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If you’ve ever felt 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.
191 Episodes
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How do you address God when you pray? Has the way you name the divine changed over your lifetime? In this contemplative episode, Carolyn Meers invites us to slow down and explore the mystery of naming God. Drawing from biblical stories like Hagar's encounter with "the God who sees" and Moses' conversation with the burning bush, we reflect on how our names for God reveal as much about us as they do about the divine. This episode includes gentle questions for reflection, periods of space for co...
Brian Recker used to be an evangelical pastor. Growing up fundamentalist, hell was always core to his experience of Christianity. But when he started questioning the doctrine as a pastor, it unraveled more than he expected. His new book 'Hell Bent' argues that fear of hell fundamentally distorts Christian spirituality, disconnecting us from God, ourselves, and others. We discuss the power of hell-based religion, how it shapes our politics and relationships, and what a love-centred spiritualit...
Join Mitch and Will at the pub for an unstructured conversation about the recent deaths of James Dobson and Charlie Kirk, the challenge of responding maturely to political violence, and how universalist theology might offer a different way of thinking about these situations. Topics covered: The deaths of James Dobson and Charlie Kirk and the polarised online responsesWhy ‘and’ is better than ‘but’The problem with performative social media responses to tragedyHow universalism shapes our view o...
Steff Fenton joins Will to discuss their new book Gender Expansive Faith: How Trans Lives Are Illuminating the Divine, Transforming Feminism, and Ending Christian Patriarchy. The conversation explores Steff's interpretation of Matthew 19 and Jesus's teaching about eunuchs, how trans and gender diverse people offer healing to a world harmed by rigid gender binaries, and practical questions around inclusive spaces in sports and community groups. Steff also shares insights from their time ...
Keith Mascord joins Will to discuss his latest book 'An Honest Faith' after an East Coast tour. A former Sydney Anglican and Moore College lecturer Keith's views have shifted over time in an ongoing commitment to honest philosophical and theological inquiry. Keith now advocates for a radically inclusive and intellectually honest Christianity. Faith remains deeply important to Keith but he insists Christianity must change. In this wide-ranging conversation, Will and Keith explore how philosoph...
Following last week's collaborative conversation between Spiritual Misfits and On the Way podcast, this episode features the poetry that bookended our special evening at West End Uniting Church in Brisbane, performed by Will Small and Boy Renaissance. Related Episodes Spiritual Misfits, On the Way (Live from 'Words for Those Who Wander') - The panel conversation from this eventA Non Binary God & a Fluid Faith with Boy Renaissance - Previous conversation with Boy Renaissance Want to reach...
A special cross-over podcast episode between Spiritual Misfits and On the Way, recorded at 'Words For Those Who Wander' at West End Uniting Church in Brisbane. In this conversation, Will Small, Dom Fay, Sue Grimmett, and Peter Catt explore what happens when the old spiritual maps stop working and we need to become cartographers for our time. Together they wrestle with profound questions: What if we're all exiles seeking belonging? How do we build community when our frameworks for unders...
In this episode, we explore what it means to live faithfully during times of political and social upheaval with systematic theologian from Princeton Theological Seminary Hanna Reichel, author of "For Such a Time as This: An Emergency Devotional." Drawing on lessons from the Confessing Church's resistance to Nazi Germany, Hanna challenges us to move beyond simple answers and moral purity toward what they call "tolerance for complexity." We discuss why tradition can actually fuel progressive re...
Danny Bryant joins Will to discuss his book Unless a Seed Falls to the Ground: Welcoming the Death of the Whiteness Gospel. Part memoir, part theological critique, Danny's work traces his journey from growing up in a fundamentalist cult to becoming a pastor who now practices what he calls "hospice ministry", allowing cancerous forms of American Christianity to die. In this deeply personal conversation, Danny shares about: Growing up as a "misfit among misfits" in a cult that prided itself on ...
Joyce Tangi is the Culture of Safety Pastor for the Uniting Church NSW & ACT Synod, and she cares deeply about building communities where everyone can thrive. In this conversation, we explore what safety actually looks like beyond policies and procedures, how to navigate power dynamics in faith communities, and why deep listening might be the most radical act we can practice. Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love t...
David Gate joins Will Small to discuss his new book "A Rebellion of Care" and what it means to stay tender in a world that often seems to demand hardness. David Gate is a poet, writer, and visual artist who grew up in London and now lives in Asheville, North Carolina. His work centres around care for the individual and the nurture of community, and his Instagram poetry has touched thousands with its accessible wisdom and raw honesty. This conversation explores the poems and essays within Davi...
1Bradley Jersak is a theologian, author, and Principal of St. Stephen's University. His books including A More Christlike God, A More Christlike Word, and Out of the Embers have helped countless people navigate faith transitions and discover a more expansive understanding of the gospel. This conversation explores some of the pivotal movements in Brad’s story as well as his views on things like penal substitutionary atonement, hell and the very character of God. If you've ever struggled with im...
About This Series Over six weeks, we're sharing keynote talks and discussions from the second Future Church Conference, held at the Tram Sheds in Glebe. This gathering brought together church leaders, pastors, and Jesus-followers passionate about creating safer, more inclusive faith communities. Whether you're leading church, leaving church, unsure about the whole thing, or just curious about what the future might hold, these conversations explore what it means to reimagine church for everyon...
About This Series Over six weeks, we're sharing keynote talks and discussions from the second Future Church Conference, held at the Tram Sheds in Glebe. This gathering brought together church leaders, pastors, and Jesus-followers passionate about creating safer, more inclusive faith communities. Whether you're leading church, leaving church, unsure about the whole thing, or just curious about what the future might hold, these conversations explore what it means to reimagine church for everyon...
About This Series Over six weeks, we're sharing keynote talks and discussions from the second Future Church Conference, held at the Tram Sheds in Glebe. This gathering brought together church leaders, pastors, and Jesus-followers passionate about creating safer, more inclusive faith communities. Whether you're leading church, leaving church, unsure about the whole thing, or just curious about what the future might hold, these conversations explore what it means to reimagine church for everyon...
What might it mean to meet God in the darkness, as well as the light? Carolyn Meers guides us through a contemplative and poetic reflection coinciding with the winter solstice. 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 Sign up to our mailing list: https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/ Join our online Face...
About This Series Over six weeks, we're sharing keynote talks and discussions from the second Future Church Conference, held at the Tram Sheds in Glebe. This gathering brought together church leaders, pastors, and Jesus-followers passionate about creating safer, more inclusive faith communities. Whether you're leading church, leaving church, unsure about the whole thing, or just curious about what the future might hold, these conversations explore what it means to reimagine church for everyon...
About This Series Over six weeks, we're sharing keynote talks and discussions from the second Future Church Conference, held at the Tram Sheds in Glebe. This gathering brought together church leaders, pastors, and Jesus-followers passionate about creating safer, more inclusive faith communities. Whether you're leading church, leaving church, unsure about the whole thing, or just curious about what the future might hold, these conversations explore what it means to reimagine church for everyon...
About This Series Over six weeks, we're sharing keynote talks and discussions from the second Future Church Conference, held at the Tram Sheds in Glebe. This gathering brought together church leaders, pastors, and Jesus-followers passionate about creating safer, more inclusive faith communities. Whether you're leading church, leaving church, unsure about the whole thing, or just curious about what the future might hold, these conversations explore what it means to reimagine church for e...
In this episode of Spiritual Misfits, Will Small continues his "Reclaiming the Language" series with Karina Kreminski, exploring whether the word "mission" is still helpful for progressive Christians or too entangled with colonising mindsets. Karina shares her journey of integrating missiology and mysticism. Together they explore how mystical practices might offer a more humble, attentive approach to engaging with the world that transforms both traditional understandings of mission and oursel...
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