Queer Theology Podcast

For the final episode of our Summer Guest Series we are joined by Cindy Wang Brandt. Cindy describes herself as 'someone who wants to find interesting things and do them' and, as we found in this interview, she definitely does that and has so much wisdom from her experiences!   Cindy Wang Brandt is an author, podcaster, and speaker. She hosts conferences and communities that help parents heal from...

Candice Marie Benbow is on the podcast this week talking about growing up in the Black Baptist Church, Red Lip Theology, and the beauty of faith in marginalized folks.    Candice is a multi-genre theologian who situates her work at the intersections of beauty, faith, feminism and culture, giving voice to Black women's shared experiences of healing and journeying toward wholeness. Reimagining how f...

We are talking with Candace Simpson on this episode of our Guest Series about a God who gives a damn with no room for cheap, easy theology!  Candace (she/they) is a sister, educator and preacher. She went to Trinity College and Union Theological Seminary and served as site coordinator for the Concord Freedom School for several years. It is their joy to design immersive participatory experiences wh...

It is such a privilege to have Bishop Karen Oliveto on the podcast for this guest series episode. She describes herself as a pastor, preacher, teacher, and activist who works with diverse communities to change the world through her work as a Bishop in the United Methodist Church and we think adding 'cultivator of joy' to that list is also appropriate!   Bishop Oliveto was consecrated as a bishop o...

It. Is. HERE! Y'all, we are at our 500th podcast episode and it just so happens to also coincide with our 10 year anniversary of Queertheology.com! (a whole decade!! 🎉🙌) Over the last couple months we've been anticipating this as a pretty incredible milestone and we're so excited to celebrate 500 episodes of queer joy, queer spirituality, and community!    For this episode, we reflect on what li...

We're so excited to invite y'all to join us for our Queerness Everyday Challenge! It's a big ol' celebration of queerness and the sacred, of community and finding more queer joy, of recognizing queerness in yourself whether you are just starting your journey or have been out and proud for a long time. We're inviting EVERYONE to join in this fun challenge of finding more queerness between your fait...

We have Kate Boyd as our guest this week for a conversation that will really resonate with folks who have seen contradictions between what was in the real world versus what was taught in church.    Kate is the author of "An Untidy Faith" and host of the Happy & Holy podcast. She helps weary and wounded Christians rebuild their relationship with Scripture and community and love God and their neighb...

One prominent voice in the polyamory community is that of Kevin A. Patterson. Kevin is an active member of the Philadelphia polyamory community. He's been practicing ethical nonmonogamy since 2002 after opening up a relationship that eventually became his marriage. He was inspired to start Poly Role Models, an interview series for people describing their experiences with polyamory and was part of...

This week we have an inspiring interview with Madison Morrigan as part of our continuing Summer Guest Series.    Madison is an international award winning life coach, speaker, creative consultant and creator of Awaken Her Soul, a 14 week mentorship program designed to help womxn embody their worth, power and fullness. Centered on self-responsibility and full expression, Madison coaches ambitious a...

If you've been here with us for a while, you'll know how much we like to highlight context and historical perspective when reading the Bible. You'll also know we often reference and recommend reading the work of scholar, John Dominic Crossan. We're so honored to have the opportunity to chat with him about the historical Jesus and what that means for Christians today.   John Dominic Crossan is an I...

We're so excited to bring this discussion with former colleague and activist comrade, J Mase III for this episode of our Summer Guest Series! We get into the intersections of faith, transness, and queerness and his impactful work as a creative and public theologian.    J Mase III is an award winning Black Trans poet, author, educator, and filmmaker. He was raised in a Christian and Muslim home and...

We're breaking into our Guest Series to give you an update on what we've got going on behind the scenes and what you can expect over the next couple months. It's incredible to think we're celebrating 10 years of QueerTheology.com and almost our 500th podcast episode (😲 !!). We're so excited to share this journey with you and are really excited to bring you the next chapter of QueerTheology!   Joi...

We're so honored to get the opportunity to have Rob Bell on for this episode of our guest series! Some of you might know the Rob Bell of 7 Rob's ago… And some of you might know him currently- a New York Times Bestselling author of 13 books and plays which have been translated into 25 languages and the host of a podcast called The RobCast. But what we found about Rob is that there is beauty in allo...

Claire Willet is a powerful storyteller. Her plays are insightful and her Twitter threads impressive! Brian met Claire at an Ex-Gay Survivor conference years ago and it has been wonderful to see her thrive and flourish as a creative storyteller.    Claire is a playwright, novelist, and former Catholic youth minister. Her most recent projects include "How Can I Keep From Singing?", a play about the...

We're pretty passionate about storytelling over here so it was a real pleasure to sit down with Adil Mansoor and chat with him about art, theater, and storytelling!    Adil is a theater director centering the stories of queer folks and people of color. His performance "Amm(i)gone" adapts Sophocles's "Antigone" as an apology to and from his mother. Mansoor is a founding member of Pittsburgh's Hatch...

Tamice Spencer-Helms is a force and we are excited to share this interview with you as part of our Guest Series.    Tamice is a published author, speaker, and theologian based in Richmond, Virginia. After 16 years of full-time ministry, she founded Sub: Culture Incorporated, a nonprofit that provides holistic support and crisis relief for Black College Students. Over the years, Tamice has been a c...

It was such an honor and privilege for Shay to sit down with the creators of "Somebody Somewhere", Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen, to talk about this groundbreaking show. Not gonna lie, Shay is a HUGE fan and was so excited to get the chance to watch the new season before anyone else PLUS get the inside scoop from two fantastic writers!    Hannah and Paul are best friends, writers, actors, and both g...

Rev. Solomon Missouri's bio is succinct: twitter pastor, play cousin, problem, and preeminent marriage counselor to wayward athletes. His ministry focuses on sexuality and spirituality outside and beyond church walls, which is where we have been following him on Twitter for some time now. His humor and commitment to inclusion is evident in the work he does and the message he brings. This interview...

We kick off this guest series with a returning guest, Rabbi Denise Eger, who is also joined by Rev. Neil Thomas. Rabbi Eger is the founding Rabbi at Congregation Kol-Ami (Brian's synagogue!) and Rev. Neil Thomas is the Senior Pastor at Cathedral of Hope in Dallas. They have co-authored a book, 7 Principles for Living Bravely, that brings together universal truths of faith and wisdom, giving reader...

We close our series on Galatians with chapter 6 and it seems to be a bit of an abrupt ending- especially when taken out of context! We really see how Paul's words can be taken and used in a different way than he intended and we discuss how conservatives and evangelicals often use these verses to condemn marginalized folks. They create a list of what NOT to do, but Paul is much more on the side of...

We enter chapter 5 in the middle of a thought from Paul because (reminder!) this is a continuous letter being interrupted by chapter breaks that was meant to be read as a whole. This chapter is heavy. It's where we get many of those lists of dos and don'ts. And this dualistic language, fruits of the flesh vs. fruits of the spirit, can be really harmful when read and interpreted out of context. We...

We are on chapter 3 of Galatians and here is where we get Paul talking about the Law and equality. But can (and does!)  he live up to the things he says he believes in? Paul is making an intricate and intense argument in this letter and this is where he starts to diverge from Judaism, the religion that he has inherited. This brings up some questions about how we understand the Law versus Faith dic...

We are on Chapter 2 of Galatians- but really we are just picking up on an interrupted thought in a letter Paul meant to be read as a whole. (Reminder: this was a letter meant to be read in full with the nuance of the time, reference to stories that would be well known, and to a specific group of people!) In this text, we get a glimpse into the messiness of the early Christian church… The messiness...