. But, sometimes it’s harder to answer the question, what now? How do I put the pieces back together?

A few years ago someone told me it’s not enough to know what you’re running away from. You’ll be sustained by knowing what you’re running towards. I think there’s a lot of wisdom in that.

So, the question is, are there more attractive, beautiful, faithful, life-giving ways of following Jesus? When I see people embodying and giving voice to authentic answers to this question it gives me great hope.

Graeme Anderson is one of those people. He’s a pastor at Northside Baptist in Crows Nest, Sydney and over many years his understanding of what it means to follow Jesus and to live in the kingdom Jesus described has evolved significantly. It’s moved from a knowledge-based, propositional faith to an embodied, open, generous way of being in the world that is attentive to what love might look like here and now.

To help other people experience this Graeme’s written a book called Follow — and created a range of accompanying resources including a 4 week email devotional series. I’ve just finished it and was genuinely surprised at how refreshing, accessible and invitational it was. If you’re interested you can check it out at follow.org.au

Here’s a conversation with Graeme about what following Jesus might look like when we feel our institutions have let us down.

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

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Cheryl Andrews on shame-free spirituality

16 juli 2022 | 53 min

Pub theology with Mitch Forbes

9 juli 2022 | 58 min

Steff Fenton on gender expansive theology

2 juli 2022 | 56 min

Benjamin Hastings on honest worship and feeling alone in the flock

25 juni 2022 | 58 min

Mandy Smith on childlike faith and resisting the empire

18 juni 2022 | 61 min

Scott Higgins & Andrew Dodd Pt 2: lessons of inclusion

11 juni 2022 | 43 min

Hello friends and welcome back to the Spiritual Misfits podcast,

This episode is the second half of one extended conversation I had with Andrew Dodd and Scott Higgins. If you haven’t listened to the previous episode where Scott and Andrew shared their own journeys towards inclusive theology and the story of Hamilton Baptist Church, I strongly recommend you do so.

In case you don’t or if you need a recap, here’s an outline of the story so far:

Scott Higgins wrote a paper back in the 90s giving an overview of different Christian perspectives on sexuality. In many ways this was the beginning for him of coming to see theological diversity in this area. A few years down the track and he’s asked to read a statement to his church affirming that Baptists hold to a traditional view of marriage. Scott couldn’t bring himself to read it, but instead asked the church who would be interested in taking a few weeks to explore some diverse understandings of sexuality, marriage and Christian ethics. Every hand went up.

As the church began to have these conversations a number of queer people were drawn to come along — and ended up staying in the church. The combination of fresh theological framing alongside real and loved members of their community played a key role in what was then Edgeworth Baptist becoming LGBTQI affirming.

While this was happening there was also a conversation beginning with Hamilton Baptist Church where Andrew Dodd was the pastor. This conversation was about the two churches merging. This made sense for a lot of reasons, though Edgeworth had one non-negotiable. If the churches were going to merge, LGBTQI+ people needed to be fully included and embraced in the life of the new church. So the two churches went on a process together over around 12 months, testing the waters of their relationship so to speak, before officially deciding to proceed with the merge. At this point the vast majority of people were onboard. This doesn’t mean it was without cost or difficulty and some people left, though this was generally done in a gracious way.

At the end of the last episode Andrew shared the story of their first service together as a new church, and the powerful moment when communion was served by a queer member of the congregation. What was powerful wasn’t so much this person sharing out communion. It was the fact that it didn’t matter that this person was sharing out communion. Because they were welcome as much as anyone else.

So, in this next part of the conversation I talked to Andrew and Scott about what they learned from this journey that might inform other churches.

There’s another element of this story that’s important. The change Andrew and Scott have led at Hamilton — is not one that everyone is ready for. And in Andrew’s words Hamilton is now in a somewhat precarious position within the NSW Baptist denomination.

So we talk a little about change,

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

The Spiritual Misfits Survival Guide (FREE): https://www.spiritualmisfits.com.au/survivalguide

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Scott Higgins & Andrew Dodd: how Hamilton Baptist became LGBTQI+ affirming

4 juni 2022 | 56 min

Simon Nixon on a new approach to faith, church and ministry

28 maj 2022 | 65 min

Affirmations: trust > certainty

21 maj 2022 | 7 min

Mitch Forbes (pt.2) on why our beliefs about hell matter here and now

14 maj 2022 | 65 min

The unholy hustle and the sacred now

7 maj 2022 | 51 min

Mitch Forbes on heaven, hell and universal salvation

30 april 2022 | 63 min

Kris Halliday on being gay, Christian & called

23 april 2022 | 40 min

Good Friday Meditation: Psalm 22

14 april 2022 | 14 min

Dr Christine Redwood on women, the Bible and the pulpit

9 april 2022 | 56 min

Power, patriarchy, scandals & where is God in it all?

2 april 2022 | 61 min

Dr Joel Hollier on finding a place at the table.

26 mars 2022 | 56 min

Affirmations: when others misunderstand or judge me

19 mars 2022 | 7 min

One of the most distressing experiences we can have is to be rejected or judged by our own tribe.

Our need for belonging and connection is so strong, that it makes it incredibly difficult to ask a question or express a view that might cross a boundary and threaten our place in a community.

This is the pain point of many spiritual misfits. We have a deep God-given need for community. We also have a deep God-given need to be authentic and honest. When these two things come into conflict we can find ourselves in a really dark place.

There’s this moment in the gospel of Luke where Jesus is talking about how John the Baptist didn’t eat or drink and was accused of being demon possessed. And then Jesus himself, is accused of being a drunkard and a glutton because he’s constantly partying with the wrong people.

Sometimes whether you take path A or B you’re still going to be misunderstood.

I take great hope in this: if John the Baptist and Jesus had scathing critics from within their own tribe, and yet kept faithfully walking the path they felt called to — maybe we could do the same?

My deep hope for you is that you would find genuine community and permission to be honest and authentic. I believe that’s what God invites us to participate in and to offer to others.

But at certain points along the way you may need to seperate yourself from the judgments of others. You may need to remind yourself that their rejection does not equate to God’s rejection of you.

I remember as a kid being taught that I was never alone because God was always with me, even if I was the only one in the room. That was a reassuring belief as a 5 year old. Now, in my 30s it still is.

Here are a set of affirmations for when you find yourself misunderstood or rejected by your own tribe. You are not alone, and you have not been abandoned by God.

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

The Spiritual Misfits Survival Guide (FREE): https://www.spiritualmisfits.com.au/survivalguide

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Robyn van der Zee on spiritual abuse and trauma

12 mars 2022 | 49 min

Hannah Macauley Gierhart on working through the cognitive dissonance

5 mars 2022 | 38 min

Affirmations: God's love and my doubt.

26 februari 2022 | 6 min

At my parents table (faith renovations over decades)

19 februari 2022 | 38 min

It’s a natural and healthy part of development to ‘differentiate’ from your parents/carers.

Even if you grew up in a safe, secure and loving environment there comes a point at which you begin to take ownership for your life, your values and your beliefs.

As I reflect on the household I grew up in, I feel like my parents gave me two great gifts (among many others):

1. They passed on their beliefs and practices for understanding the world.
2. They cultivated a sense of permission to explore beyond the boundaries of these.

Undoubtedly, my experience is partly reflective of being the 5th (out of 6) kids. By the time my folks got to me they’d had a decent amount of practice/levelling out.

Either way, I have this strong sense that the capacity I feel that I have to honestly explore the doubts, questions and frustrations of faith, while maintaining a core belief that the centre of this Jesus tradition is goodness and love and liberation - I owe much of this to the generosity and flexibility of my folks’ faith.

So, on a recent visit to their home I pulled out the mics, and convinced them to have a cup of tea and a chinwag with me about how their view of God has changed, expanded and been challenged over their lifetimes.

If my generation is going to make it to our 60s with some form of robust, healthy Christian spirituality, we need role models like these. I hope you have them. If not, I hope this episode gives you a window into the ‘gentle renovations’ that can take place in healthy, life-long faith (befriended by doubt).

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

The Spiritual Misfits Survival Guide (FREE): https://www.spiritualmisfits.com.au/survivalguide

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Jesus (still) weeps

12 februari 2022 | 12 min

Guided Reflection (with music) - for when you haven't got it all figured out.

5 februari 2022 | 10 min

Guided Reflection (no music) - for when you haven't got it all figured out

5 februari 2022 | 10 min

Bronte Hughes on Jesus & Social Work

29 januari 2022 | 39 min

Welcome to the official first episode of the Spiritual Misfits podcast.

If you’ve ever found yourself on the fringes of Christian faith this is a safe space for you. Your questions, doubts and hopes are all welcome here.

We’re creating conversations, affirmations, meditations and other resources to support you on your spiritual journey and let you know that even if you feel like a misfit, you don’t have to feel alone.

Our first episode is a conversation with Bronte Hughes about social work, Jesus and more.

A quick note at the beginning here. Towards the end of our conversation Bronte and I explored some of our reactions to the recent Rise and Fall of Mars Hill podcast from Christianity Today. During this conversation we touch on gender issues though we don’t necessarily unpack them in the depth they deserve. We certainly hope to do this in future episodes. After our chat Bronte and I wanted to note that we neglected to mention non-binary people and the impact of gender inequality on their experience in churches. So please bear that in mind as you listen and may we all continue to learn in this space together.

Spiritual Misfits podcast is brought to you by Meeting Ground — a church for the misfits. Sign-up to receive The Sunday Message email each week by heading to spiritualmisfits.com.au, where you’ll also find a range of content to support you where you’re at.

If you know someone who this would help or encourage, please share the love. Give us a rating and review online and feel free to send us a message via our website. We’d love to hear from you.

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

The Spiritual Misfits Survival Guide (FREE): https://www.spiritualmisfits.com.au/survivalguide

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Spiritual Misfits: Our Story

23 januari 2022 | 2 min

Hi friends,

My name’s Will and a little while ago some friends and I started a little church called Meeting Ground.

Many of us grew up in the church but somewhere along the way we found ourselves in positions you may be familiar with.

Some of our beliefs didn’t make sense anymore. We saw gaps between the teachings of Jesus and the culture of many churches. Some of us had experienced spiritual abuse or trauma or were excluded from faith communities for one reason or another. Some of us just felt like the church wasn’t set up to handle our honest questions about God, the bible or difficult areas of theology.

Some of us left. Some of us stayed. Either way, we found ourselves on the fringes of faith, trying to hold onto the beautiful and life-giving parts, while trying to let go of toxic or harmful stuff.

I fundamentally believe that faith and doubt are both best experienced in safe community. And so one of the worst things that can happen is having to process deep spiritual questions, painful experiences or evolving beliefs in isolation.

That’s kind of why we started Meeting Ground — to be a safe place for misfits in process.

I believe there are life-giving theologies, practices and communities oriented around Jesus. I also believe healthy community ought to be inclusive — and welcome people to the table at all stages in their journey. This can be messy. But it’s worth it. It’s beautiful. It seems to me at least like something Jesus would be into.

So, this podcast is part of a larger body of work we are creating to let misfits everywhere know, you aren’t alone — and there’s a place at the table for you.

We’re creating reflections, meditations, liturgies, conversations and other resources to help you on your spiritual journey.

You may feel like a spiritual misfit. But you don’t have to feel alone.

Sign-up for The Sunday Message at spiritualmisfits.com.au

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

The Spiritual Misfits Survival Guide (FREE): https://www.spiritualmisfits.com.au/survivalguide

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Spiritual Misfits Podcast

If you’ve ever felt on the fringes of Christian faith this is a safe space for you.

Om podden

Avsnitt

Mikenzie Ling: God my Father, Land my Mother

Jonathan Cornford: What if Jesus meant what he said about money?

Sarah Bacaller on 'Apostate: Stories of Deconversion'

Geoff Bullock: after Hillsong...and after that

Jono Ingram on everyday spirituality and sustainability

Liz Charlotte Grant on seeking God in Genesis after losing faith in the Bible

Summer replays: Carolyn Meers on pastoring through deconstruction

Summer replays: Michael Frost & Shane Meyer-Holt on the other side of 'mega'

ad-Vent Live: a Merry Christmas Rant with Mitch Forbes & Ella Evans

Simon Nixon on navigating hard conversations at Christmas

Tanya Riches on leaving Hillsong, church with wombats and real-world theology

Kelly Latimore on Icons, Advent and learning how to see

Joel Hollier and Christine Redwood: Why Future Church?

Tim Whitaker on The New Evangelicals, Christian Nationalism and resisting Trump’s America

David Gushee: After Evangelicalism [a timely post-election Replay]

Will and Joel Small debrief Tim Winton’s CPX lecture (on climate crisis, toxic positivity and today's prophets)

Anna Robinson (from Nomad podcast) on wilderness, wonder and contemplative practices

Sally Longley on violence, silence and Ignatian spirituality

Pub Theology: politics, faith and community action (with Jack Turner)

Scott Erickson (Scott the Painter) is creating a visual vocabulary for the spiritual journey

Pub Theology: Listener questions (hedonism, lament and the limits of language)

Scott Parker: 'Hillsong Boy'

Jason John on sex, evolution and a poem you’ll never forget

Amy Kenny: 'My Body is Not a Prayer Request'

Mental Health and Loneliness with James Aaron and Sarah Bishop

Technology, AI and Spirituality with Aditee Vora, Somerset Drayton and Jonty Cornford

Racial injustice and the Church with Nathan Tyson, Radhika Sukumar-White and Liesl Homes

Navigating eco-anxiety, finding ways forward with Joyce Tangi, Karina Kreminski & Jono Row

‘My Generational Deconstruction’ with Joanna Drayton, Ken Day and Ella Evans

Christine Redwood, Belinda Groves & Nathan Nettleton on the Open Baptists

Karen Pack on starting loved and restoring the erased

Thomas Jay Oord on 'God After Deconstruction'

5 Big Ideas for the Future Church (Future Church Conference Night: Joyce Tangi, Jessica Morthorpe, Karen Pack, Mitch Forbes & Joel Hollier)

The Future Church is...Intersectional (Will Small at Future Church Conference)

The Future Church is....LGBTQIA+ Inclusive (Karen Pack at Future Church Conference)

The Future Church is...Decolonising (Safina Stewart at Future Church Conference)

The Future Church is....Trauma Informed (Joel Hollier at Future Church Conference)

Scott M. Coley on 'Ministers of Propaganda'

Adis Duderija on progressive Islam and process theology

Rachel Collis on doubt, faith and showing up either way

Pub Theology (with Carlynne Nunn) on shame and disappointment

Josephine McDonnell Inkpin on Trans Resurrection Reflections

James Watson wrote a song for Spiritual Misfits (and you can help name it)

Rob Waters (National Poetry Slam champion) on reminders of truth and love

Karen Pack, Tash Holmes & Karl Hand on Queer Christian Pride [Replay]

Will & Hannah debrief 'Prosper'

Emily Hayes (& Mitch Forbes) on learning to listen

Sarah McCammon on 'The Exvangelicals'

Peter Espevoll & Jon Reichardt: death metal, deconstruction & mental health

Kristen LaValley on faith after the formulas fail

Nils von Kalm on lifting people’s dignity

Liz Cooledge Jenkins on 'Nice Churchy Patriarchy'

'Filthy Misfits' (Spiritual Misfits x Filthy Hope crossover episode)

Summer replays: Becca de Souza on God as midwife

Summer replays: Dave Tomlinson on how to be a bad Christian and a better human being

Christmas Liturgy: Subversive Incarnation

Advent Liturgy [Replay - New one coming next week!]

Pub Theology: Tradition vs Progress

Sara M. Saleh on Palestine, liberation and poetry

Noah Small on the nature of God, love and kindness (a little episode with big heart)

Radhika Sukumar-White on lament, suffering and inclusive community

Michael Frost & Shane Meyer-Holt on the other side of 'mega'

Mikali Anagnostis and Gabi Cadenhead on Gen-Z spirituality and Marion St

Olivia Jackson on '(Un)Certain: a Collective Memoir of Deconstructing Faith'

Gregg Morris: examining our 'cultural tales' after the referendum

Is there hope in our heavy world? + Mitch reads the bible.

Benjamin Hastings on honest worship and feeling alone in the flock [Replay]

Grant Wilson, a quadriplegic pastor, on disability and grace

Jarrod McKenna on liberating love and nonviolent resistance

Pub Theology: 'The Experience of David Bentley Hart'

David Gushee: 'Defending Democracy from its Christian Enemies'

Safina Stewart and Bianca Manning: Season of Creation & the Voice

Janet Kellogg Ray on religious science denial and its consequences

Kelly Skilton on neurodiversity, spirituality and digital community

Jesse Mawson on the prison and the monastery

Sally Douglas on Jesus Sophia, the divine feminine and the trinity