Personalist Manifesto(s)

Here's a novel idea: you don't need a calling. That's the title of Damon Garcia's new book. In this conversation, we talk about what inspired a book that runs straight against the grain of what so many of us have been inundated with since as far back as we can remember: the story that we have to know what our unique gifts are, what our specific calling is, and then figure out how w...

There’s a widespread perception that faith and science are at war, but I think the reality is much more nuanced than that oppositional positioning. In this episode, I’m talking with Will Rose and Thomas Johnston. They're two pastors who started a podcast called Your Matter Matters because they share conviction that curiosity is not the enemy of belief. We get into AI, public health, wonder, th...

Peace. It sounds simple, right?  But what happens when the idea of peace becomes a weapon? In this conversation, my friends Myron Penner and Tripp Fuller pull back the curtain on one of the most quietly complicated tensions in religious community life: the space between preaching peace and practicing it.  We talk about peace church communities, long celebrated for their pacifist roots, and ask a h...

In this episode, I'm joined by two theologians who are asking important questions about technology—including AI: Noreen Herzfeld and Benjamin Chicka. You'll get to know them as our conversation unfolds, but a little context first. This is actually a follow-up.  The last time the three of us got together publicly was at Theology Beer Camp, and the response was overwhelming. There were so ma...

In this episode, I speak with Petre Maican, an Eastern Orthodox theologian who’s applying the richness of his faith tradition to questions about disability—not only to inspire important theological conversations, but also to change how Orthodox churches approach community and disability on the ground. As you’ll hear in our conversation, Petre’s serious about this work. He’s responsible for two—not...

The Mutant Socialists are back. We’re here to dig deeper into how we became bad leftists, David’s home, power, and appliance troubles, what it means to be mutant socialist, and what this has to do with living in a world on fire right now. In fact, here’s a quote from something David said near the tail end of our conversation that struck me like a bolt of lightning as I was editing what you’re abou...

In this episode I speak with troubadour, devotional essayist, meme prophet, junk food and soft drink connoisseur, Andy Squyres. I’ve been listening to Andy’s music for a while and recently picked up a copy of one of his mixed media volume of essays titled Poet/Priest —a great way to describe Andy’s art, or better yet, his vocation. We cover a lot of ground in this conversation, so I won’t try to s...

There is a lot of talk about immigration these days, but Isaac Samuel Villegas, a pastor and author of Migrant God: A Christian Vision for Immigrant Justice , does more than talk about immigration. He lives his life in a way that takes seriously what Jesus tell us in the gospels: the Incarnate Word of God is not only with the migrant, he is the migrant in our midst. So Isaac speaks, writes, and ac...

In this conversation, fellow theologian and sports commentator Andy Root returns to the show to talk about his latest book Evangelism in an Age of Despair—the title of a book that, for an Ellulian like me who is looking for hope in a world filled with despair, raises my eyebrows and gets me to lean in. My guess is that hearing this title will have a similar effect for a lot of people tuned into Pe...

'Addiction' is a word that conjures up so many images, ideas, and reactions in so many people. And because it has become so politicized, stigmatized, misunderstood, and/or dealt with poorly, it can be difficult to discern the addiction signals from the addiction noise these days. That's why I find the perspective of Quentin Genius—so helpful and refreshing. Not only is Quentin an ER do...

To kick off a new year, and the first episode of 2026, I’ve got a special treat for you: an on location dialogue with none other than Nick Boyczuk, the founder and proprietor of Electric Eagle Tattoo Shop, and as you may have heard me mention in other episodes: my very own tattoo artist. In this sense, our conversation is about as personal (and weirdly personalist) as you can get. In fact, at one...

In this final episode of 2025, I’m joined by Tripp Fuller from Homebrewed Christianity and Paul Hoard from the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. We talk about the Christmas story, and how, in so many ways, it moves in the opposite direction of the stories being told by artificial intelligence prophets, power brokers, and profiteers today. So, wherever you are at in this advent season, I h...

In this episode, I speak with two returning guests, political columnist and commentator David Moscrop and politician Jeff Wheeldon. As you’ll discover, the origin story for what you’ll about to hear kicked off when David used the terms 'mutant socialist' and 'bad leftist' in our previous conversation . There was something about those terms, and the thoughts surrounding them, that h...

When genocides and political atrocities take place, it has become common for people to assemble in public, bear witness to what has happened, and address those events to reach a sense of… what, exactly? Awareness? Truth? Understanding? Closure? Reconciliation? Healing? Reparation? Change? And if these—or something else—are the aims of these assemblies, do they actually achieve these goals? Enter J...

It’s amazing and terrifying how one small sentence posted online at a particular moment in a particular context can spread like wildfire, and result in a book. In this case, it was the sentence Jesus was non-violent, posted by Susy Flory on Facebook during the Covid-19 pandemic and the January 6 Insurrection that started the fire and led to a book. In this conversation, I speak with Susy and Scott...

As you’ll hear in this conversation, this episode started with a collegial back-and-forth about a footnote concerning punk rock. I was reviewing my friend Erv Klassen’s Doctor of Ministry project on hope, and he took an excellent side quest at the bottom of one of his pages to talk about the birth of punk rock. Don’t you just love it when music fans get into hairsplitting conversations (i.e. argum...

This is episode 36 of Personalist Manifesto(s), and to tell you the truth, I’m a bit surprised it has taken this long to feature a longform conversation about music. Music has come up in other episodes, of course, but this is the first time I’ve done full-length talk about something so close to my heart. Because of that, it makes total sense that I’d have my friend, Joshua Leventhal, a worship pas...

In this episode, Grace Ji-Sun Kim becomes the first ever returning guest on this show—and in this conversation, we talk about her new book Earthbound: God at the Intersection of Climate and Justice . Grace’s book offers a transformative vision of divine presence that calls us to active, restorative justice in a world crying out for restoration. Now, two things about this recording. First, it’s aud...

The introduction to this episode was recorded at 11:17am, On September 15, 2025 Pacific Time. The conversation with politics columnist, commentator, and author David Moscrop ⁠ in this episode was recorded at 11:00am Pacific time on August 29, 2025 Pacific Time. I am sharing these dates and times with you so you get a sense of the timeline for, or the lead up to, David and I’s initial conversation,...

In this conversation, I speak with my friend, and sports super fan, Andrew Blaine. Sports talk has come up here and there on this show—usually when I am lamenting the ongoing losses and heartbreaks that come with being a Vancouver Canucks fan—but this is the first episode where sport is spoken about at length. What you may come to see as the conversation progresses, however, is that sports for And...

In this episode, I speak to someone by the name of Jonathan Lyonhart. Jonathan is a theologian, philosopher, author, and ordained minister. He emailed me a while back, letting me know he’s listened to this show, and he thought I might be interested in reading his new book The Journey of God: Christianity in Six Movements . I responded to Jonathan’s email, saying something like, “Of course. Send me...

In this episode, we’re finishing the four-part seminar series on disability and the church I’ve been sharing with you over the course of the last few weeks. So, be sure to check out the other three sessions before you jump into this one if you haven’t already. Or, start here and work your way backwards if you want. It’s up to you, really. You’re your own person. I can’t make you do anything you do...

In this episode, we’re continuing on in the disability and the church seminar series—the third of four sessions. If you haven’t caught the first two sessions, be sure to check them out before you get into this one. In this seminar, my friend Greg Harris presents on disability and discipleship. Session One - Disability Language and Rhetoric with Krista Ewert: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/d...

This is the second of a four-part seminar series on disability and the church. It explores what it means to be human, specifically from the perspective of the Bible, theology, and what most people call disability. These seminars were the result of a collaborative effort between The Lazarus Centre, Northwest Seminary and College, and Fellowship Pacific, and this show. If you haven't listened to...

This is the first of a four-part seminar on disability and the church. These seminars were the result of a collaborative effort between The Lazarus Centre , Northwest College and Seminary , Fellowship Pacific , and this show—all groups I am a part of in one way or another. I am sharing these seminars with you because I do not want the discussions of disability we have on Personalist Manifesto(s) t...