Spiritual Misfits Podcast

Mason Mennenga , 'the Internet's Youth Pastor' and host of ‘A People's Theology’ Podcast joined Bronte Hughes & Will Small for a conversation about the many weird aspects of growing up in the shadow of American evangelicalism (even in Australia), and the discovery of new ways of thinking about God, including liberation theology, process theology and theopoetics. At the end...

At the beginning of NADIOC week this episode is a powerful conversation with Larissa Minniecon, about her story, and reflections on the upcoming referendum and why the Voice presents a powerful step forward for justice. Larissa Minniecon is a Kabi Kabi, Gureng Gureng, Ambryn and a Zenadth Kes woman who lives, works and studies on Gadigal Land. She is currently undertaking a Masters degree in Narra...

Becca De Souza and Carolyn Meers return for their podcast hat-trick and a rich and wide conversation around the questions emerging while trying to raise kids with faith....while trying to minimise the baggage. Resources mentioned at the end of this episode: 'Telling God's Story, Pete Enns: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/8432252-telling-god-s-story 'Jesus Showed Us!' Bra...

Gregg Morris, Sally Douglas, Will Nicholas and Carlynne Nunn joined Will Small in Melbourne for a conversation about whether Christianity still has good news to offer our world today, even with all its baggage.  A wide-ranging and rich episode that covers areas such as: Woman wisdom and Jesus as the feminine divine  The ‘cultural tale’ we drag behind us  The power of sci-fi and storytelling for th...

Priyanka Bromhead, amongst many things, is the founder of ‘ We are the Mainstream. ’ — a collective of First Nations, Women of Colour and Gender Diverse folk of colour, creating spaces for courageous conversations, that challenge systems and structures of power and centre perspectives that have often been forced to the edges.  Priyanka shares more about We are the Mainstream during our conversatio...

The recording from our live spiritual misfits pub theology at the rogue scholar in Newcastle! Will reads poems from his new book and his favourite English teacher (Hannah Gierhart) and favourite rev (Mitch Forbes) provide literary and theological reflections along the way. Come say hi at one of these upcoming events! CANBERRA, JUNE 8 https://events.humanitix.com/poems-for-when-the-world-is-ending-...

After interviewing Dean Johnston I came away feeling like someone needs to make a movie about this guy’s life. Alternatively Dean needs to write a memoir. While we wait for Dean to write his memoir or for Terrence Malick to make the film, this podcast episode will have to do the job. This is a story of losing and finding God — and whether you feel more lost or found, at this point in time, I hope...

Our panel conversation from Spiritual Misfits live in Newtown on 'wisdom for the wilderness', with the wonderful Joel Hollier, Becca de Souza, Carolyn Meers & Simon Nixon. Join us at upcoming Spiritual Misfits Live events! NEWCASTLE, May 28, The Rogue Scholar https://events.humanitix.com/poems-for-when-the-world-is-ending-spiritual-misfits-live-newcastle MELBOURNE, June 10, Brunswick...

This one is being released on Mother’s Day. And in the lead-up to Mother’s Day I’ve been thinking about God, gender and metaphors. And I wanted to share some thoughts that may be helpful for you.  Afterwards, there’s space for a moment of stillness and contemplation, to help you engage with Spirit in a way that may be a little different to what you’re used to.  Let me start by telling you a story....

Since childhood, Matt has found a deep sense of spirituality and connection beyond the walls of the church. For many years he was a pastor, seeking to help others experience the same. For Matt, loving, including and affirming LGTBQI+ people was an obvious aspect of Christianity. Not everyone else saw it that way though, and Matt ended up facing a significant cost for his stance on inclusion. Matt’...

Hannah, Mitch and Will discuss violence and the Bible and what they make of it at this point in time. Get your tickets to our upcoming Spiritual Misfits LIVE events: SYDNEY, May 13, Newtown Mission https://events.humanitix.com/poems-for-when-the-world-is-ending-spiritual-misfits-live-syd NEWCASTLE, May 28, The Rogue Scholar https://events.humanitix.com/poems-for-when-the-world-is-ending-spiritual-...

This week on the pod I’m joined by Alexis Halverson. Alexis is an incredibly thoughtful, considered and philosophical human being. She is also a trans person of faith with a fascinating story that includes growing up in church, leaving institutional Christianity and then returning and finding new beauty in old traditions. Get your ticket to our first Spiritual Misfits LIVE events: SYDNEY, May 13,...

Jon Owen, CEO and pastor at Wayside Chapel is the kind of person whose life really looks like the ethics of Jesus embodied.  We explore the tensions that exist between different forms of Christian faith — such as the kind that prioritises the dreams of Western culture in contrast with the kind that inhabits the fringes and the margins, in solidarity with those who suffer. We also talk about the co...

Happy Resurrection Sunday if you’re listening on the day this episode is being released. To coincide with the Easter long weekend, this is a longer serving of podcast goodness with a very special guest.  Tripp Fuller of Homebrewed Christianity, legendary podcaster, brilliant theologian, prolific talker, very generously said yes to a conversation with myself and Simon Nixon.  Shout-out to Simon who...

Last year on Good Friday we shared this meditation on Psalm 22. We've had a bunch of listeners join us since then, so we're sharing this for those who might want to engage with it this year.  Grab a candle, find a comfortable place to sit and spend 15 minutes listening. The meditation begins with a moment to help you become grounded and aware of your body and breath, followed by a readin...

Mitch and Will are taking a break from alcohol during Lent. Hannah didn't get the memo. We spend the first half of the chat discussing reasons for and against participating in Lent (and things like fasting and other religious seasons more generally.) During the second half of the chat we turn our attention to discussing this stunning, recent essay from Anna McGahan (kind of an 'exit lett...

Hello misfits, friends, human beings!  Welcome to another episode of the podcast. A really wonderful conversation; the kind that is somehow earthy and grounded and raw while also deeply poetic and moving. Becca De Souza is a doula, and a writer (check out links below to some articles we reference in this conversation). And she has a profound story of coming to see God in new ways in the midst of t...

A few years ago, (pre Spiritual Misfits) I was making a podcast called Man;Kind. It was primarily a show about the unhelpful gender moulds we place on each other, with particular reference to manhood and masculinity etc. The name of the show was supposed to beg the question: could the word ‘man’ become more associated with kindness than power or strength or aggression.  During the production of th...

One theme that has come up across several episodes of the podcast is about how to think about the different versions of ourselves across time. When you think back to an earlier version of yourself who perhaps has a very different faith to the one you have now, how do you feel? Do you cringe? Do you feel shame? Do you long for or miss those days? The reality is, you can’t go back to earlier days in...

Last weekend was Mardi Gras, and you may have listened to our WorldPride panel on the pod last week.  My guest this week, Rod Pattenden was actually in the first church group to march in the Mardis Gras parade back in around 1999. And whilst that involved a horrendous amount of discrimination and suffering, I am amazed at Rod’s courage and resilience.  There’s a lot of other things I love about Ro...

Have you ever heard Christians criticise the use of the word ‘pride’ in queer culture? This week Karl Hand, Karen Pack and Tash Holmes come on the podcast for a discussion around why pride is a like ‘holy word’ for queer people and the current state of play for queer people of faith. We also explored the concept of allyship. What does it mean to be an ally? When do well-meaning allies cause harm?...

There’s this thought experiment in the world of philosophy called the ship of Theseus. You may have heard it. The general idea is that there’s a ship. And over time every part of it — the rudder, the sails, the other stuff on a ship which I don’t know the names of — is gradually replaced, one by one. There comes a point at which the ship has none of its original components. And yet this process ha...

Church attendance in the West is on the decline.  I think any church interested in having a future needs to do some serious reflecting on what may need to change. And I’m pretty convinced there’s a big gap to be filled for people who still desire a faith community, but aren’t looking to return what they may have left for good reasons. So...what kind of churches could fill that gap? At least one co...

There are plenty of people whose behaviour in the name of Jesus is the very thing that would often lead me to want to reject the Christian faith I’ve grown up with. Dave Andrews, on the other hand, is the kind of person who makes me feel the opposite. He speaks about Jesus in a way that makes me feel like I am encountering this story for the first time. I think this is largely because Dave has mod...

Hannah has seen people get gold teeth in prayer meetings.  Mitch has been ‘bitterly disappointed by the miraculous’.  Will used to pray out loud for long stretches of time….but now wants go on a silent retreat. The three of them have a candid conversation about prayer, miracles, disappointment and hope, and if/how they ought to approach prayer these days. Want to reach out and let us know your tho...