MindShift Podcast

Latest Episodes:

033: Growing Up Evangelical: You Can't Make This Sh*t Up! (with Jeff Judd) Part 2 Aug 24, 2018

Show notes

This week's episode features the second half of my conversation with a buddy with whom I went to a fundamentalist Christian high school back in the mid-1980s.

Jeff and I share hilarious and poignant stories of what it was like growing up in such a conservative environment. Is it any wonder that kids raised in such a repressive context tend to rebel against any and all authority?

Tune in for Part 2 and laugh through the tears...

032: Growing Up Evangelical: You Can't Make This Sh*t Up! (with Jeff Judd) Part 1 Aug 17, 2018

Show notes

While on a recent trip to Seattle, Washington, I met up with a former classmate of mine, and good friend, Jeff Judd. We went to a conservative evangelical Christian high school back in the 1980s, and together, Jeff and I reminisce about the nutty, zany, and just downright insane aspects of...growing up evangelical.

You literally could not make this shit up. Come along and laugh with us in this first episode!

031: Fear, Guilt, and Shame: The Holy Trinity of Religion (with Andrew Jasko) Aug 10, 2018

Show notes

Timed to coincide with a workshop entitled "Reclaiming Sexuality from Religion" that my guest, Andrew Jasko, is doing in Oakland, CA on the 14th of August, this episode takes a deep dive into religion and its effects.

Religion is ultimately disempowering, claims Andrew, because you are taking the word of another person--an authority figure--not only to diagnose your spiritual problems, but also to provide the solution.

This dynamic leads to all sorts of abuses: spiritually, emotionally, psychologically, and in terms of sexuality. Join us as we discuss all of this and more in this fantastic episode!

030: Crazy Church Stories and Dinner with the Devil Aug 03, 2018

Show notes

Many stories that come out of evangelicalism and fundamentalism are simply...too bizarre to have been made up!

In this episode, I'll delve into some of the craziest church stories you've ever heard, drawn from the great interaction I've been having with Exvangelicals on Twitter.

And what does all of this have to do with having dinner with Satan?? Listen in to find out--!

029: Voices from the Ex-Evangelical World (with Daniel Hobbs) Part 2 Jul 27, 2018

Show notes

In the second half of my conversation with Twitter personality and ex-evangelical Daniel Hobbs, we get into the future of the ex-evangelical, or exvangelical, movement...whatever it actually is.

What's his vision for this movement? Is it merely a reactionary thing that is upset and angry at being hurt by forces within evangelicalism? Where is it going, what's the point, and what does he see for the movement in the future?

Coming from a very well-reasoned and well-thought-through place, Daniel shares his insights, thoughts and comments as to where it's all headed...and what his part is in it all.

028: Voices from the Ex-Evangelical World (with Daniel Hobbs) Part 1 Jul 20, 2018

Show notes

Part 1 of my conversation with ex-evangelical Daniel Hobbs gets into his background in evangelicalism. Growing up evangelical, attending church and Bible college, then later as a youth pastor in a more liberal Presbyterian Church with a supposed value for social justice and community involvement.

So what started his deconstruction process?

Seeing the hypocrisy and inconsistencies within the church, as well as reading certain progressive Christian authors, started him off...and once on that journey, he's never looked back--and he's now a leading voice in the ex-evangelical community.

027: One Man's Journey of Deconstructing Evangelical Christianity (with Brian Staples) Part 2 Jul 13, 2018

Show notes

In Part 2 of my conversation with ex-evangelical Brian Staples, we'll dive further into our views of God, experiences of fundamentalist Christianity, and talk about the impact evangelicalism is having on American politics today.

Brian will also offer up advice for those who have left the church behind, but aren't sure where to go next...or maybe those who are still within the church, but are questioning everything.

Where do you go from there? Listen in to find out!

026: One Man's Journey of Deconstructing Evangelical Christianity (with Brian Staples) Part 1 Jul 06, 2018

Show notes

While on a recent trip to the States from the UK, I met up with an old Bible College buddy, Brian Staples. We had a great conversation about his own journey of deconstruction and discovery of his former Christian faith.

In Part 1, we'll delve into Brian's backstory: raised in a narrowly fundamentalist church by a father who subscribed to white supremacist "Christian" views, how did Brian escape that world, and somehow not hold the exact same point of view?

Find out in Part 1!

025: Escaping Fundamentalism, Embracing Inclusion (with Steve Stone Sr.) Part 2 Jun 29, 2018

Show notes

In Part 2 of my chat with Steve Stone Sr., the "Starbucks Pastor," we get into the motivations behind Steve's often provocative and (to some for sure), irritating Facebook posts.

Steve regularly posts strong statements about Christianity...religion...politics in America...the evangelical support for Donald Trump...and for the inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community within the Christian church.

To say that these posts are controversial, for a retired pastor of more than 20 years, would be an understatement. Just reading the responses Steve gets runs the gamut: from outraged fundamentalists to those who support him wholeheartedly.

Find out why he puts himself on the firing line in Part 2!

024: Escaping Fundamentalism, Embracing Inclusion (with Steve Stone Sr.) Part 1 Jun 22, 2018

Show notes

In Part 1 with Steve Stone Sr., also known as "the Starbucks Pastor," Steve shares his backstory: growing up in a fundamentalist church in the South...yet at the same time experienced life in the real world that did not match the narrow message they preached.

Find out how Steve's journey took him away from fundamentalism, into a life of sex, drugs and rock n' roll, and then later discovering the ethic of love--as he believes the simple message of Jesus to be, as portrayed within the Gospels.

What is this "ethic of love" and how does it relate to his vision of spirituality and loving inclusion of "the other"?

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