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 that doesn’t shy away from them or just respond with unhelpful platitudes. And this week we’re delving into a hug…

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 navigate and engage with them. In this conversation a Boomer (Ken Day), Gen X (Joanna Drayton), Millennial (W…

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 as Baptist churches, focusing on partnership, collective decision-making, and freedom of conscience. They …

The Reverend Dr Karen Pack is a religious historian, ordained Christian minister, Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrant, and current President of Spiritual Care Australia. For over twenty five years she has been engaged in training pastors, chaplains, leaders and teachers in Australia, North America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Her docto…

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+ affirmation within religious institutions. Thomas shares his personal journey from a classical theist position …

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 — it’s going to be great. Follow New City Church or Spiritual Misfits on Instagram for a date announcement soon. This will b…

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 ironically strongly reinforces the point that you should listen to many voices other than mine. I won’t redo my talk in t…

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 pressing for many of us, and so it’s great to be able to share these talks with you if you weren’t able to join us. A reminder that…

Hello good people! In January this year a group of us hosted the first ever Future Church conference. It was a fantastic day — we had people travel from South Australia, Queensland, Victoria…converging in Redfern Town Hall for an exploration of what the church of tomorrow could look like at its most expansive, welcoming and imaginative. We delved i…

Hello good people, In January this year…which feels like a long time ago right now….a group of us hosted the first ever Future Church conference. It was a fantastic day — we had people travel from South Australia, Queensland, Victoria…converging in Redfern Town Hall for an exploration of what the church of tomorrow could look like at its most expan…

Scott M. Coley is a lecturer in philosophy and the author the forthcoming book 'Ministers of Propaganda: Truth, Power and the Ideology of the Religious Right.' In this conversation Scott gives an excellent overview of how propaganda can function in reinforcing systems that benefit those who are currently in positions of power and privilege. He also…

Growing up my understanding of Islam was largely informed by Christian sources telling me what was wrong. I actually remember a book I owned called ‘why are there so many gods?’ In and of itself this is not a terrible question, but the contents of the book included a 1-2 page summary of all the major (and many minor) religions of the world. And at …

Rachel Collis has often felt like the ‘non-Trekkie at the Star-Trek convention’ at church. Still, she has shown up over the years, through faith, doubt and everything in between. We explore her story as well as the powerful music she makes, closing our conversation with one of her songs, ‘the least of these.’ Check out more of Rachel’s work here: h…

We're adding a twist to our beloved Pub Theology episodes: bring a friend - who brings the topic. This time, Will has brought Carlynne Nunn. And Carlynne has brought shame and disappointment. Great topics for a lively ol' pub chat! Pour a drink of your choosing and join us for a rich and wide conversation about the dark and uncomfy things in life a…

Dear friends, If you are listening on the day this comes out, happy resurrection Sunday! And if you are listening at any other time that’s cool because resurrection is not restricted to Easter Sunday. It pops up in all kinds of places, often where it's unexpected. This conversation with Josephine McDonnell Inkpin is a wonderful reminder of that, an…

James Watson is a musician, music educator and a lovely fella who possesses many of the same qualities as a golden retriever. He’s warm, loveable and quick to make friends. He’s also deeply thoughtful and considered, as you’ll hear in this conversation about changing churches, evolving beliefs and the ‘little hurts’ that can build up in communities…

Rob Waters, Gomeroi poet and storyteller and the current Australian Poetry Slam champion joined me for a rich and deep conversation about an all-encompassing spirituality that exists beyond the boxes of a compartmentalised life. Rob shares about the grounding role of Country and Story from a First Nations perspective. We then explore the prophetic …

Hello my friends A few words at the top here before the episode starts. I had to rearrange some interviews I had lined up for this week — so I’m pulling a great conversation out of the archive for you. Given that last weekend was Mardi Gras, I thought I’d replay this wonderful panel conversation we recorded just over a year ago in conjunction with …

Will and Hannah debrief their thoughts after binging 'Prosper' on Stan. We avoid spoilers, and there's still plenty of interesting questions here for people who haven't watched the show. So get yourself a cuppa and join us as we discuss wealth, celebrity pastors, corruption and more. Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions fo…

Emily Hayes is the minister at Alice Springs Uniting Church. Mitch and Will met Emily towards the end of 2023 at a gathering and began a fascinating conversation which they pick up in this episode, exploring things like calling, discernment, and a spirituality of place and deep listening. Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestio…

Sarah McCammon is an award-winning National Political Respodent for NPR and the author of the upcoming book: 'The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living and Leaving the White Evangelical Church'. ‘The Exvangelicals’ is part-memoir and part-journalism, providing a guided tour through the significant religious and political social shifts happening in our curr…

If you listened to our advent episode you got to hear some beautiful Christmas music from Peter Espevoll with some production from Jon Reinhardt (who you may remember if you listened to the ‘experience of David Bentley Hart’ episode). What you may be surprised to hear is that despite putting out a Christmas album recently Peter’s musical background…

Kristen LaValley is a writer whose works offers “insights that intersect doubt and belief, hope and suffering, beauty and heartache, complexity and simplicity.” Questioning and curiosity have always been a natural part of Kristen’s faith from her childhood through to now. Kristen’s upcoming book, ‘Even if He Doesn’t’ opens up some of Kristen’s own …

Nils von Kalm is an award-winning freelance writer, whose work seeks to lift people's dignity. Nils explores the intersections between faith and the complexities of life. In this conversation Nils shares vulnerably about formational moments in his own life, including his experience of the 'Men's Rites of Passage' (founded by Fr. Richard Rohr) and h…

Liz Cooledge Jenkins joins Hannah and Will for a conversation about her new book 'Nice Churchy Patriarchy', unpacking all the subtle but damaging ways patriarchy can operate in 'nice' Christian spaces and inviting us to imagine and participate in more equitable and just ways of creating faith communities. Connect with Liz's work here: https://lizco…

Jonny Cornford from Filthy Hope podcast joins Will Small for a crossover episode. In the first half of the episode we exchange some of our own stories and discuss our motivations for making work like this, then in the second half we get into an honest ‘filthy misfit’ discussion about prayer. Learn more about Filthy Hope here: https://www.unitinghea…

I’m taking a little breather between the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024. Thankfully, there are so many incredible conversations in our back-log. I’m pulling a few favourites out to revisit - like this one! If you’re in Sydney (or willing to travel) join us on the 25th of Jan for Future Church Conference (futurechurchcon.com) with Joel Hollie…

I’m taking a little breather between the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024. Thankfully, there are so many incredible conversations in our back-log. I’m pulling a few favourites out to revisit - like this one! If you’re in Sydney (or willing to travel) join us on the 25th of Jan for Future Church Conference (futurechurchcon.com) with Joel Hollie…

How do we think about Christmas this year? What does it mean to celebrate the ‘Prince of Peace’ when the realities of war and genocide continue without ceasing? What use is the Christmas story when church bells are drowned out by bombs? If our Christian spirituality doesn’t engage deeply with the darkness, what right has it to proclaim the coming o…

We are currently cooking up a NEW Christmas listening experience/liturgy, which will be released next week on Christmas Eve. In the meantime, here's our Advent Liturgy from last year, which we still hold dear to our hearts. Whether you’ve listened to it previously or this is your first time, this is a grounding, stirring, contemplative audio experi…

Mitch has now officially become a pastor in the Uniting Church, and has the sweet wardrobe to prove it. In light of this Will, Hannah and Mitch have a discussion about the relationship between tradition and progress. How do we know what from the past is worth holding onto? How do we know if we’re actually making progress? Plus the trio come up with…

Sara M. Saleh is a human rights lawyer, community organiser, writer and the daughter of migrants from Palestine, Egypt and Lebanon. She has many very impressive achievements to her name including being the first poet to win both the Australian Book Review’s Peter Porter Poetry Prize and the Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize, which she did back to…

Noah (8 years old) makes his podcast debut with a whole lot of wisdom on all the big questions. 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. Sign up to our mailing list: https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/ Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/gr…

Radhika Sukumar-White is an ordained minister in the Uniting Church of Australia and she co-leads Leichhardt Uniting Church, a beautiful and vibrant community of faith, justice and creativity. We talk about Radhika's own story as well as some of the unique characteristics that make LUC the special place that it is and what other communities might b…

Michael Frost (the kiwi version who hosts 'In the Shift' podcast) and Shane-Meyer Holt join me for a rich conversation exploring their own stories and experiences around high control religious settings and their attempts to create much more open, gentle and generous communities these days. We talk about power dynamics, coercive control and the risk…

Mikali Anagnostis and Gabi Cabenhead are behind a new sacred art project called ‘Marion St’, an attempt to create “worship music that fits with the theology and experience of the progressive church.” Gabi and Mikali are also young, open-eyed about the injustices often attached to religious spaces, while simultaneously passionate about their faith a…

Olivia Jackson lives on the side of a windswept hill with two dogs. After spending most of her life in and around evangelical contexts, including nearly 15 years working for mission agencies in the UK and overseas, Olivia has been deconstructing her faith for the past few years. This eventually led her to seeking out the stories and experiences of …

Gregg Morris returns to the pod (go back and listen to more of his brilliance on the episode ‘Melbourne panel: Is Christianity still good news?’) to share reflections on becoming culturally informed and examining what the referendum result reveals about Australia today. Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Se…

What a wild week on planet earth. In the first half of this episode we try to process the emotions and experiences of what we are seeing in the media cycle, without providing commentary on the circumstances themselves (we would each freely acknowledge there are far better voices for you to listen to than ours for these purposes). We explore the pla…

If you've joined us recently as a new listener chances are there are a bunch of great episodes in the back-log you haven't listened to yet! This is one of them. 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’. H…

Grant Wilson is a pastor who became a quadriplegic after a mountain biking accident in 2021. In this conversation he shares with honesty and vulnerability about his injury and recovery journey, his faith, struggles and hopes. This episode explores significant trauma, distress and grief. It also provides an invitation to grow in empathy and understa…

Jarrod McKenna joins me for a rich and beautiful conversation about his own story and the story of healing we are all invited into. We explore how Jarrod McKenna became Jarrod McKenna, why nonviolence isn’t the same thing as non-violence, why Jarrod prefers not to draw a line between the private and the public work, and how to swap out death-dealin…

Jon Reichardt (probably the coolest person at the David Bentley Hart event in Sydney) joins Mitch and Will for a chat about David Bentley Hart's classic theism. We talk about freedom, universalism, panentheism, theosis and a bunch of other nerdy stuff that we're still trying to get our heads around. If you don’t know what some of the words mean, do…

The excellent David Gushee returns to the podcast! If you are a newer listener you may not have heard our previous episode with David around a year ago (we strongly recommend listening to that fantastic conversation exploring what comes after evangelicalism). This time round we’re speaking about David’s new book, ‘Defending democracy from its Chris…

Safina Stewart and Bianca Manning from Common Grace joined me for a conversation about the season of creation and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander spirituality, and about the historical moment we’re in, with the upcoming referendum. It’s such a rich conversation with beautifully overlapping themes of truth, beauty and justice, and I encourage …

Janet Kellogg Ray is a science educator who teaches biology at a large university. She's also a person of faith. In her US context, this puts her at odds with many evangelicals who are suspicious of science and deny evolution, climate change and COVID science. We discuss her upcoming book 'The God of Monkey Science' and why it's so dangerous for Ch…

Kelly Skilton is an artist and pastor who heads up new and digital communities for the Uniting Church in Victoria and Tasmania. A few years ago Kelly got a diagnosis of ADHD. We discuss neurodiversity, spirituality and creating inclusive communities with a focus on digital spaces. Kelly shares about Sonderverse, which you can check out here: https:…

Jesse Mawson is a prison chaplain studying a masters in spiritual direction, and finding a home within contemplative and celtic spirituality. 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. Sign up to our mailing list: https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/ Join our online F…

Sally Douglas comes on the pod to speak about her latest book, ‘Jesus Sophia’ and we explore the divine feminine, the limitations of our metaphors, a trinitarian universe and more. 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. Sign up to our mailing list: https://spi…

Will Nicholas, the Odd Rev, joins me for a conversation about the meaning of life, the universe everything. Connect with Will at: https://oddrev.com/ Read AI reflections on the lectionary at: https://www.sonderverse.org/ 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. …