The Sacred Slope

14. William Gibson (Church of Scotland) – When Christianity Gets Co-Opted by Power What does American Christian nationalism look like… from Scotland ? In this episode, Alexis Rice is joined by William Gibson -  a Scottish church historian and soon-to-be minister in the Church of Scotland -  to zoom out of the American bubble and name what many outside the U.S. can see so clearly: when Christianity...

13. Jared Byas (The Bible for Normal People) – Taking the Bible Seriously But Not Literally Alexis sits down with Jared Byas - co-host of The Bible for Normal People (along with Pete Enns) and author of Love Matters More — to explore what it really means to take Scripture seriously. For many of us raised in evangelical spaces, we were taught that taking the Bible seriously meant taking it literall...

12. Rachel Held Evans (Braving the Truth) with Sarah Bessey Sarah Bessey joins Alexis Rice for a special release-day episode honoring Braving the Truth by Rachel Held Evans - out now. Alexis and Sarah read from Rachel's book, reflect on holy anger, spiritual wilderness, life after evangelicalism many are living in real time, and why Rachel’s voice feels less like nostalgia and more like neces...

11. Seth A. Cain (Non-Denominational) - Deconstructing While Leading In this raw conversation, Alexis Rice sits down with Seth A. Cain - a former non-denominational lead pastor (14+ years) whose ministry came to a breaking point when he was asked to resign after being open to performing a same-sex wedding. Before we begin: to the pastors who are deconstructing - especially in American non-denomina...

🎙️ 10. Rev. Dr. Sarah Townes aka Pastor Sarah of Disorganized Religion (UCC) — Faith That Resists Empire Rev. Dr. Sarah Townes is helping thousands rediscover a Christianity rooted not in power — but in conscience, community, and courage. In this episode, Alexis Rice sits down with UCC pastor, organizer, and digital ministry leader Rev. Dr. Sarah Townes, known online as Pastor Sarah of @disorganiz...

9. David Clayton - (He's not MAGA, please don't scroll. He's got a moral compass and a soul.) Alexis Rice speaks with David Clayton - a powerhouse of conviction who has broken through on social media, creator of the Official Empathy Tour, and candidate running for North Carolina’s 5th Congressional District - about faith, political power, empathy, and living with moral clarity in a...

🎙️ 8. Rev. Darrell Goodwin (UCC) — The God of Our Wildest Dreams (Spotlight Re-Release) There are conversations that inform you… and conversations that do something to you. This one did something to me. After speaking with Rev. Darrell Goodwin, I felt blessed—my soul filled, stretched, challenged, and hopeful. His words carry rare pastoral tenderness and prophetic clarity. This conversation is pro...

🎙️ 7. Cody Deese (Spiritual Collective Pastor) The Pastor This Moment Has Been Waiting For In this urgent and culturally relevant episode of The Sacred Slope , Alexis Rice is joined by Cody Deese @codydeese - pastor of the Vining’s Lake spiritual collective @viningslake and author of Discovering Your Internal Universe: The Unexpected Good News About Anxiety, Panic, and Fear . At a time when Christ...

🎙️ 6. April Ajoy (Leaving Christian Nationalism, Keeping Jesus) – Star-Spangled Jesus Alexis Rice speaks with author and commentator April Ajoy (@aprilajoy) about Christian nationalism, deconstruction, and what it costs to leave certainty without leaving faith. April grew up in white evangelical, Pentecostal spaces where theology, politics, and identity were tightly bound. In this conversation, sh...

🎙️ 5. Rev. Katie Nakamura-Rengers (Episcopal) – Standing in Awe: Faith Beyond Certainty In this deeply grounding episode of The Sacred Slope , Alexis Rice is joined by Reverend Katie Nakamura-Rengers (@ katienakamurarengers )—an Episcopal priest, musician, and bridge-builder whose ministry invites us to slow down, release certainty, and rediscover faith rooted in presence and relationship. Reveren...

🎙️ 4. Dr. Aaron Higashi (Bible Scholar) – Serving Up Scripture: How to Interpret the Bible for Yourself and Others What if the Bible doesn’t actually present one unified doctrine of hell — and what if the answers you were given weren’t actually grounded in the text itself? In this rich, accessible conversation, Alexis Rice dives deep with Dr. Aaron Higashi — biblical scholar, teacher, and TikTok t...

🎙️ 3. Rev. Dr. Chris Davies (UCC) – When the World Feels Like It’s on Fire: A Raw Conversation with a Pastor for the Soul In this deeply vulnerable and pastoral episode of The Sacred Slope , Alexis Rice welcomes back Rev. Dr. Chris Davies , a reverend, theologian, and executive minister in the United Church of Christ. What unfolds is not a traditional interview, but a sacred conversation about gri...

🎙️ 2. Pastor Kimberly Bulgin (Seventh-day Adventist) – The Sisters Stay Dropping Gems: Reclaiming Women’s Stories in Scripture Alexis Rice welcomes Pastor Kimberly Bulgin—Seventh-day Adventist trailblazer, global leader, musician, and author of The Sisters Stay Dropping Gems: What Women in the Bible Teach Us About Life, Love, and Relationships . Pastor Kim shares what it actually costs to challeng...

ITS THE SEASON TWO PREMIERE! 🎙️ 1. Rev. Dr. Mark Sandlin (Presbyterian) – ProgressiveChristianity.org & The Christian Left: Busting Myths About Progressive Christianity In this episode of The Sacred Slope , Alexis Rice is joined by Rev. Dr. Mark Sandlin (@marksandlin), Presbyterian minister, writer, and co-founder of ProgressiveChristianity.org (@progressivechristianity) and The Christian Left...

🎙️  35. Ike Ndolo (Catholic, Singer-Songwriter) - God in the Rubble, Honest Hymns & Freedom Songs Alexis Rice welcomes Ike Ndolo @ikendolo , a Nigerian-American Catholic worship leader and singer-songwriter whose voice refuses silence in the face of suffering. This episode is a powerful, honest conversation about faith with legs—faith that tells the truth, stands with the oppressed, and sings...

🎙️ 34. David Hayward (The Naked Pastor) – Challenging Power, Holding Grief, and Sharing the Gospel Through Art Highly encourage you to watch this episode on YouTube or Spotify to see art from The Naked Pastor we talk about! https://youtu.be/U2okGOpqGrA?si=_vb3UU346wydnpcV Alexis Rice welcomes David Hayward , the Canadian artist known globally as The Naked Pastor @nakedpastor, for a courageous, dee...

🎙️ 33. BONUS: If You Haven’t Been Prayed Over in a Long Time This labor of love is my Christmas gift to you. I wasn’t planning to make this episode, but if it helps even one person this Christmas season, it was worth it. Over the past 7 months, I invited pastors, priests, and reverends from around the world to pray for those who haven’t been prayed over in a long time. This episode is a compilatio...

🎙️  32. Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde (Episcopal) – We Can Be Brave It’s not every day you get to sit down with one of your heroes. Bishop Budde has shaped my spiritual life - and my willingness to be brave - in these uncertain times. I hope this episode, my Christmas gift to you, fills you up with the same.  - Alexis Rice What does Christian courage look like when fear dominates public life - and lo...

🎙️  31. Rev. Elizabeth Ashman Riley (Episcopal) – Rage Prayers & What to Expect at an Episcopal Church What if the holiest prayer you could pray wasn’t polite at all—but a full-body, honest, angry, “Are you seeing this, God?!” In this episode of The Sacred Slope , Rev. Elizabeth Ashman Riley (@therevriley), Episcopal priest & author of Rage Prayers , invites us to bring our whole selves—gr...

🎙️ 30. Jen Hatmaker (Relaxed in the love of Jesus) and Awake Alexis Rice welcomes NYT Bestselling author, podcaster, and spiritual trailblazer Jen Hatmaker (@jenhatmaker) for a tender, fierce, and raw conversation about her new memoir Awake. It's about the collapse of her marriage, and the systems that helped build the house that fell. Together they unpack patriarchy, purity culture, codepend...

🎙️ 29. Pastor Josh Scott – (Non-Denominational, Progressive, Open & Affirming) The Kind of Pastor I Wish I’d Had Growing Up  What if the pastor you grew up with had made room for your questions instead of your fear? In this episode, Pastor Josh Scott (@josh_a_scott) shares how a kid raised in conservative Free Will Baptist Appalachia —where reading the NIV was considered “progressive”—became o...

🎙️ 28. Rev. Joash P. Thomas (Saint Thomas Christian / Evangelical Anglican tradition) – The Justice of Jesus & Decolonizing Our Faith Who taught me my theology - and who is missing from the table? From his roots in the ancient St. Thomas Christian tradition in India, through white American evangelicalism and Georgia Republican politics, to ministry in Canada, Rev. Joash shares how reclaiming h...

🎙️ 27. Mike Maeshiro (Ex-evangelical pastor) – God Made Me Gay: Healing from Spiritual Harm Growing up evangelical, Mike was taught that being gay was sinful, dangerous, and something God would eventually “fix.” Today, he’s an ex-evangelical pastor helping thousands heal from spiritual trauma and rediscover a God who delights in them. In this episode, Mike shares his story with honesty, humor, and...

🎙️ 26. Dr. Jennifer Garcia Bashaw (Bible Scholar) – Wrestling with Scripture Beyond Literalism When “Bible-believing” meant literalism and inerrancy, many of us thought that was the only Christian option. Dr. Jennifer Garcia Bashaw—New Testament scholar, professor, and church practitioner—opens the door to a bigger, older, more beautiful Christian story. We unpack why inerrancy & literalism ar...

🎙️ 25. Bishop Guðrún Karls Helgudottir (Church of Iceland) – A Nation Led by Women, and a Bishop Who Says Queer People Should Be Safe in Christianity When a nation is led by women at the highest levels - the President, the Prime Minister, the Mayor of Reykjavík, the National Police Commissioner, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Bishop of Iceland - something becomes visible: women in power...