Spiritual Misfits Podcast

Noah (8 years old) makes his podcast debut with a whole lot of wisdom on all the big questions.Sign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/Send us an email: Spiritualmisfits@outlook.comView all episodes and access transcripts at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

Radhika Sukumar-White is an ordained minister in the Uniting Church of Australia and she co-leads Leichhardt Uniting Church, a beautiful and vibrant community of faith, justice and creativity. We talk about Radhika's own story as well as some of the unique characteristics that make LUC the special place that it is and what other communities might be able to learn from their approach. Sign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/Send us an email: Spiritualmisfits@outlook.comView all episodes and access transcripts at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

Michael Frost (the kiwi version who hosts 'In the Shift' podcast) and Shane-Meyer Holt join me for a rich conversation exploring their own stories and experiences around high control religious settings and their attempts to create much more open, gentle and generous communities these days. We talk about power dynamics, coercive control and the risk these things can pose to communities of all sizes - mega to micro. We also talk about embodiment, processing trauma and the kind of spirituality that embraces and listens to the body. There's so much good stuff in this one. Enjoy.Check out the excellent 'In the Shift': https://intheshift.com/Sign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/Send us an email: Spiritualmisfits@outlook.comView all episodes and access transcripts at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

Mikali Anagnostis and Gabi Cabenhead are behind a new sacred art project called ‘Marion St’, an attempt to create “worship music that fits with the theology and experience of the progressive church.”Gabi and Mikali are also young, open-eyed about the injustices often attached to religious spaces, while simultaneously passionate about their faith and its expression in community. We explored some big questions together, such as: - Why do churches with slick services often have narrow theology…and churches with inclusive theology often have daggy services? Is the best of both possible? - What do young people in Gen Z think about spirituality and organised religion? What do they actually want from church?This was a lovely conversation with two excellent humans. Enjoy!Listen to ‘Whole’ by Marion St hereThe songs ‘Shaping a New World’ and ‘Garden’ are featured at the beginning and end of this episode.  Sign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/Send us an email: Spiritualmisfits@outlook.comView all episodes and access transcripts at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

Olivia Jackson lives on the side of a windswept hill with two dogs. After spending most of her life in and around evangelical contexts, including nearly 15 years working for mission agencies in the UK and overseas, Olivia has been deconstructing her faith for the past few years. This eventually led her to seeking out the stories and experiences of others, through an online survey with over 400 respondents followed by in-depth interviews with 140 of them. The culmination of this storytelling process is her recent book '(Un)Certain: a Collective Memoir of Deconstructing Faith.'Olivia joins me for a conversation about what she learned from diving deep into deconstruction, not just as a personal process, but as a pattern occurring across a vast Christian denominations, institutions and movements. We explore the common themes that spark this journey and the various pathways it can lead to.Sign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/Send us an email: Spiritualmisfits@outlook.comView all episodes and access transcripts at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

Gregg Morris returns to the pod (go back and listen to more of his brilliance on the episode ‘Melbourne panel: Is Christianity still good news?’) to share reflections on becoming culturally informed and examining what the referendum result reveals about Australia today. Sign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/Send us an email: Spiritualmisfits@outlook.comView all episodes and access transcripts at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

What a wild week on planet earth. In the first half of this episode we try to process the emotions and experiences of what we are seeing in the media cycle, without providing commentary on the circumstances themselves (we would each freely acknowledge there are far better voices for you to listen to than ours for these purposes). We explore the place of hope in a heavy world. During the second half of the episode, we introduce a new 'occasional segment': Mitch reads the Bible. In which Mitch, who reads the Bible regularly, reads some of it for us and offers an alternative perspective on a familiar parable. Sign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/Send us an email: Spiritualmisfits@outlook.comView all episodes and access transcripts at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

If you've joined us recently as a new listener chances are there are a bunch of great episodes in the back-log you haven't listened to yet! This is one of them. Benjamin Hastings is an incredibly gifted songwriter and lyricist, most known for some of the songs he’s written with Hillsong, including ‘So Will I’, ‘O Praise the Name’ and ‘Highlands’. His songs collectively have more than 500 million streams.Hillsong worship leaders probably  aren’t the image you typically think of when you hear the phrase ‘Spiritual Misfit’. But our conversation with Ben was a great reminder that human beings — whether on platforms or in lounge rooms — have questions. Live within mystery. And doubt. And faith. And mess. And beauty. This is what honest spirituality looks like. And Ben is a true spiritual seeker, not satisfied with easy answers, and deeply committed to bringing his whole mind, heart and being to the search for deep truth.Ben shared some of his own story with us — about the unravelling and the searching and the creative process in the midst of it all. And it was such a joy.And as an incredibly special treat, Ben played us two of our favourite songs of his at the end of our chat. Stick around to the end of the episode and you’ll hear these songs played exclusively for our Spiritual Misfits community. Check out more of Ben’s work here: https://www.benjaminhastingsmusic.com/Sign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/Send us an email: Spiritualmisfits@outlook.comView all episodes and access transcripts at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

Grant Wilson is a pastor who became a quadriplegic after a mountain biking accident in 2021. In this conversation he shares with honesty and vulnerability about his injury and recovery journey, his faith, struggles and hopes. This episode explores significant trauma, distress and grief.  It also provides an invitation to grow in empathy and understanding and to think seriously about accessibility and inclusion as it relates to disability.Grant is an incredible guy, and alongside the enormous challenges he's faced, he’s clearly a person of deep hope and love. Watch the short film about Grant's story, 'I'm not Finished Yet': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ymLCuPqiiwSign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/Send us an email: Spiritualmisfits@outlook.comView all episodes and access transcripts at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

Jarrod McKenna joins me for a rich and beautiful conversation about his own story and the story of healing we are all invited into. We explore how Jarrod McKenna became Jarrod McKenna, why nonviolence isn’t the same thing as non-violence, why Jarrod prefers not to draw a line between the private and the public work, and how to swap out death-dealing religion for a life-giving, liberating love. This episode is an absolute banger. Enjoy, share and stir up loving mischief like Jarrod does. Check out InVerse podcast with Jarrod here: https://jarrodmckenna.com/inverse-podcast/Sign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/Send us an email: Spiritualmisfits@outlook.comView all episodes and access transcripts at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

Jon Reichardt (probably the coolest person at the David Bentley Hart event in Sydney) joins Mitch and Will for a chat about David Bentley Hart's classic theism. We talk about freedom, universalism, panentheism, theosis and a bunch of other nerdy stuff that we're still trying to get our heads around. If you don’t know what some of the words mean, don’t stress — they aren’t prerequisites for joining us at the digital pub. Sign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/Send us an email: Spiritualmisfits@outlook.comView all episodes and access transcripts at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

The excellent David Gushee returns to the podcast!If you are a newer listener  you may not have heard our previous episode with David around a year ago (we strongly recommend listening to that fantastic conversation exploring what comes after evangelicalism).This time round we’re speaking about David’s new book, ‘Defending democracy from its Christian enemies.’ The book explores anti-democratic movements and sentiments around the globe, and the way that certain expressions of Christianity can unfortunately be strong allies in that cause. We cover a lot of ground in this chat, from some of the history of democracy, to the rise of authoritarian reactionary Christian politics, to the way some of these ideas are playing out within denominations that have been historically more democratic tightening their centre of control. And we also reflect a little at the end of the conversation about the upcoming Voice referendum here in Australia — and how some of these ideas relate to that process.David not only diagnoses some very clear problems, but he also presents a democratic vision that can counteract some of what we’re seeing — and the conversation finishes with some optimism and good cause to  defend the achievement that democracy represents — one that we shouldn’t take for granted.  Connect with David’s work at:https://www.davidpgushee.com/Sign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/Send us an email: Spiritualmisfits@outlook.comView all episodes and access transcripts at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

Safina Stewart and Bianca Manning from Common Grace joined me for a conversation about the season of creation and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander spirituality, and about the historical moment we’re in, with the upcoming referendum. It’s such a rich conversation with beautifully overlapping themes of truth, beauty and justice, and I encourage you to listen deeply. Connect with Common Grace and Season of Creation:https://www.commongrace.org.au/let_justice_and_peace_flow_introWatch the Common Grace 'Common Home' video Will speaks about in the episode: https://www.commongrace.org.au/aboutSign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/Send us an email: Spiritualmisfits@outlook.comView all episodes and access transcripts at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

Janet Kellogg Ray is a science educator who teaches biology at a large university. She's also a person of faith. In her US context, this puts her at odds with many evangelicals who are suspicious of science and deny evolution, climate change and COVID science. We discuss her upcoming book 'The God of Monkey Science' and why it's so dangerous for Christians to deny scientific evidence and consensus. We also explore the alternative — a faith that takes the modern world, including science, seriously. Connect with Janet’s work: https://janetkray.com/‘The God of Monkey Science’: https://www.eerdmans.com/Mobile/Products/8319/the-god-of-monkey-science.aspxSign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/Send us an email: Spiritualmisfits@outlook.comView all episodes and access transcripts at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

Kelly Skilton is an artist and pastor who heads up new and digital communities for the Uniting Church in Victoria and Tasmania. A few years ago Kelly got a diagnosis of ADHD. We discuss neurodiversity, spirituality and creating inclusive communities with a focus on digital spaces. Kelly shares about Sonderverse, which you can check out here: https://www.sonderverse.org/Sign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/Send us an email: Spiritualmisfits@outlook.comView all episodes and access transcripts at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

Jesse Mawson is a prison chaplain studying a masters in spiritual direction, and finding a home within contemplative and celtic spirituality. Sign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/Send us an email: Spiritualmisfits@outlook.comView all episodes and access transcripts at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

Sally Douglas comes on the pod to speak about her latest book, ‘Jesus Sophia’ and we explore the divine feminine, the limitations of our metaphors, a trinitarian universe and more.Sign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/Send us an email: Spiritualmisfits@outlook.comView all episodes and access transcripts at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

Will Nicholas, the Odd Rev, joins me for a conversation about the meaning of life, the universe everything.Connect with Will at: https://oddrev.com/Read AI reflections on the lectionary at: https://www.sonderverse.org/Sign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/Send us an email: Spiritualmisfits@outlook.comView all episodes and access transcripts at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

Hannah, Mitch & Will discuss a wide range of questions from poddy listeners covering ground like: - What could multi-faith peace-making look like?- What's up with Christians buying into wild end-times conspiracy theories?- AI and personhood?- What are the alternatives to the institutional church? - PSA?*- Evangelism for post-evangelicals? - How open-minded can you be when questioning faith? Should some things remain solid or is everything on the table? - What are we planning to tell our kids about sex in the future?*Penal substitutionary atonement....not to be confused with public service announcement....Sign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/Send us an email: Spiritualmisfits@outlook.comView all episodes and access transcripts at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

Will is still pro-Bible but struggling to read it. He wonders if everyone actually needs to aspire towards regular Bible reading or if we can just benefit from a 'critical mass' of people doing the work and passing on the goods? Mitch somewhat concedes Will's point/somewhat pushes back on it. They then talk about the influence of increasing conservatism on the broader Church and a dumb essay someone wrote recently warning people to beware of 'sexular churches.'Sign up to receive the Sunday Message:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/Reach out to us by email: spiritualmisfits@outlook.com Sign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/Send us an email: Spiritualmisfits@outlook.comView all episodes and access transcripts at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com