Evangelicalish

Paul and Ashley Swearengin shared their live reactions immediately after the June 27 debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. It was a painful moment. Come process with us! 🎧 Thank you for listening to Evangelicalish! Connect with Us: Join Pastor Paul's Substack Community: Sacred Rebellion Check out Paul’s international blog with the anti-empire group The Quollective...

In this episode, Jeremy returns with Paul for April's last episode as co-host of Evangelicalish. The 3 talk about the upcoming election, react to a few Evangelicringe videos and discuss plans for the future. Jeremy and April share their new endeavors and Paul talks about their plans for the future of Evangelicalish. Paul and Ashley (Paul's wife) will return with Evangelicalish next week. Follow Je...

Singer, Songwriter, Musician Candi Carpenter ( @candicarpenter on social media platforms) joins April and Paul to discuss their new album Demonology, with the great song "Everybody Goes to Hell," and how they got to where they are after deconstructing their Christian upbringing. Follow Candi and check out her music: www.candicarpenter.com 🎧 Thank you for listening to Evangelicalish! Connect with...

Dr. Dan McClellan is back! He joins Paul and April to talk about what the Bible actually says when it comes to all of the "clobber" passages certain Christians like to use against LGBTQ people. Dan McClellan is a public scholar of the Bible and religion. He received his PhD in theology and religion from the University of Exeter. In 2022 he published YHWH's Divine Images: A Cognitive Approach as an...

This week, April and Paul have a conversation with Sarah McCammon, the author of The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church, a 2024 book that is part memoir and part journalism, about the movement of people who grew up inside the powerful evangelical subculture and ultimately left it behind. Sarah McCammon is a National Political Correspondent for NPR and co-host o...

Tara Jean Stevens joins April and Paul to talk about recent church controversies, such as IHOPKC, and the manipulation that is easily found in these environments. Her chart-topping podcast, Heaven Bent, a spotlights Pentecostal and Charismatic movements and helps victims and survivors find healing through telling their stories. Tara Jean has also been a fan-favorite on Vancouver radio & TV, for ne...

Cynane Shay of Taking off the Tinfoil Hat joins April and Paul for a chat about conspiracy theories within evangelicalism. Cynane is a nuclear engineer living in South Carolina. Her childhood in White Christian Nationalism (Florida-style) normalized conspiracy theories like Obama Birtherism and the Biblical apocalypse; but 2020, with COVID and Qanon, finally made her realize something was deeply w...

April and Paul talk with historian Daniel Hummel on the history of Christian Zionism: what it is, how it started, who espouses it and the harm it causes today. Daniel G. Hummel is the Director of The Lumen Center in Madison, WI and a research fellow in the History Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received his PhD in American history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and...

Author and award-winning columnist Jonathan Merritt joins Paul and April to discuss his journey from being publicly outed to being proudly out and his new children's book My Guncle and Me. He also talks about his own faith, his relationship with his pastor parents and his inspiration to write My Guncle and Me. Buy the book: www.myguncleandme.com Connect with Jonathan's work. www.jonathanmerritt.co...

Jason Kirk joins Paul and April for a fun conversation about growing up evangelical. Jason is the author of the funny ex-vangelical novel Hell Is A World Without You and co-host of Vacation Bible School — a podcast with his wife, Emily. We also react to clips of Pastor Mark Driscoll and the drama he caused at the Stronger Men's Conference this past weekend. Get Jason Kirk's novel: https://www.jaso...

Dr. Dana Hicks, author of The Knot, joins April and Paul for a discussion about new ways to think about marriage. Dana has researched marriage and divorce, and lived through both himself, even when he was a pastor. His conclusion? There's got to be a better way than what some call "biblical" marriage. Get connected with Dana's work: danahicks.blog Get his book: The Knot: How to Secure Healthy, Mod...

Is it true the word "homosexual" was never in any version of the Bible until 1946? And, if so, how did it get into so many different english translations? Rocky Roggio, Director of the movie 1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture, joins April and Paul again to discuss their groundbreaking documentary, the heart behind and how to watch it now. To watch and learn more about the film visit: ww...

April and Paul talk with Kristian Smith, a pastor and host of the Holy Smokes: Cigars and Spirituality Podcast. Kristian identifies as a Spiritual Humanist and is doing great work in the deconstruction space. In this episode, he discusses his journey to becoming LGBTQ affirming, White evangelicalism, the Black church and being a Spiritual Humanist. We also react to some Evangelicringe videos. Get...

Renowned children's book author Matthew Paul Turner joins April and Paul to talk about his journey to being an openly gay Christian man and the impact his own embrace of authenticity has had on the books he writes. Get his latest book: You Will Always Belong Follow Matthew on social media: @matthewpaulturner Stay connected or support us by visiting our website: evangelicalish.com Follow the Evange...

Tim Whitaker joins Paul and April to talk about what it means to be a new evangelical and why he started his nonprofit The New Evangelicals. We also discuss the white evangelical affect on the election, Super Tuesday and why Trump is still the chosen one. Then we react to videos in our new segment Evangelicringe. Follow Tim and TNE @thenewevangelicals or visit their website: thenewevangelicals.com...

Trigger Warning: This episode contains stories of sexual abuse and thoughts of self-harm. Over a year ago, Jenna of the Gianu System, appeared on an ISH episode to share about her journey with Dissociative Identity Disorder (D.I.D. - formerly known as multiple personality disorder) and saw some familiar things in Paul as she shared. Jenna joins us as Paul shares about their own diagnosis and welln...

Rev. Rob Schenck joins April and Paul for a fascinating conversation that takes us behind the scenes of the movement that overturned Roe v Wade, showing the anti-abortion manipulation of Christians to the Evangelical Christian nationalism of today. Schenk, an Evangelical clergyman who has ministered to elected and appointed officials in Washington, D.C. and serves as president of a non-profit orga...

Paul and April talk to Kristina Hart, a faith-informed humor writer, content creator, comedian, and popular online persona about the trauma of Purity Culture and the impact it has in the decades the follower. We discuss the ramifications it has had on both dating and married life. Kristina is the spirited voice formerly behind The DTR Blog and now the That’s Super Weird Podcast, Kristina is the pr...

April and Paul dive into the thorny issue of how evangelicals reconcile their supposed stance on life with some, well, let's just say troubling recent developments. We'll be unpacking the disturbing reports from the Texas border, the ethical quagmire of the new nitrogen gas execution in Alabama, and how these realities clash with the "pro-life" label many evangelicals wear. Join us as we dissect t...

Pastor Trey Ferguson joins April and Paul to discuss his new book Theologizin' Bigger: Homilies on Living Freely and Loving Wholly. As a podcaster and public theologian, Trey discusses many topics online and this chat is no different! We talk about the harm caused by the Penal Substitutionary Atonement theory in Christianity and how there are other ways to live authentically and hold to faith. Get...

Paul, Jeremy, and April look back at where they were at episode 1 and cringe, laugh, and talk about what has changed since then. Thank you for being with us for 100 episodes! Here's to 100 more. Stay connected or support us by visiting our website: evangelicalish.com Follow the Evangelicalish team on Tiktok, IG, FB & Twitter: @evangelicalish , @pastorpaul_tiktok , @pastorfromok , @aprilajoy 🎧 Tha...

Have we all deconstructed Christmas? What do we do with stories like the virgin birth, wise men at the manger and Jesus “no crying he makes” as a newborn. Laci Bean, the co-host of the “Deadly Faith Podcast, fills in for April and the crew discuss how much, if any, losing some of those stories that made Christmas special in the past are impacting our abilities to enjoy it today. Listen in and give...

When we leave conservative faith traditions behind due to toxic theology, bigotry, and harm, do we also lose our spiritual rhythm? Kevin Garcia wants to help people see they can still gather, pray, worship and have connection to heaven - which they say is a connection already designed inside us. Join the ISH crew for this interesting conversation Learn more about Kevin: thekevingarcia.com Follow t...

Janice Lagata is back as a guest host for our discussion on Thanksgiving and dealing with the holidays - family dynamics, problematic history and finding ways to be thankful in a brutal world. Follow Janice @godhasnotgiven on IG/Tiktok or visit janicelagata.com Stay connected or support us by visiting our website: evangelicalish.com Follow the Evangelicalish team on Tiktok, IG, FB & Twitter: @evan...

American democracy is in danger at the hands of authoritarian-seeking Christians according to Christian ethicist Dr. David P. Gushee. His newest book "Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies" calls us to sane, ethical, and compassionate politics in a world where many Christians are instigating discord and vying for power. Join April, Jeremy and Paul as they discuss with Gushee his view on t...