Pastor With No Answers: The MIXTAPE Era

We all know people can survive to the next day, without having sex of any kind.  But in a romantic relationship, is sex an integral part of getting close?  What if sex is physically impossible?  The good stuff people are looking for in "sexual intimacy,"  can it also be found in non-sexual acts that are exclusive to our partner?  Ellen doesn’t really care about having sex.  Joey likes se...

Michael S. Heiser, a biblical scholar, author (“ The Unseen Realm ”) and podcaster, ( “The Naked Bible Podcast)   just released his newest non-fiction book, “ Demons: What the Bible Really Says About the Powers of Darkness. ”  In this conversation (and in his new book), he  debunks popular presuppositions, myths and traditions about these real powers of darkness.  So Satan was NOT the worship lead...

Real people, real friends, real stories.  Was it supernatural?  You get to make the call.  Did Pastor Chip Judd stop a demon from bullying his wife?  Did Joey and his brother call a spirit out of the supernatural realm when they were teens? Did God send a little girl’s father back for last good-byes?  Did God interact with a missions team in Haiti, through flood lights and a shooting star?  Did El...

Joey is feeling like an out of touch, inappropriate at times, old grandpa.  Talking it over with co-hosts Ellen Mauro and Jed Payne, the question at hand is:  does the woke culture need to wake up and stop some of its irrational shananigans or does Joey just need to catch up and grow up? Throughout this episode, Joey also makes a rare "be a Patron of the podcast" pitch and let's you...

All hell is breaking loose now  in "Evangelical-Land" as more women speak out authoritatively and aren't taking huge strides to be nice about it.   Does Jesus call us to more than niceness? Author, Pastor and full of that Ph to the D, Sharon Hodde Miller has navigated the treacherous waters of being a woman and a pastor, while living in the south.   We discuss  her book "Nice:...

Author (“ Women Rising ”) and Podcaster, ( Faith and Feminism Podcast ) Meghan Tschanz , was fully invested in ministry work when she found herself no longer able to go with the “evangelical flow" of how women were treated and how their role in this world was characterized "biblically."   And once she saw the connection between traditional church views on female roles and the violen...

Welcoming back a PWNA regular, [ Subscribe here to keep up with all things " Pastor With No Answers " as well as a new digital family we'd love to have you a part of.  Click here to lock yourself in as a $5 patron in an $8 Patreon giving tier.  You don't have to be alone in your spiritual questions  and you don't have to play by society's "new standard" of t...

Subscribe here to keep up with all things " Pastor With No Answers " as well as a new digital family we'd love to have you a part of.  You don't have to be alone in your spiritual questions  and you don't have to play by society's "new standard" of taking sides and being polarized.  Join us! Ellen, Jack and Joey kick things off talking about that eternal pla...

Subscribe here to keep up with all things " Pastor With No Answers " as well as a new digital family we'd love to have you a part of.  You don't have to be alone in your spiritual questions  and you don't have to play by society's "new standard" of taking sides and being polarized.  Join us! Ellen, Jack and Joey kick things off with a conversation about spea...

Subscribe here to keep up with all things " Pastor With No Answers " as well as a new digital family we'd love to have you a part of.  You don't have to be alone in your spiritual questions  and you don't have to play by society's "new standard" of taking sides and being polarized.  Join us! The story of my depressive disorder in 2019 is profoundly incomplet...

Jason Petty (known as Propaganda) joins Joey and his friend Robbie Madison who are fresh off of reading Prop’s new book, "T erraforming .”  With this book as the backdrop, the three discuss why people do evil and ponder if humans can actually be evil.  Prop describes how culture is made and how we, the Earthlings, can turn the tide and go in a better direction.  He maintains an intriguing vib...

Sometimes we need to take a deep breath and laugh at how silly we all can be.  From church conferences to pastors’ smoking hot wives, from “prom songs for Jesus” worship songs and ridiculous pastor jokes to every church wanting a black worship leader, comedian Shama4realz and Joey poke fun of, laugh at and lament about church culture.    Shama4realz Check out https://www.instagram.com/shama4realz...

Pastor, author and bartender, Abby Norman, shares Joey’s zeal for loving people right where they're at, both seeing the Christian faith through more progressive lenses and are in fellowship with (and in shepherding roles with) those who are more conservative. Abby shares some of her experiences in life, including the story that led to her writing, “You Can Talk to God Like That: The Power of...

Podcaster ( Bible for Normal People) , Author ( Sin of Certainty, Exodus for Normal People, How the Bible works and more), bible scholar (PhD) and just a heck of a dude, Pete Enns tries to answer tons of dumb-ass theology questions from the mind of Joey Svendsen.  Some themes that come out of this one: mystery of the afterlife, the importance of the resurrection, how systematic theology is broke,...

Regulars to the show, Chip Judd (30+ years counseling experience) and Ellen Mauro debate and discuss the risks of spending "alone time" with the opposite gender in date-like scenarios, car rides, closed doors, out of town business trips.  Is this playing with fire?  Or is this a dated policy that churches need to abort from, so females can stop feeling like they are merely hot-bodies, da...

Here's to friends and hope.  Joey and Pricilla reflect on Joey’s mental health crisis of 2019 with their pastors and friends, Josh and Lisa Surratt;  these two who were in their corner, up close and personal like very few were.  Josh and Lisa reflect on the sense of urgency they felt in prioritizing Joey’s health and as their leaders, doing whatever was in their power to keep him safe.   Duri...

Mennonite Pastor, Duke Graduate and author, Melissa Florer-Bixler, talks about her newly released book, How to Have an Enemy: Righteous Anger and the Work of Peace .  She explains why she is an "empathy skeptic" and how she can have rage for some one like President Trump while still wanting him to be free, as there's no healing that comes from a desire to see one punished.  She pose...

[Theme song not included, all music on this episode by Andy Squyres] “Joey Svendsen here.  This is a conversation for the ages for me and the epitome of where I’m at in how I view my faith, God and my church .  May we all accept the freedom from our arrogance.  May we strive to progress in our love." Musician/song-writer Andy Squyres discusses with Joey the following post he made on his Insta...

So many of us evangelicals (current or former) have done it.  We thought the rapture happened, can’t find our Christian loved-ones, so we call our born-again, spirit-filled grandma.  If the rapture happened, she’d be gone!  We sigh a deep relief when she answers, “Hey, sweetie.”  End times theology, the book of Revelation, the mark of the beast, the tribulation, a 1000-year reign, the Left Behind...

Mennonite Pastor, Duke Graduate and author, Melissa F-B, joins to talk about what she calls “reproductive justice.”  Is a living embryo an actual living person?  Is it mere tissue waste?  “No” and “no,” according to Melissa.  We discuss these matters and reflect on a truth that many evangelical Christians do not want to face:  their pro-life stances are actually conditional and far from consistent...

While some people call ProGrace.org “Pro-Life Lite,” others label it as teetering on pro-choice.  Angie Weszely and her organization (Pro-Grace) takes heat from both sides, and as you’ll hear in this episode, Angie doesn’t believe Jesus would own either label. He always starts with grace, and this seems to be something unfortunately lacking in many hearts of those in the pro-life camp.  Co-host El...

One of the sensei’s of deconstruction, Phil Drysdale, brings history, psychology, and philosophy into the “deconstruction conservation.”  Joey processes how he feels God graciously treats people who lose their faith.  Phil supposes that no one chooses to walk away from God and how those who stop believing are usually the ones who followed Christianity with the most zeal.  Could we all just be doin...

Christianity Today released episode one of a podcast series that narrates and reflects on the rise and fall of the late Mars Hill Church in Seattle, formerly led by Pastor Mark Driscoll.   Dr. Tony Jones (former friend of Mark Driscoll), who appears on this documentary, joins us alongside Ellen Mauro (remained a part of the Mars Hill Church family until the very end) and Jack Hoey (former admirer...

Over the years, Pastor With No Answers has had a big tent,  allowing for a wide array of perspectives, some of which would get your ass canceled by the liberals and others getting you completely cancelled by the conservatives.  The intent of this podcast however has always been to be a platform for people, not a position.  A podcast where real people share their real journeys and utilize a public...

Randy Thomas (former leader at Exodus International) has been a Christian for most of his life.  Early in life, after living as a gay man for years, he was convinced that he could no longer continue living in what he perceived to be a life of sin.  Not only did he fight his same-sex attraction, he became one of the top leaders at Exodus International , a nationally-acclaimed organization where Chr...