Spiritual Misfits Podcast
If you’ve ever felt on the fringes of Christian faith this is a safe space for you. Your questions, doubts and hopes are all welcome here. We’re creating conversations, affirmations, meditations and other resources to support you on your spiritual journey and let you know that even if you feel like a misfit, you don’t have to feel alone.
Episodes
148 episodes
Tanya Riches on leaving Hillsong, church with wombats and real-world theology
Dr Tanya Riches is the Director of Master of Transformational Development at Eastern College, and she has a PhD from Fuller Theological Seminary. Her interdisciplinary project with Aboriginal Pentecostal leaders (located at the intersection of ...
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59:22
Kelly Latimore on Icons, Advent and learning how to see
Kelly Latimore is an artist whose modern day Icons have an incredible ability to challenge where we see Christ in the world. Some of his most known works reimagine the Nativity in contexts of modern suffering: amongst the homeless in a tent cit...
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1:02:20
Joel Hollier and Christine Redwood: Why Future Church?
Will Small, Joel Hollier, and Christine Redwood reflect on their experiences and insights from the inaugural Future Church Conference at the beginning of this year and look towards the next one on January 28, 2025. They discuss the importance o...
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1:06:13
Tim Whitaker on The New Evangelicals, Christian Nationalism and resisting Trump’s America
In this conversation, Tim Whitaker discusses the complexities of the recent political landscape in the U.S., particularly focusing on the impact of Trump and the role of Evangelicalism. He reflects on his personal journey and how The New Evange...
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56:51
David Gushee: After Evangelicalism [a timely post-election Replay]
I presume many of you, like me, are feeling a deep swirl of emotions coming out of a week where we have witnessed the re-election of Trump. Honestly it feels so baffling to me that someone can so blatantly be a convicted felon, a mi...
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1:01:13
Will and Joel Small debrief Tim Winton’s CPX lecture (on climate crisis, toxic positivity and today's prophets)
Tim Winton gave the Centre for Public Christianity’s 2024 Richard Johnson lecture. Will and his brother Joel went along. In this conversation they discuss Tim’s powerful words on toxic positivity, climate crisis, and the prophetic voices of you...
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1:04:56
Anna Robinson (from Nomad podcast) on wilderness, wonder and contemplative practices
Anna Robinson is a regular co-host on Nomad podcast, and the founder of LiveLight|DwellDeep. She describes herself as "a contemplative, deeply drawn t...
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1:08:54
Sally Longley on violence, silence and Ignatian spirituality
In this episode Sally Longley shares her journey from a belief in violence to embracing pacifism and Ignatian spirituality. Sally shares her experiences in South Africa during apartheid, her theological studies, and the transformative power of ...
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57:26
Pub Theology: politics, faith and community action (with Jack Turner)
Jack Turner joins Will and Mitch at the virtual pub to discuss Christianity and political engagement. Do Christians typically care more about meeting the needs of the poor than asking why they're poor in the first place? <...
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1:13:38
Scott Erickson (Scott the Painter) is creating a visual vocabulary for the spiritual journey
Hello fellow misfits, friends, humans of all kinds! An absolutely delightful conversation awaits you with Scott Erickson. He’s a painter, author, performance speaker. His instagram bio...
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1:05:17
Pub Theology: Listener questions (hedonism, lament and the limits of language)
Mitch, Hannah and Will crack a drink and throw around various questions from Spiritual Misfits listeners (submitted in the Facebook group)Questions/topics discussed include:...
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1:24:17
Scott Parker: 'Hillsong Boy'
Scott Parker comes on the podcast to discuss 'Hillsong Boy': a theatrical exploration of the highs and lows of growing up queer in a megachurch, based on Scott’s real life.
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1:02:12
Jason John on sex, evolution and a poem you’ll never forget
Jason John is a fascinating human being with a very interesting story doing very interesting things. He’s an ordained minister in the Uniting Church, has a PhD in zoology and is, amongst other things, a ‘forest chaplain.’In this convers...
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1:07:55
Amy Kenny: 'My Body is Not a Prayer Request'
Amy Kenny, author of 'My Body Is Not A Prayer Request,' joins Will for a discussion about disability justice and ableism in the church. She shares her experiences of being prayed over for her disability to be erased and the harmful treatment sh...
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1:00:19
Mental Health and Loneliness with James Aaron and Sarah Bishop
This is the fifth and final episode in our mini-series produced in collaboration with the Pulse team from Uniting Mission and Education. And in my opinion, this one was such a profound, vulnerable and meaningful conversation. Sarah Bishop and J...
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1:00:19
Technology, AI and Spirituality with Aditee Vora, Somerset Drayton and Jonty Cornford
Take a quick moment to think about how much technology has changed during your lifetime? What was the height of tech when you were a kid? Can you divide your life up into before and after internet connection? The pace of technological c...
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57:32
Racial injustice and the Church with Nathan Tyson, Radhika Sukumar-White and Liesl Homes
Hello good people, Welcome to the third conversation in our five episode mini-series with UME’s Pulse team. Over the last two weeks we’ve explored generational divides and climate crisis, eco anxiety and the like. <...
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1:03:04
Navigating eco-anxiety, finding ways forward with Joyce Tangi, Karina Kreminski & Jono Row
Hello again good people!This is the second in our series of 5 collaborative conversations hosted by Spiritual Misfits and the Uniting Mission and Education Pulse team, exploring major challenges in our world today and the kind of faith t...
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48:30
‘My Generational Deconstruction’ with Joanna Drayton, Ken Day and Ella Evans
Spiritual Misfits and Uniting Mission and Education's Pulse team have collaborated to bring you a series of conversations about 5 pressing challenges we face on planet earth today, and the kind of faith that may help emerging generations to nav...
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1:02:50
Christine Redwood, Belinda Groves & Nathan Nettleton on the Open Baptists
In this episode Will is joined by Christine Redwood, Belinda Groves and Nathan Nettleton to discuss the emergence of the Open Baptists, a new Baptist movement within Australia. The Open Baptists seek to reimagine what it means to work together ...
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1:01:06
Karen Pack on starting loved and restoring the erased
The Reverend Dr Karen Pack is a religious historian, ordained Christian minister, Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrant, and current
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1:03:04
Thomas Jay Oord on 'God After Deconstruction'
In this conversation, Will Small, Thomas Jay Oord, and Becca De Souza discuss open and relational theology, the challenges of suffering, and the process of deconstruction and reconstruction in faith. They also touch on the topic of LGBTQ+ affir...
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1:01:26
5 Big Ideas for the Future Church (Future Church Conference Night: Joyce Tangi, Jessica Morthorpe, Karen Pack, Mitch Forbes & Joel Hollier)
Well hello again my friends! If you’ve been listening in recent weeks I hope you have enjoyed these talks from Future Church Conference. I am excited to share that a few of us met this last week to start planning the next one...
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1:12:33
The Future Church is...Intersectional (Will Small at Future Church Conference)
Hello again friends! The last few weeks there’s been less of my voice on the pod, which has probably been a refreshing change. However if you proceed with listening to this one, it is my talk from Future Church Conference. Which iro...
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46:39
The Future Church is....LGBTQIA+ Inclusive (Karen Pack at Future Church Conference)
Hello Spiritual Misfits! This week I have another brilliant talk for you from Future Church conference which happened in January this year. We know the questions and themes we were exploring in the room that day are so pr...
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52:17