Liminal Living

Who gets to decide the modern dogmas of who is in and who is out? Probably not the people Jesus would hang around with, marginalized communities. I have an honest and beautiful conversation with author Kathy Khang today about her experience as a Christian in America who immigrated from Korea. And she highlights things from that perspective that I had a hard time seeing from my perspective. Our guest today is Kathy Khang, a mother of three, wife of one, and a passionate advocate for embracing the complexities of identity, spirituality, and social justice. Kathy's story is one of transformation and empowerment, rooted in her love for Jesus and a deep appreciation for the simple joys of life, like yoga, nail polish, lipstick, and the bond she shares with her girlfriends. Kathy's journey as a writer, speaker, coffee enthusiast, and even a yoga teacher has taken her from the pages of childhood diaries to newsrooms and co-authored books. Her next book co-authored with Matt Mikalatos is called Loving Disagreement wh

Does God have a Gender? Is Karma real? What did the Bible say about Dinosaurs? And other fun questions in this ask me anything episode where I take on your theological questions: Scott: According to Christianity, the only way is through Jesus. According to another religion, the only way is through their belief system. How can we all be right? Does God give many paths that lead to him? Lance: How do we know which religion is right? And if Christianity is it, how do we know which version/interpretation is right? Rosey: If God created humans in his image, male and female, what does that actually mean? Is God not genderless? Wendi: What’s the deal with karma and the Christian faith? Nic: did the Creator create us individually or broad stroke? What level of detail went into His design? Lance: How does the Bible coexist with science? Time Stamps for the episode: 00:49 Introductions 05:48 The Benedictine Monk who taught me to meditate 11:10 Are there many paths to God? 16:23 Labels on something vs Essence of somet

Why have we spiritualized so much of Jesus’ teaching on poverty, money, and forgiveness? It is the only way we could make sense of his teachings while wearing the insulation that power provides us. But what does Christ say about money and power? How have we harnessed what Jesus calls the god of mammon into our methodologies of modern church growth tactics? Today I talk with Matt Tebbe, an expert voice in the areas concerning mammon, which is the Bible’s word for the worship of the economy, colonial empire, authoritarian abuse, and patriarchy. Matt says hard things, but good things. His voice is honest and succinct. Matt Tebbe. holds a Masters of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, has been featured in the pages of Leadership Journal and Shattered Magazine. Matt's insights are also featured in the book 'What Pastors Wish Their Congregations Knew,' authored by Kurt Fredrickson and Cameron Lee. He's also been a prominent voice in thought-provoking platforms such as Missio Alliance and The V3 Movem

What if the severe dogmatic cruelty of our modern expression of faith is an add on of Western Colonialism? What would happen if you started to pull on the thread of colonialism in your faith. What would come out? What would remain? Today I talk with Rev. Dr. Randy Woodley, an expert voice in the areas concerning spirituality, earth-care, racial and ethnic identity, diversity, peace, social justice, eco-justice, interreligious dialogue, Indigenous studies, agriculture, and spirituality. Randy is also co-founder and Program Director of the George Fox Master of Arts Intercultural Studies degree, the Eloheh Indigenous Center for Earth Justice and Eloheh Farm & Seeds. Author of 9 books, including An Indigenous theology and the Western Worldview, and host of the Peacing it all together podcast. He is a member of the Cherokee nation, and considers himself an indigenous person who follows Christ. We talk about his experiences as an indigenous person within the western church.To see Randy’s work, please visit his

Today I talk with Faith rooted organizer, Anthony Smith. Anthony headed up the removal and relocation of a Confederate Statue in his city of Salisbury, North Carolina. We talk about his faith, his work, for the poor and marginalized of his city from his position as a pastor and city council member. He is a man rooted in place and dedicated to seeing the Kingdom of God come about in his neighborhood. Time Stamps for the episode: 00:49 Introductions 02:39 Faith Rooted Organizer 07:04 Anthony vs Confederate Statue 11:56 An Ecumenical Exorcism of White Nationalism and Racism 17:10 An Apocalyptic moment and call 22:24 Christians call to apocalyptic action 27:15 Hyper individualism and its damage on society 33:33 The Gospel and White Jesus made an atheist 38:37 The Gospel evolve to meet us 43:50 White Christian Nationalism is a form of bad Atheism 47:53 Christianity as ideology for the nation state is bad news 52:15 A Heart attack and an existential crisis 57:35 The Sound of the Genuine 1:02:22

S2 E21: Tom Rundel: Ask Me Anything: Bible Deconstruction I solo riff on today’s pod and take on some more of the questions that y’all sent in as we talk about our approach to the Bible, how it has caused harm, and how we can change it going forward. The questions I take on are… Erica: Is the Bible meant to be read as a set-in-stone manual to be taken literally? Is it multiple genres, full of allegory? If literal, how are readers meant to adapt it to modern life? Jason: “If the Bible says all commandments boil down to love God and love neighbor as yourself why do churches seem to be focused more on do's and don’ts?” Jason: “Is hell real and does it matter?” Lance: What happens to people who never knew/heard about God when they die? Would a loving God punish someone for not accepting a truth they knew? What about babies/young children? Time Stamps for the episode: 00:41 Introduction 02:53 The Metaphysics of Elisha 06:43 Evangelicals and Conspiracy Theories 12:22 Left Behind was a Conspiracy Theory, not a t

S2 E20: Karl Forehand: From Fundie Baptist to Spiritual without Labels Often, church can become more about keeping the systems running smoothly, the people happily entertained, and money flowing into the plates. But what happens when you have to grieve or enter a season of suffering or become disabled? Karl Forehand is a former Southern Baptist Pastor and Church planter and revitalizer who went through a season of deconstruction shortly after the 2015 election cycle. He could no longer associate with a faith that was more about conservative politics, religious nationalism, and exclusion of the marginalized. He unlabeled himself, became open, and started to explore. Karl is author of 7 books, speaker, and podcaster. He and his wife, Laura, founded The Desert Sanctuary, a resting place for spiritual nomads. Karl was a bi-vocational pastor for 20 years and has training in spiritual leadership coaching, plant-based nutrition, and spiritual direction. He lives in Missouri with his wife Laura and dog Winston. He ha

S2 E19: Tom Rundel: Don’t spiritualize your problems, claim your confidence Have you ever felt like God abandoned you and left you in the midst of a storm that you could not overcome? In this episode, I solo riff on Matthew 14’s account of Christ walking on the water and calming the storm. I take note of the parabolic writing style and use that knowledge to explore the meaning behind some of the imagery in this parable. Christ dismisses the disciples and they are battered by some wind and waves. Time Stamps for the episode: 0:44: Introduction 4:45: Matthew 14 and the parabolic style of this story 9:05 Dismissed and abandoned by God 13:25 spiritualizing your problems gets spiritual answers that don’t work in real life 17:42 Take courage is NOT dismiss your anxiety 21:56 Claim your inner authority 26:00 God is not a fixer of problems, but an empowerer of souls 30:22 The saving grace of community 33:13 Conclusions All Music for this episode is provided by Axeltree https://liminalliving.simplecast.com/&n

Have you ever been burned out, had PTSD, had an existential crisis? So has our guest for tToday. I talked with Dan White Jr. a church planting strategist with the V3 Movement, co-founder of the Praxis Gathering, author of 4 books, pastor and Church planter for the last 20+ years, as well as co-founding and building The Kineo Renewal and Retreat Center in Puerto Rico from the ground up with his wife Tonya. Dan has a gentle soul with the gift of healing, which I experienced first hand at a retreat at Kineo. There he delivered his story of pastoring, burning out twice, dealing with CPTSD, struggling with his ego, and recovering to find new vision. He tells his story here today, as well as using his degree in counseling and theology to blend a helpful understanding of a pathway toward your healing. You can find all of Dan’s materials on his website www.danwhitejr.com Time Stamps for the episode: 2:20: Introduction 6:52: Deconstructing with Rich Mullins 11:55: Journey out of Fundie Baptist and into Anabaptist

Does hell exist? Who goes there? Does Matthew 13’s furnace reference talk about it? Today, I spout off about my views of hell, judgment, and justice. I share my thoughts around the passage from Matthew 13, commonly called the parable of the wheat and tares, where the wheat and tares are allowed to grow together until the end of the age when the wheat is harvested and put into a barn and the tares are gathered and burned in a furnace. Does this passage talk about hell? If yes, what does it mean? If not, how do we interpret it? I also go into the four classic views of hell, Eternal Conscious Torment, Annihilationism, Purgatorial, and Universal Reconciliation, and talk about where I land these days, why, and what it means for the lived experience of faith. Time Stamps for the episode: 0:40: Introduction 2:02: Matthew 13, weeds and wheat 3:08: Eternal Conscious Torment is the central dogma of fundamentalism 7:40: Judaistic Roots of Mattew 13 12:26: Agricultural Sabotage! 15:44: The Big Baddie in the Bible i

S2 E16: Lance Hough, The Abuse of Commodifying Creativity What happens when a church continually commodifies creativity for a Sunday morning experience? Today, I talked with a friend and former church creative director, Lance Hough. Lance experienced leadership abuse under a few different pastors that led to an existential crisis concerning his faith and how we experience it in a modern western church experience, and the eventual leaving of ministry and healing of trauma it caused. Lance is a creative individual, and many churches can take advantage of creatives and transform art into a religious commodity to be bought and sold and traded on a Sunday. It ends up being an abusive cycle for those who create and have a stunting effect on the maturity of the attendees who become religious consumers. Time Stamps for the episode: 2:08: Introduction 4:26: Faith roots 7:47: Serving in Church to Career in Church 11:32: How the Sausage is Made 15:51: Abusive Leadership 19:56: Crisis of Career 24:57: Questioning

What happens when a pastor’s kid and a worship leader from a Marshill satellite in Seattle becomes an Agnostic? Today on the podcast I talk with long time friend, Caleb Jacobson. Caleb comes from a conservative evangelical background, is a pastor's kid in a family with a heritage of pastoral vocation. Caleb had an existential crisis with his faith, hit a reset button on belief, and reconstructed what he could. He left the pastorate and left the faith and became an Agnostic. I think that it is important to learn of all kinds of Liminal experiences and stories and practice empathy and understanding. I remain curious and ask questions seeking to understand Caleb’s perspectives and learn along the way. I hope you do as well. Time Stamps for this episode: 2:21: Introduction 4:18: Rockstar for Jesus 9:16: Working at Marshill 14:45: Cleaning the slate of all belief 19:36: Journeying toward Atheism, stopping at Agnosticism 24:08: Questioning the Christian Worldview indoctrination 28:05: Being Ok with the discomfort

Today I asked many of you to submit your questions to me for an Ask Me Anything episode, and I was absolutely shocked at the amount of questions I received. I have four pages of your questions, and today I take on just one, but I do a deep dive into the world of mental health. While I am not a mental health expert, I have much work on the intersection of spirituality and mental health. So today we get very practical about how much of the Western Evangelical tradition does not equip us to handle things like trauma and stress, but instead increases it in many cases. So we take on the spiritual practice of meditation today, what happens physiologically and spiritually as we discuss Tim’s question: “How do you view the confluence of spirituality and mental health? In other words, what have you learned about how to navigate difficult seasons from both a spiritual perspective and a mental health perspective?” With a revisit and deep dive into Jason’s question: Is there a difference between Christian meditation and

Today I asked many of you to submit your questions to me for an Ask Me Anything episode, and I was absolutely shocked at the amount of questions I received. I have four pages of your questions, and today I took on four of them. #1 from Joseph: Do I have to love myself in order to have a relationship with God or to love God? #2 from Jason: How does one "grow in their faith?" #3 from Jacki: What is the point of praying on behalf of someone? Does a person/s praying for someone bring them to the attention of God and he gives them grace, protection, or healing? My thought is that God is already taking care of that person and has them on his radar. It just doesn’t seem like we need to remind God to have grace or mercy on an individual. #4 from Jeremie: Do you think the current interpretation of prayer in modern Christianity is lost in translation? Meaning instead of asking an omnipotent spirit in the sky for favors, prayer is intended to be a time of meditation and introspection, maybe similar to meditat

Today I asked many of you to submit your questions to me for an Ask Me Anything episode, and I was absolutely shocked at the amount of questions I received. I have four pages of your questions, and today I took on four of them. #1 from Paul: How do you recognize God during deconstruction when God seems to have completely disappeared? #2 from Scott: When there are tragedies in people's lives, what other things can we genuinely say to them other than “we are praying for you”, or “it’s all in Gods plan” that will be helpful in their situation? #3 from Lance: The problem of evil; "If there is a loving God, then why does He allow bad things to happen?" #4 Tim: When you have gone through your toughest season(s), what was your spiritual "North Star?" Along the same lines... what was your biggest fear during that season? And along the same lines... where were you most misunderstood? Time Stamps for the episode: 0:45: Introduction 2:41: Paul: Finding God’s presence during a Deconstruction of irreco

Today I talked to Kevin Sweeney about his newest book “The Joy of Letting Go…,” eventually we got there, at least. First we talk about a lot of amazing things, his journey as a teenager using psychedelic mushrooms and meeting God, his journey into Bible College, his deconstruction from that understanding and into Black Womanist Liberation Theology. Kevin is a wise man with a unique journey, and that makes it hard to sum up our conversation in a paragraph. Kevin was co-founder and lead pastor of Imagine Church in Honolulu for almost ten years, He was co-founder of the Honolulu based creative collective The (un)Commons, He has also organized and taught multiple Enneagram Experience events in Hawai’i and California, he helped lead “Saying Grace,” a curated gathering of dinners and stories between the church and the LGBTQ community in Honolulu. He is the host of podcast “The Church Needs Therapy” and is a best selling author. His two books are “The Making of a Mystic: My Journey with Mushrooms, My Life as a Pasto

Today I talk to Rohadi Nagassar about his newest book “When We Belong. Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins.” from Herald Press. Rohadi writes and speaks on the topics of decolonizing, liberation, and deconstructing western Christianity. And today we talk about just that, focusing in on talking about Deconstructing white supremacy and whiteness from our faith. He has planted two churches including an inner-city multi-ethnic expression called Cypher Church. He has also written extensively in the areas of missions and church leadership including his book, “Thrive. Ideas to lead the church in post-Christendom”. Rohadi lives in Canada, on Treaty 7 Lands, otherwise known as Calgary, and holds a Business Certificate from Mount Royal College, a BA in Economics from the University of Calgary, and a Master of Divinity from Canadian Theological Seminary. His experience includes non-profit work in both governance and organizational development. He is the past-chair of ACT Alberta, one of the largest anti-human traffic

Dr Dave Beach lost his wife to cancer, and it triggered a deconstruction of his assumptions about the world. He found out that the propositions he claimed were not embedded deep in his own soul. He went on a journey to make sense of this event in light of his faith and eventually wrote a dissertation on the topic of Christianity and suffering with the hopes of meeting people at the intersection of their faith and suffering with hospitality and care. Dave is a retired counselor, college teacher, a current author, speaker, chaplain, and spiritual formation presenter, as well as an executive director of Four Health Family Resource Center Inc, in Saranac MI. You can find Dave’s book here: https://rb.gy/9ri2p and You can Dave’s Dissertation here: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/dmin/281/ Below are the topics and time stamps of the issues we cover which includes, 2:23: Introductions 6:05: Faith Roots 8:11: Bad Songs that shaped his theology and expectation 10:23: “Faith” insulating us from reality 12:34: The F

What if deconstruction is not always losing faith? What if it can be a natural part of the faith journey that modern churches merely don’t have space for? Today, I talked with Therapist, Counselor, Campus minister, and Author, Jacci Turner about her new book: Tumbled People: Deconstructing and Reconstructing your faith. This book promises that you will find hope and encouragement for the spiritual changes you are going through, for they are a normal part of the stages of spiritual growth and development. What stage are you at? Listen in and find out. You can find Jacci’s book: https://rb.gy/haobk and https://rb.gy/osbg5 You can find Jacci at www.jacciturner.com Below are the topics and time stamps of the issues we cover which includes, 2:05: Introductions and Faith Roots 5:40: The first domino that sent her into deconstruction 10:03: Shalom, the Bible’s word for Salvation, Justice, Peace 11:50: Intro to the six stages of faith formation 15:40: Making space for deconstruction in organizations 21:14: Stage 1 Tr

Today, I talk with author, writer, and doodle lover, Zack Hunt about his new book, Godbreathed. He shares his experience of the Nazarene Church, watching TV preacher Jack Van Impe, going to Bible college and getting hit with an academic approach to the Bible which gave him more questions than he was comfortable with. This deconstruction led him to write his first book Unraptured and as he further processed his faith he wrote Godbreathed to help people process what the Bible is and what it is not. He is a wonderful human being and I had a lot of fun chatting with him. You can find Zack’s book: https://rb.gy/5skge and https://rb.gy/n0lck You can find Zack at www.Zackhunt.net and https://substack.com/@zackhunt Below are the topics and time stamps of the issues we cover which includes, 1:47 Introduction 5:08 Puppies and dog lovers 6:20 His anti-fundie billboards around Nashville 8:30 Deconstructing Jack Van Impe, Unraptured 11:49 Voices of Guidance, Rachel Held Evans 15:11 Why he wrote Godbreathed, permiss