Sunday School Rejects

In the season’s ninth and final episode, Jonathan, Katie and Annie reflect on the season, “get biblical” one more time, share stories of the podcast’s impact, and assign a few more gold stars. About the podcast: The first season of “Sunday School Rejects” delivers nine episodes on the topic of purity culture, which partly defined the Christian youth experiences of the Rejects. From pledge cards an...

In the season’s eighth episode, Jonathan, Katie and Annie put the “submission” language of “household codes” in Ephesians 5 into context. Katie then interviews pastor and author Amy Butler for a focused conversation about purity culture and its effects. Amy Butler is the senior pastor at Community Church of Honolulu and the founder of Invested Faith. She is also the author of Beautiful and Terribl...

In the season’s seventh episode, Jonathan, Katie and Annie try to make some sense of the writings attributed to Apostle Paul. Jonathan then interviews picture book author Matthew Paul Turner about what’s required to pass along a faith that your children don’t have to recover from. Matthew Paul Turner is a New York Times bestselling picture book author. Among his titles are When God Made You, When...

In the season’s sixth episode, Jonathan, Katie and Annie ask some hard questions about what the Bible really is. Annie then interviews New Testament scholar Jeremy Williams about the Bible and power. Jeremy L. Williams is Assistant Professor of New Testament and Director of the Center for Theology and Justice at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas. He holds a bachelor of arts from Vanderbil...

In the season’s fifth episode, Jonathan, Katie and Annie share their personal experiences with purity culture, including signing "True Love Waits" cards and wearing purity rings. They explore the psychological effects of purity culture, such as shame and fear, and the lack of proper sex education. They also offer resources to address the harm caused by purity culture and a sex-obsessed church. Res...

In the season’s fourth episode, Jonathan, Katie and Annie share various resources like books and podcasts that have informed their own faith journeys. The hosts highlight how these resources can help with personal growth in the wider context of a concern for justice for all.  Resources for this episode: “The Liturgists” podcast ~ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-liturgists-podcast/id90343...

In the season’s third episode, Jonathan, Katie and Annie explore how storytelling is inherent in human nature and crucial in faith contexts. They stress the importance of understanding and respecting boundaries, being reliable, owning mistakes, and sharing only one's own stories.  Resources for this episode: Brené Brown’s “The BRAVING Inventory” ~ https://brenebrown.com/resources/the-braving-inven...

In the season’s second episode, Jonathan, Katie and Annie share how their childhood experiences with Scripture, particularly biblical literalism, shaped their faith. They also explore more liberating ways of reading the Bible through lenses like feminist, queer and liberation theology. About the podcast: The first season of “Sunday School Rejects” delivers nine episodes on the topic of purity cult...

In the season’s first episode, you’ll meet the Sunday School Rejects: Jonathan Greer, Katie Valenzuela and Annie Wilde. Hear about their formative church experiences, journeys of deconstruction, and what you can expect from the rest of the season. About the podcast: The first season of “Sunday School Rejects” delivers nine episodes on the topic of purity culture, which partly defined the Christian...

Join friends Jonathan Greer, Katie Valenzuela and Annie Wilde as they unpack purity culture. The Rejects integrate resources, interrogate the Bible, talk to multiple experts, and keep the laughter going. They’ve left easy answers behind … but they’re keeping the gold stars they got in Sunday School. About the podcast: The first season of “Sunday School Rejects” delivers nine episodes on the topic...