Spiritual Misfits Podcast

Prepare for an experience with this one…featuring some tunes that are bound to get you moving!  Simon Buckingham Shum is an academic who works at the intersection of education, technology and ethics.  But, today we’re talking about his experiences as a part of a movement of alternative expressions of liturgy, worship and church back in the 90s in England. I was fascinated the first time Simon shar...

I think a lot of us have come to know the forms of Christianity that we don’t want. We’ve seen politicised versions of faith that we want nothing to do with. We’ve witnessed institutional failings, scandals and cover-ups that we want to distance ourselves from. But, sometimes it’s harder to answer the question, what now? How do I put the pieces back together? A few years ago someone told me it’s n...

Cheryl Andrews is a social worker and counsellor, with a broad range of experiences in particular, working with young people and their families. She is someone who embodies warmth and wisdom in equal measure. And in this chat we’re mainly talking about shame, and the ways it can impact our spirituality, and what it might look like to develop a more shame-free faith.   Cheryl brings reflections on...

There are theology textbooks and academic lectures, and they can be just fine, but is there any better place to discuss God, the universe and everything than over a drink with your mates at the pub?  Well, the good Rev Mitch Forbes and I (Will) don’t think so, and there’s few things we enjoy more than sipping a delicious bev and externally processing what we’ve been reading, hearing and thinking a...

This week’s episode is a fantastic chat with Steff Fenton. Steff is a pastor at NewCity Church, along with Joel Hollier who you may remember from our earlier episode.  On Steff’s website they introduce themselves as follows: “I’m a genderqueer pastor, writer, speaker and theologian helping people discover how endlessly loving God is.” And the way Steff speaks about God is deep and wide and beautif...

Benjamin Hastings is an incredibly gifted songwriter and lyricist, most known for some of the songs he’s written with Hillsong, including ‘So Will I’, ‘O Praise the Name’ and ‘Highlands’. His songs collectively have more than 500 million streams. Hillsong worship leaders probably  aren’t the image you typically think of when you hear the phrase ‘Spiritual Misfit’. But our conversation with Ben was...

This episode is a chat with Mandy Smith. Mandy is a pastor and author of multiple books including The Vulnerable Pastor and Unfettered — a book about imagining a childlike faith beyond the baggage of western culture. That book has a foreword by Walter Brueggemann. And if you know who Walter is, you know that’s one of the finest endorsements you can get.  I have really loved listening to the way Ma...

Hello friends and welcome back to the Spiritual Misfits podcast, This episode is the second half of one extended conversation I had with Andrew Dodd and Scott Higgins. If you haven’t listened to the previous episode where Scott and Andrew shared their own journeys towards inclusive theology and the story of Hamilton Baptist Church, I strongly recommend you do so.   In case you don’t or if you need...

Here’s a conversation that weaves together multiple threads into one really powerful story. It’s a story about change and about the process of change — at an individual level as well as in a broader community.   Scott Higgins and Andrew Dodd are friends, pastors, and together help lead the community of Hamilton Baptist Church. This is their story of moving towards LGBTQI+ affirming theology. It’s...

After 15 years in pastoral ministry Simon Nixon found his beliefs and approach to ministry radically shifting. We explore what that looked like in this conversation, and talk a little about one of the positive outcomes: the formation of a new community called Fireside, another safe space for spiritual misfits. The Church at large is in a significant time of transition. I believe we’re going to see...

There can often be this perception that faith is just about belief. And when your beliefs feel strong, your faith is strong.  This can mean that on the days when you feel uncertain, unsure or disoriented, you begin to blame yourself for having a weak faith.  But, what if the whole time we’ve been conceiving of faith in a manner that is a little distorted?  In his book ‘The Sin of Certainty’, Pete...

A couple episodes back Mitch Forbes and I (Will) had a chat about heaven, hell and universal salvation. We spoke about 3 different views of hell that have existed from the beginning of the Christian church and our journeys towards the view that an all-loving and all-powerful God actually can and will reconcile and renew all people. Here Mitch and I continue that chat. If you haven’t already it’s p...

Hannah and Will explore what it means to live full lives in a hustle-centric world. Does our Christianity present an antidote to our busyness and striving? Does it add fuel to the fire? A little a and a little b? A conversation about our modern attention crisis, capitalist infused Christianity, PreachersNSneakers, Mary & Martha, tattooed feet, and the importance of giving your oxen time off fr...

Could it be that the good news of the gospel is that God actually loves and will save everyone? Mitch and I (Will) think the arguments that this is the case are pretty convincing. We discuss the views of hell we grew up with and how these have shifted over time towards belief in universally reconciling love in Christ. Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Sen...

Kris Halliday is a Salvation Army Officer in inner city Melbourne. He’s passionate about serving people at the margins and sharing the love of God. He’s also gay. In this conversation he shares his story of faith, sexuality, and advocating for a more inclusive, imaginative and equitable future for the church. Sign-up for our Sunday Message at spiritualmisfits.com.au Want to reach out and let us kn...

This Good Friday I wanted to share with you a meditation on Psalm 22.  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 reading of the Psalm, and a simple thought at the end for you to meditate on.  Whatever Easter holds for you, I hope this meditation enco...

Hi friends,  This week I was grateful to spend some time with Christine Redwood — now Dr Christine Redwood I should say, as she just completed a PhD which we explore in this conversation. Christine’s the lead pastor at Seaforth Baptist Church, and her research examined feminist readings of stories of women in the Old Testament book of Judges and how this might relate to women leading and preaching...

Hi friends,  Hannah joins me (Will) again for this week's podcast! And we cover a lot of ground in this chat. In this episode we speak a fair bit about recent events within the evangelical church that you may or may not be familiar with. We do our best to give context, but if we accidentally assumed some ‘insider knowledge’ anywhere I apologise for that. There are links below to a number of t...

On this weeks episode we have a delightful and important conversation with the wonderful Joel Hollier. Joel is one clever fella with degrees in social work and theology, and a PhD in Behavioural Science. He’s also a co-paster of New City Church. Joel has a story to tell that many of us need to hear — about his journey of being a gay Christian, originally preaching that this required celibacy thoug...

One of the most distressing experiences we can have is to be rejected or judged by our own tribe. Our need for belonging and connection is so strong, that it makes it incredibly difficult to ask a question or express a view that might cross a boundary and threaten our place in a community.  This is the pain point of many spiritual misfits. We have a deep God-given need for community. We also have...

Robyn van der Zee is a psychologist and counsellor who spends a significant amount of time helping people process experiences of spiritual abuse and trauma.  As this is the case, we want to give you a heads up that if you have personally experienced these things you may want to take a moment to work out whether it’s helpful for you to continue listening. Robyn does offer some great words for survi...

Will and Hannah have a fireside chat (of sorts) about why Hannah identifies as a spiritual misfit, and how her journey of following Jesus in (and out) of different contexts has unfolded over time.  Sign-up for The Sunday Message mailing list at spiritualmisfits.com.au. Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you. T...

You may have heard the phrase ‘dark night of the soul’, originally attributed to St. John of the Cross. A mystic and poet. This idea of darkness refers to the invisibility and unknowabilty of God and is often used to describe the moments that feel like a crisis of faith.  When you don’t know what to make of things anymore.  Maybe what was once easy to believe has become very difficult. Maybe what...

It’s a natural and healthy part of development to ‘differentiate’ from your parents/carers.  Even if you grew up in a safe, secure and loving environment there comes a point at which you begin to take ownership for your life, your values and your beliefs.  As I reflect on the household I grew up in, I feel like my parents gave me two great gifts (among many others): 1. They passed on their beliefs...

This week, my friend showed me the rejection letters.  Not from a publishing house rejecting a manuscript.  Not from a university rejecting an enrolment.  The letters are from the church she grew up  in. And their rejection is of her... This episode is a reading of a piece of writing from our Spiritual Misfits website. You can find it in its original written form at spiritualmisfits.com.au, or lis...