The ongoing genocide occurring in Gaza demands our attention and response. In this bonus episode, we share an interview with Dr. Sarah Lalonde, who worked in the European Gaza hospital in South Gaza in 2025. She shares an eye-witness account of the daily atrocities.

Over 50,000 Palestinians have perished, almost half are children. Sifting through all of the disinformation can be difficult, which is why we’ve brought a first hand account to the show to describe what is happening at ground level.

An especially important conversation for Christians to listen to, especially those formed, or who remain, in evangelicalism. Some Christian traditions justify the ongoing violence against Palestinians because they believe destroying Palestinians is connected to ushering in the return of Jesus sooner. This abhorrent worldview clearly sidesteps the command, ironically from Jesus, to stand in solidarity with the oppressed–the least of these.

This conversation may leave you feeling uncomfortable due to the content, which we make the disclaimer: some of the stories you hear, particularly about children caught in the crossfire, is hard to listen to. But stick with it. Your response to this ongoing genocide matters. Your voice counts when it comes to demanding action for a permanent ceasefire, a complete cancellation of arms sales, and the immediate expansion of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Contact your reps today.

You can find one script to use by copying this statement.

Bonus Episode Show Notes

(00:00) Introduction with Rohadi (2:26) Rohadi shares some historical context about the region. (4:20) Interrogating malformed Christian theology that informs geopolitical opinion. (5:40) Historical overview of the region. (12:40) Introducing Dr Lalonde. (13:40) Dr Sarah Lalonde interview start. (14:38) What compelled Dr. Lalonde to go to Gaza. (18:32) Dr. Lalonde speaks to the idea of solidarity. (20:10) Discerning what is true. Speaking directly about what Dr. Lalonde saw at ground level. (23:50) But what about Hamas? (29:25) A direct eye-witness account of the atrocities committed by the IDF. (32:40) What is true about aid getting through into Gaza? (37:25) What can we do? Calls to Action from Dr. Lalonde responds. (41:00) A question for listeners.

Hosted by Rohadi Nagassar. Rohadi‘s books can be found here, including his latest publication, When We Belong. Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins, and his forthcoming title (Spring 2026) called Whole & Human. Forty Meditations for Liberating Body and Spirit. Find his online church community: https://abeautifultable.ca/

Dr Sara Lalonde – Author  Dr Lalonde is an emergency and family physician specializing in community, rural, and remote emergency medicine, with a particular focus on Indigenous communities. She has gained extensive international experience, including work in Guinea with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), as well as in Albania (working with Afghan refugees), Togo, and Chad. Dr. Lalonde is also recognized as the provincial physician expert on human trafficking in Quebec. Most recently, she returned from Gaza, where she served in the emergency department at the European Gaza Hospital. She can be found on IG @dr.sarah.lalonde

Additional resources courtesy of Dr. Lalonde.

https://imeu.org/article/quick-facts-the-palestinian-nakba Here another reference for the 22 percent https://www.cjpme.org/history

Quick Facts: The Palestinian Nakba (Catastrophe) | IMEU Arabs from British Mandate Palestine during Israel’s creation.

Dr Lalonde’s presentation about Christ at the checkpoint : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKWz25R3UAA and the ecumenical letter: https://kairoscanada.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Ecumenical-Statement-in-Solidarity-with-Palestinian-and-Israel-partners.pdf

CMP Anglican Church

Sarah Lalonde – Christ at the Checkpoint July 29 2024

IG accounts you can follow: https://www.instagram.com/jkhoury218/ https://www.instagram.com/danielbannoura/ https://www.instagram.com/munther.isaac/ https://www.instagram.com/tony.deik/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njSqEzOPU5E&t=1550s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyufVi2mdsA

?Yousef Khoury ~ ???? ????? (@jkhoury218) • Instagram…

Daniel Bannoura (@danielbannoura) • Instagram profile

Munther Isaac (@munther.isaac) • Instagram profile Tony E. Deik (@tony.deik) • Instagram profile Christ at The Checkpoint

Episode 12 arrives, the final episode in the serial series ‘Farewell Evangelicalism‘, designed to name problems in evangelical/conservative thought and belief to help folks leave, and when you exit, find the tools for your liberation.

This episode summarizes key problems in conservative Christian spaces. What dominates evangelical thought and belief? Then, I posed a question to each guest that went something like this, “what does better look like?” I included their thoughts in this episode. We are fortunate to hear from the voices of: Scott Coley, Jared Stacy, Marlena Graves, Robert Callahan, Kristian Smith, Cait West, Ed Ng, DL Mayfield, Celeste Irwin, Daniel Wheat, and me, your host, Rohadi Nagassar.

Episode 12 Final: Show Notes

(00:00) Introduction with Rohadi and the final episode of Farewell Evangelicalism (4:00) Scott Coley summarizes core attributes that inform evangelical and fundamentalist beliefs. (11:42) Jared Stacy on apostasy as an act of faith. (21:00) Robert Callahan on Aslan…revealing the true nature of evangelicals. (23:45) Finding your people after your leave with DL Mayfield. (30:50) What does a better way look like? Love thy neighbor with Marlena Graves. (33:30) What does liberation and life giving community look like? (35:00) Cait West (40:48) Celeste Irwin (49:52) Examples of life giving community/churches doing things differently with Kristian A Smith. (1:03:05) Final reflections on steps to exit with Ed Ng. (1:10:22) Outro

Guests Including Your host: Rohadi Nagassar (he/him)

Rohadi‘s books can be found here, including his latest publication, When We Belong. Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins, and his forthcoming title (Spring 2026) called Whole & Human. Forty Meditations for Liberating Body and Spirit. Find his online church community: https://abeautifultable.ca/

Scholar/Author – Scott Coley Scott Coley Scott M. Coley holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Purdue University. His research interests include philosophy of religion, moral epistemology and political philosophy. His book is entitled, Ministers of Propaganda: Truth, Power, and the Ideology of the Religious Right from Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.

Theologian/Author – Jared C Stacy Jared Stacy is a theologian and ethicist and former pastor to evangelical churches. He received a PhD in moral & practical theology from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. His research focuses on the intersection of theology and politics. Specifically on ethics, extremism/conspiracy theory and US evangelicalism. Jared’s work & story has been featured on platforms like TIME, NPR, NBC News, the BBC, and Christianity Today.

Author/Attorney – Robert Callahan Robert Callahan is a writer and accomplished attorney, dedicated to his practice at Callahan & King in the heart of Waco, Texas. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Gonzaga University and a Juris Doctorate at Baylor University School of Law, where he now serves as adjunct professor of Integrating Faith and Legal Practice. His latest book is called, Fire in the Whole: Embracing Our Righteous Anger with white Christianity and Reclaiming Our Wholeness.

Dr. Marlena Graves – Professor/Author Marlena received her PhD in American Culture Studies at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH where she is researching the influence American culture has on Evangelicals’ view of immigration, race, and poverty. Marlena’s book, “The Way Up Is Down” (with IVPress) released in July 2020.

Author/Podcaster – D.L. Mayfield D.L. Mayfield (they/them) is a podcaster and author. After a decade of writing for Christian spaces, they now write primarily about issues of neurodivergence and healing from high-control religion. D.L. and their partner Krispin Mayfield are currently working on a multimedia publishing project entitled STRONGWILLED, which is available on Substack. You can read along here.

Kristian A Smith – Pastor and Podcaster Find Kristian on Instagram. Community Builder; Founder & Pastor @tfc.virtual; Host @holysmokesmovement; Curator of Greatest Commandment Theology. Find him over at kristianasmith.com

Psychologist – Dr. Ed Ng Ed Ng is a Registered Psychologist in private practice in Vancouver and is the founder and director of Eastgate Psychological Services. He is also the founder of the Eastgate Project and hosts its podcast, which focuses on the intersections of psychology, theology, and the experiences of the Asian diaspora.

Celeste Irwin (she/her) – Trans Activist and Writer Celeste is a transgender, lesbian woman. She is a writer and advocate for transgender rights and inclusion in Christian spaces. Having survived an abusive church, she also writes about spiritual abuse. Visit her website/Substack and find her on BlueSky.

Cait West – Author of Rift. A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy Cait West has been published in The Revealer, Religion Dispatches, Fourth Genre, and Hawaii Pacific Review, among others. As an advocate and a survivor of the Christian patriarchy movement, she serves on the editorial board for Tears of Eden, a nonprofit providing resources for survivors of spiritual abuse, and cohosts the podcast Survivors Discuss. Find out more. Substack | Instagram | TikTok

Bumper music by Daniel Wheat; Intro by Jesse Peters

Episode 11 in the serial series ‘Farewell Evangelicalism’, designed to name malformed pillars that shape evangelical/conservative Christian thought and beliefs.

One of the counters to evangelical community is to demonstrate the expansive nature of belonging and liberation. Where evangelicalism demands assimilation to specific morals and theological persuasions, catching a glimpse of what freedom and living out your whole self looks like goes a long way to help make the switch and ultimately leave life-taking church community. In this episode my guests discuss some of the impediments in church community such as fear, and where we can look to replace harmful demands. Freedom to be your whole self, liberation from malformed theological systems, and ultimately community where you can belong and live as your true self without the mask are all out there.

Sometimes it just takes a little nudge in search of belonging.

Episode 11 Show Notes

(00:00) Introduction with Rohadi (5:24) Sarah Westfall intro and her story. (7:15) When belonging starts getting complicated…. (10:44) A conversation on authenticity vs performance. (14:40) Leaving community behind and the loneliness it brings. (18:04) Resisting the attention economy. (25:00) Countering the tool of ‘fear’. (29:00) Interlude (29:44) Poetry Interlude with Sharifa (30:50) Intro Sharifa Steven and chatting about her latest book. (33:25) Holding the tension for liberation; seeking the ancestors. (37:15) The legacy of the ancestors and what it means to our liberation. (40:28) Naming the hope that is to come and what it looks like. (56:18) Outro

Featuring your host: Rohadi Nagassar (he/him)

Rohadi’s books can be found here, including his latest publication, When We Belong. Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins. Visit his online church community: https://abeautifultable.ca/

Sharifa Stevens

Sharifa Stevens is a writer, poet, speaker, and singer. She is the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, born and raised in New York, and currently resides with her family in Dallas, Texas. She graduated from Columbia University in New York with a bachelor’s degree in African American Studies before earning a master’s in theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. Sharifa aspires to use writing as a vehicle that moves readers to intersect with the sacred and the honest. Her latest book is When We Talk to God: A Powerful New Book of Prayers and Poems for Black Women. SharifaStevens.com | IG: SharifaWrites

Sarah E. Westfall

Sarah Westfall’s lastest book is called The Way of Belonging: Reimagining Who We Are and How We Relate (available in both print, digital, and audio formats). Sign up for her Substack newsletter, Human Together, or check out her podcast (which happens to go by the same name). Sarah_Westfall on Instagram.

Bumper music by Daniel Wheat; Intro by Jesse Peters

Episode 10 in the serial series ‘Farewell Evangelicalism’, designed to name malformed pillars that shape evangelical/conservative Christian thought and beliefs. The hope is to catalyze pathways for folks to leave this faith tradition that does more harm than good. Sexuality and gender constructs are a significant pillars in evangelical identity. Any body that pushes against a white cis-gendered, straight able-bodied male gaze is a threat.

In this episode, we discuss trans identity and liberation. Featuring Celeste Irwin and Dr. Che Roberto, two voices speaking on trans identity, offering us a picture of a wide ethic of liberation.

Why should this conversation matter if you’re not trans? Because you’re a curious human! In this moment, 2025, trans folks are the primary target of conservative politicians and religious leaders, who better to learn from on what liberation looks like than the very folks furthest from the center? So through the example of Jesus where the last shall be first.

Episode 10 Show Notes

(00:00) Introduction with Rohadi (05:34) Celeste Irwin and her story. (12:00) Finding liberation escaping religious community. (16:00) Finding her whole self. (18:40) Naming malformed policies in conservative ideology/Christian right. (34:24) Pivot to Dr. Roberto (35:12) Intro Dr. Roberto Espinoza and his story. (39:20) Finding home on the land. (42:00) Finding healing in the body. (47:20) A trans take on the resurrection and signals for future hope. (57:25) The threat to our democracy and the power of stories. (1:01:00) Where is the light?

Featuring your host: Rohadi Nagassar (he/him)

Rohadi’s books can be found here, including his latest publication, When We Belong. Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins. Visit his online church community: https://abeautifultable.ca/

Celeste Irwin (she/her) – Trans Activist and Writer

Celeste is a transgender, lesbian woman. She is a writer and advocate for transgender rights and inclusion in Christian spaces. Having survived an abusive church, she also writes about spiritual abuse. Visit her website/Substack and find her on BlueSky.

Dr. Roberto Che Espinoza (he/him) – Public Theologian and Author

Dr. Roberto Che Espinoza is a Transgender & Latinx public scholar, using imaginative narrative to steward more ethical futures. Find more about his resources and exoertise on his website: https://robertoche.com/. Find his Substack and Instagram.

Bumper music by Daniel Wheat; Intro by Jesse Peters

Episode 9 in the serial season called ‘Farewell Evangelicalism’ is now live!

In this episode, we discuss the embodied work necessary after losing core elements in our life like faith. We name pathways to help process leaving church, including the loss of community, and the mountain of grief that follows.

Episode 9 Show Notes

(00:00) Introduction with Rohadi on grief and loss. (04:24) Grief Coach – Mandy Capehart (32:00) Intro Meghan Crozier (46:00) Losing community after leaving church community. (56:20) Components that help grieve. (59:00) Cautions for folks entering the deconstruction space.

Featuring your host, Rohadi (from Rohadi.com)

Rohadi’s books can be found here, including his latest publication, When We Belong. Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins. Visit his online church community: https://abeautifultable.ca/

Mandy Capehart – Grief Coach and Podcaster Mandy Capehart (she/her/hers) is the founder of the Restorative Grief model. Find more about Mandy and her coaching program at https://www.mandycapehart.com/. Find her latest podcast episodes and her publication on grief.

Meghan Crozier – Community Catalyst and Podcaster Visit Meghan over at The Pursuing Life! Meghan lives in the Pacific Northwest. Meghan curates space to help folks wrestle with questions on deconstruction and what spiritual growth looks like. She writes about topics like faith deconstruction, spirituality, equity, justice, race, mental health, and religion. She also explore the same themes and topics on the Thereafter Podcast with co-host, Cortland Coffey.

Bumper music by Daniel Wheat; Intro by Jesse Peters Find Dr. Hillary McBride’s Holy Hurt podcast. Data on homicides and evangelicalism here.

The term: Deconstruction defined in Rohadi’s book, When We Belong, is: the work to reclaim what gives life; discard what does not; and create beautiful stories. Welcome to Episode 8 where we venture through the land of religious deconstruction, only this time through the Black and brown church experiences.

In this episode we hear from Janice Lagata who shares her story about the eventual implosion of Hillsong New York. Followed by Greg, who provides some insight on the work of deconstruction and decolonization out of a Black church experience. Lastly, Kristian A Smith and Rohadi talk about what faith can look like beyond the gaze of white hegemony. All this and more in Episode 8.

Episode 8 Show Notes

(00:00-04:00) Introduction with Rohadi (04:24) Janice Lagata (09:00) Broaching the Death of Hillsong New York (26:00) Interrogating the deconstruction space on socials. (29:40) Intro to Greg (31:00) Greg intro (34:00) Black Deconstruction (39:20) Christian supremacy (44:00) Intro Kristian A Smith (45:00) A different take on deconstruction. (53:20) The weird in Black and brown church traditions. (57:00) Reclamation project. Where to find life. (1:02:00) on decolonizing

Featuring your host, Rohadi (from Rohadi.com)

Rohadi’s books can be found here, including his latest publication, When We Belong. Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins. Visit his online church community: https://abeautifultable.ca/

Janice Lagata – Musician and Podcaster Find more from Janice on her website. Stream her latest album “Toxic Empathy” on Spotify or AppleMusic.

Greg – Muscian and Teacher Educator. Baritenor. Musical Theatre Enthusiast. Sinfonian. B.M.Ed, M.S., Ed.S.

Kristian A Smith – Pastor and Podcaster Find him on Instagram. Community Builder; Founder & Pastor @tfc.virtual; Host @holysmokesmovement; Curator of Greatest Commandment Theology. Find him over at kristianasmith.com

Bumper music by Janice Lagata; Intro by Jesse Peters

Episode 7 on white supremacy, a crucial conversation for churchgoers, particularly white churchgoers, to generate awareness to the ways white supremacist thinking invades thought and beliefs. Indeed, white supremacist theology is in the DNA, a feature not an add-on, of nearly every denomination across the Americas. We’ll try to pinpoint some of the most egregious forms in this episode, with a hope that listeners will become alert to the ways you own formation/beliefs are filtered through racist understandings of the world around us.

We discuss biblical examples used to support white superiority and how common they are; learn how ableism is a precursor to white supremacy; and end with naming the weird in white evangelicalism, with a side of hopeful alternatives to find your way out.

Show Notes:

(00:00) – Welcome (01:00) – Rohadi introduces to white supremacy and why it matters to interrogate our formation, from 2020, CRT, to DEI. (10:40) – Scott Coley describes one mechanism of malformed hermeneutics; how to twist the Bible to fit white supremacist narratives. (19:00) – Intro to Lamar Hardwick and how ableism fuels racist views. (24:00) – Intro to Robert G Callahan (25:40) – Robert Callahan speaks to his experience in Texas. (27:45) – Robert describes all of the ‘weird’ in white evangelical churches. (54:00) – Unpacking righteous anger. (1:00:00) – Outro

Featuring your host, Rohadi (from Rohadi.com)

Rohadi’s books can be found here, including his latest publication, When We Belong. Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins.

Guests in Episode 7

Scholar/Author – Scott Coley Scott Coley Scott M. Coley holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Purdue University, a Master’s degree in systematic theology from the University of Notre Dame, and a B.A. in philosophy and English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research interests include philosophy of religion, moral epistemology and political philosophy. His book is entitled, Ministers of Propaganda: Truth, Power, and the Ideology of the Religious Right from Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.

Author/Pastor – Lamar Hardwick Dr. Hardwick is a father, husband, pastor, and author. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Emory University as well as a Doctor of Ministry degree from Liberty University School of Divinity. He is a graduate of the Yale School of Divinity Clergy Scholar Program and a 2017 graduate of Georgia Forward’s Young Gamechangers Program, which included 50 of the state of Georgia’s top thinkers, innovators, and leaders under the age of 40. He is currently a PhD at Union Institute and University in Cincinatti, Ohio. Find him on Instagram

Author/Attorney – Robert Callahan Robert Callahan is a prolific writer and accomplished attorney, dedicated to his practice at Callahan & King in the heart of Waco, Texas. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Gonzaga University and a Juris Doctorate at Baylor University School of Law, where he now serves as adjunct professor of Integrating Faith and Legal Practice. His latest book is called, Fire in the Whole: Embracing Our Righteous Anger with white Christianity and Reclaiming Our Wholeness.

Bumper music by Rubix; Intro by Jesse Peters

Evangelicals claim the Bible has supreme authority in designing beliefs. It’s the “Bible alone”, used with complete disregard for malformed interpretations. You may be wondering why chat about the Bible mid-way through this series and not at the very start. After all, isn’t the Bible central to evangelicalism? It is, but not in the manner you might think. The Bible has been distorted to become a tool for religious propaganda that advances the interests of white evangelicalism. In other words, the Bible is used to define conservative and white supremacist worldviews, and believers stuck in the pew of these churches must adopt specific interpretations or risk being excommunicated (if evangelicals had such a thing.) Malformed beliefs like biblical inerrancy and literalism are not, ironically, biblical, yet are core attributes used to keep the faithful in line.

Let’s talk about it, Episode 6 is here.

Show Chapters

(00:00-01:00) Introduction (02:30) Rohadi on why we’re interrogating the validity of biblical tradition in evangelicalism. (02:33-14:00) Quiet time. Just kidding. Unpacking the ways evangelicals twist the Bible to fit their own devices. (14:00-20:05) Unpacking one of the malformed pillars is used to justify: Patriarchy w/ Liz Jenkins. (20:05-22:00) Intro to Ryan Canty – Author of Deweaponize. (22:00-24:20) Naming malformed pillars including inerrancy and the Chicago Statement (24:20-33:00) Unpacking the Chicago Statement with Liz Grant (33:40) Ways evangelicals distort scripture using literalism wrong. (40:11) Rohadi and authoritarianism and the Bible. (43:40) Ryan on, What are the possibilities of change? (50:15) Possibilities of how we can reclaim biblical interpretation with Liz Grant. (59:50) Liz Jenkins with the final word on interpretation. (1:02:02) Outro

Featuring your host, Rohadi (from Rohadi.com).

Rohadi’s books can be found here, including his latest publication, When We Belong. Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins.

Special Guests in Episode 6:

Ryan Canty – Author of Deweaponize. Re-examining how we read the Bible in pursuit of a more Christlike interpretation  Former Calvinist theology nerd on a journey to de-weaponize the Bible and love others like Jesus. Find him on Substack | Instagram

Liz Charlotte Grant – Author of KNOCK AT THE SKY: Seeking God in Genesis After Losing Faith in the Bible. Liz is an award-winning nonfiction writer based in Colorado, USA. She is also an online columnist for The Christian Century. Her essays and op-eds have also been published in outlets such as the Huffington Post, Religion News Service, the Revealer, Hippocampus Magazine, Brevity, Sojourners, Christianity Today, US Catholic, National Catholic Reporter, and elsewhere. Find Liz on Instagram and Threads

Liz Jenkins – Author of Nice Churchy Patriarchy. If you’d like to read more, check out her now-occasional blog, her Substack, and/or her book Nice Churchy Patriarchy. Find Liz via Instagram: @lizcoolj and @postevangelicalprayers.

Bumper music by Daniel Wheat.

Following Episode 4 on Propaganda, we take aim at a crucial evangelical pillar: patriarchy. Patriarchy designed specifically around religious convictions to ultimately control the bodies of women and children. It’s also a tool to support authoritarian leadership explaining the rationale behind why evangelicals overwhelmingly support authoritarian governments: it’s what they practice in their own churches.

Episode 5 welcomes three exciting guests. Cait West, author of Rift, opens our conversation by sharing her story growing up in the Christian Patriarchy Movement. CPM has developed an enterprise that pulls in billions of dollars in revenue from their materials overtly supporting the values of Christian patriarchy. Cait shares her journey escaping what she would ultimately describe as a cult, but in reality looks like a lot of conservative churches out there. How to attune to your bodies and trust your intuition are two important attributes for folks still stuck in the clutches of malformed churches.

Liz Cooledge Jenkins is my second guest. She is the author of Nice Churchy Patriarchy. We discuss how evangelical churches hide their patriarchy; how they might look ‘cool’ on the outside, but in fact operate with the same tools of patriarchy behind the veil.

Finally, DL Mayfield returns from Episode 4 to conclude a conversation about patriarchy and the intersections of white supremacy with eugenics.

“There is no finish line to healing even though we want to be in a place where you’re perfectly happy. And there is a lot of resources now to minimize symptoms and heal from it. What worked for me was trauma therapy, which is different than talk therapy….” Cait West

“[In patriarchy] there’s encouragement to not trust your gut, and encouragement not to talk to other women about unequal power structures.” Liz Jenkins

“America has this horrific history of white supremacist patriarchal aims including in the realm of eugenics.” D.L. Mayfield

Episode 5 – Chapters

(00:00) – Introduction (04:40) – Introducing Cait West (09:20) – The size of Christian Patriarchy Movement including Goddard, IBL, Vision Form…. (12:20) – How to notice all that ain’t right in churches that love patriarchy. (18:00) – Pathways of healing from religious patriarchy. (30:00) – Introducing Liz Jenkins (32:00) – Chatting about patriarchy that’s not so ‘in your face’. (36:30) – Culture problems in parachurch and socialization. (40:20) – Returning to a conversation with DL Mayfield. (42:00) – DL on eugenics. (46:00) – DL Mayfield teasing out aspects of liberation from malformed intersections of patriarchy. (54:30) – Outro

Featuring your host, Rohadi (from Rohadi.com).

Rohadi’s books can be found here, including his latest publication, When We Belong. Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins.

Special guests in Episode 5:

Cait West – Author of Rift. A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy Cait West lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her work has been published in The Revealer, Religion Dispatches, Fourth Genre, and Hawaii Pacific Review, among others. As an advocate and a survivor of the Christian patriarchy movement, she serves on the editorial board for Tears of Eden, a nonprofit providing resources for survivors of spiritual abuse, and cohosts the podcast Survivors Discuss. Find out more. Substack | Instagram | TikTok

Liz Jenkins – Author of Nice Churchy Patriarchy. If you’d like to read more, check out her now-occasional blog, her Substack, and/or her book Nice Churchy Patriarchy. Find Liz via Instagram: @lizcoolj and @postevangelicalprayers.

Author/Podcaster – D.L. Mayfield D.L. Mayfield (they/them) is a podcaster and author. After a decade of writing for Christian spaces, they now write primarily about issues of neurodivergence and healing from high-control religion. D.L. and their partner Krispin Mayfield are currently working on a multimedia publishing project entitled STRONGWILLED, which is available on Substack. You can read along here.

Bumper music by Daniel Wheat.

In the first half, I invite Scott Coley to help unpack the how and why conservatives tend to accept damaging beliefs and theologies that harm vulnerable people and themselves. Connecting the dots between conservative political aspirations that seek power to preserve white supremacy and patriarchy, and the supprting belief systems in evangelicalism, opens a pathway for folks still in, leaving, or who have already left, to begin making sense of all the weird in the pursuit of freedom and liberation.

“Evangelicals favor morally problematic social arrangements and political policies because they just aren’t thinking about the moral salience of institutions. They tend to focus on individual piety. They tend to not think about institutional injustice. I’ve come to recognize that is an incomplete picture. It’s true, bad belief leads to bad practices, but it’s also true that bad practices lead to bad beliefs. This ‘feedback loop’ is called ideology.” Scott Coley

Later, DL Mayfield joins to discuss one of the most effective propaganda arms in evangelicalism: Focus on the Family. It, along with many others, are key reasons why evangelicals are harbingers of harm to the nation (and the world).

“If you grew up with Dr. Dobson or Focus on the Family parenting methods, then you are a child of a positive eugenics movement. The continuation of the white supremacist patriarchy was the entire goal and they used religion to spread their ideology.” D.L. Mayfield

Episode 4 – Show Notes

(00:00) – Introduction (03:00) – Scott Coley on The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (05:40) –  Why do conservative evangelicals appear to inhabit an alternate reality? (08:40) – Ideology and legitimizing narratives that provide moral justification. (11:47) – Propaganda as mechanism to bring folks into sub-culutre.. (14:30) – On fundamentalism and creation science example. (15:30) – Motivated reasoning and hermeneutics of legitimizing narratives. (21:30) – The pull of ideology, how do you know you’re on the ‘right’ side. (26:30) – Introducing DL Mayfield and Focus on the Family. (29:26) – The Strongwilled Child phenomenom. (31:00) – Focus on the Family is propaganada. (36:00) – Are folks leaving the church over the abuse they experienced as children? (40:38) – James ‘Fucking’ Dobson and white patriarchy. (47:30) – Speaking about estrangement.

Featuring your host, Rohadi (from Rohadi.com).

Rohadi’s books can be found here, including his most recent publication, When We Belong. Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins.

Special guests in Episode 4:

Scholar/Author – Scott Coley Scott Coley Scott M. Coley holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Purdue University, a Master’s degree in systematic theology from the University of Notre Dame, and a B.A. in philosophy and English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research interests include philosophy of religion, moral epistemology and political philosophy. His book is entitled, Ministers of Propaganda: Truth, Power, and the Ideology of the Religious Right from Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.

Author/Podcaster – D.L. Mayfield D.L. Mayfield (they/them) is a podcaster and author. After a decade of writing for Christian spaces, they now write primarily about issues of neurodivergence and healing from high-control religion. D.L. and their partner Krispin Mayfield are currently working on a multimedia publishing project entitled STRONGWILLED, which is available on Substack. You can read along here.

Bumper music by Daniel Wheat.

“…when it’s ancient we call it a legend, when it’s modern we call it a conspiracy theory. – Jared Stacy”

Episode 3 – Show Notes

(00:00) – Introduction (05:30) – Jared Stacey on a history of conspiracy theory. (12:00) – Conspiracy theory in the 20th century. (19:00) – Naming some of the mechanism propogating conpsiracy in the 20th century. (25:17) – The use of media in consipracy. (29:00) – Introducing Dr. Ed Ng (30:00) – Dr. Ng on Terror Management Theory (37:30) – Describing contirbuting social conditions in the Religious Right. (44:00) – Rugged individualism and Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. (52:00) – Outro

Featuring your host, Rohadi (from Rohadi.com). Special guests in Episode 3:

Theologian/Author – Jared C Stacy Jared Stacy is a theologian and ethicist and former pastor to evangelical churches. He received a PhD in moral & practical theology from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. His research focuses on the intersection of theology and politics. Specifically on ethics, extremism/conspiracy theory and US evangelicalism. Jared’s work & story has been featured on platforms like TIME, NPR, NBC News, the BBC, and Christianity Today.

Psychologist – Dr. Ed Ng Ed Ng is a Registered Psychologist in private practice in Vancouver and is the founder and director of Eastgate Psychological Services. Ed has taught at Trinity Western University and Regent College in the areas of diversity and counselling. He is also the founder of the Eastgate Project and hosts its podcast, which focuses on the intersections of psychology, theology, and the experiences of the Asian diaspora.

Intro Music by Jesse Peters. Bumper music by Daniel Wheat.

We begin to peel back the layers of evangelicalism to make sense of how it’s become the broken and malformed expression today. When did the wheels fall off? When did evangelicals turn into ‘Christian nationalists’? It hasn’t always been this way. To get to the ‘how’ evangelicals became associated with various monkers like white nationalism, we must develop cultural context, garnering information to begin naming specific components in the movement that produce harm to the neighborhood, city, and nation, and of course to those stuck within the confines of the four church walls.

The hope for this episode is to help give name to cultural moments when the evil and broken pieces in evangelicalism emerged so more folks can make connections to their own church or belief systems. We go back into time connect the dots between political movements, the use of fear to sway evangelicals, and ways evangelicals have casually sided with white supremacy to inform their beliefs.

Episode 2 – Show Notes

(00:00) – Introduction (00:28) – Setting the Scenes (01:35) – When evangelicals lost the plot. (05:30) – Introducing Scott Okamoto including his time teaching at Aszuza Pacific. (09:00) – When evangelicals swung hard right. (10:20) – How white was APU? Explaining culture and culture shifts. (14:00) – From Bush to Obama and evangelical militancy. (19:45) – Unpacking MAGA. (26:00) – Outro and Intro to Dr. Marlena Graves (20:45) – Unpacking the connections between evangelicals, Republicanism, and white supremacy. (26:15) – History: Moments in the 20th century when evangelicals married Republicans. (39:00) – Connecting the Religious Right movement. (42:50) – Talking about the strategy behind preserving white supremacy. (54:00) – Outro and wrap.

Featuring your host Rohadi Nagassar (rohadi.com) and:

Scott Okamoto – Writer/Podcaster R Scott Okamoto is a writer and musician from Los Angeles. He is passionate about AAPI identity and politics, fly fishing, sex and sexuality, cooking, and religious deconstruction. Scot is the creator and host of the Chapel Probation Podcast and the author of Asian American Apostate: Losing Religion and Finding Myself at an Evangelical University, published by Lake Drive Books.

Dr. Marlena Graves – Professor/Author Marlena received her M.Div. from Northeastern Seminary in Rochester, New York and his pursuing her PhD in American Culture Studies at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH where she is researching the influence American culture has on Evangelicals’ view of immigration, race, and poverty. Marlena’s book, “The Way Up Is Down” (with IVPress) released in July 2020.

Intro Music by Jesse Peters. Bumper music by Daniel Wheat.

Welcome to the Faith in a Fresh Vibe podcast! There’s space for you at the table. Receive this invitation to listen and learn, bemoan and curse, celebrate and liberate, around ideas towards deconstructing and decolonizing the Christian faith. This is Episode 1 in a serial series called: Farewell Evangelicalism. In this series we will interrogate the main pillars of formation in the evangelical tradition to answer the question: is evangelicalism still a legitimate expression of the Christian faith? And if not, what would it take to see more people leave the tradition? We give the insight and the tools to interrogate the movement and identify its malformed formation.

It’s the first quarter of 2025, which is important to name, because depending on which side of the political spectrum you’re on, and which country you’re from, you’re either in shock of the political upheaval dumped on your country, or you everything is trending your way. Amidst waves of confusion is a simple truth: the current state wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for the unwavering support from white evangelicals. We ask the question: would society be better off if more people left evangelicalism? If you’re on the fence about that, this series will help, as we offer tools and pathways for more folks to say, Farewell Evangelicalism!

Episode 1 – Show Notes

(00:00) – Introduction (01:00) – Setting the Table (01:50) – Saying Farewell to Evangelicalism (02:40) – Who is this podcast for? (04:45) – Introducing your host, Rohadi! (07:20) – Why did we choose evangelicalism/conservative Christianity? (12:40) – Right Rev. Dr. Mariann Budde (15:00) – Evangelical violence (19:00) – Introducing Marla Taviano (20:45) – Marla’s introduction and story (26:15) – What catalyzed Marla’s deconstruction and exit from evangelicalism? (31:50) – Marla wrap, Mason’s introduction (33:00) – Mason Mennenga’s intro and growing up in evangelicalism. (36:47) – Mason’s deconstruction journey from purity culture and weirdness. (40:30) – Mason talks about the toxicity spewed by theobros. (42:25) – Talking about Exvangelicals and whiteness in deconstruction. (46:00) – Wrapping up with a glimpse of hope. (52:14) – Outro and wrap.

Featuring your host, Rohadi (from Rohadi.com). Special guests in Episode 1:

Writer/Poet – Marla Taviano Marla Taviano (she/her/) is into: books, love, justice, globes, anti-racism, blue, gray, rainbows, poems (and a hundred other things). Reads and writes for a living (and a life). Wears her heart on her t-shirts. On a mission/quest/journey to live wholefarted (not a typo). (Big fan of parentheses—and em dashes.) She is mom to some freaking awesome kids and two cats and lives in South Carolina. Find more about Marla, including her trilogy of poetry on deconstruction, on her website.

Social Media Influencer – Mason Mennenga Mason Mennenga (he/him/his) is an aspiring theologian, podcaster, YouTuber, and the Internet’s youth pastor. He received his Master of Divinity from Christian Theological Seminary in 2020 and a Master of Arts in Theology from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities in 2022. Find all of his links including his podcasts on his website.

Intro Music by Jesse Peters. Bumper music by Daniel Wheat.

But don’t take my word for it.

Season 11 of the Faith in a Fresh Vibe podcast is here. The most ambitious project to date: a serial podcast story where we bring all of the receipts behind the outlandish claims, with nearly 20 guests including experts in their field, to say: FAREWELL EVANGELICALISM.

Guests include: DL Mayfield, Robert J Callahan, Kristian A. Smith, Mason Mennenga, Marlena Graves, Jared Stacey, Scott Okomoto, Janice Lagata, and many more.

We ask tough questions including: is the evangelical/conservative Christian faith still legit? Do they faithfully follow the teachings of Jesus? Do they even care about Jesus? Cause if we take a look at those receipts along this podcast journey, we will discover that the current form of evangelicalism is not only making our neighborhoods, cities, and countries worse off, but if enough adherents leave, a lot of the systemic problems in our society ranging from rugged individualism, unfettered capitalism, racism, misogyny, queer and trans-phobia, violence, murders, the overall quality of life for everyone…would improve! Could it be? That a key component to what ails us in this moment is more folks sayin, FAREWELL EVANGELICALISM.

Find out more, Season 11, on the Faith in a Fresh Vibe podcast. Coming soon….

This conversation revolves around themes explored in Jenai’s book “Othered,” focusing on her experiences navigating toxic church environments and the subsequent journey toward healing and liberation. After introductions, Jenai and Rohadi dissect the dynamics of gaslighting and DARVO within toxic church environments, shedding light on the emotional turmoil and internal fractures caused by oppressive church systems. They delve into Jenai’s personal narrative of betrayal and resilience, emphasizing the profound cost of leaving toxic communities while highlighting the transformative power of reclaiming agency and identity. Throughout the conversation, they underscore the importance of boundaries and cultivating genuine belonging outside of oppressive structures, ultimately revealing the potential for liberation and renewal found in embracing one’s “otherness.”

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Episode Summary

• Importance of Truth and Storytelling: We engage the importance and significance of sharing personal stories, especially among marginalized communities. This is seen as essential for fostering understanding and challenging societal norms.
• Diverse Perspectives on Belonging: Belonging is complex and how it differs for individuals based on factors like race, ethnicity, and personal experiences . We highlight the need for diverse narratives that reject a single, homogenized perspective.
• Generational Shifts and Hope: Our conversations touches upon generational shifts and attitudes towards social issues that express hope for progress. Despite recognizing ongoing challenges, there’s optimism about the potential for positive change, particularly among younger generations.
• Emphasis on Connection and Community: How do we get there? Connection, empathy, and community-building. We highlight the role of shared experiences and supportive networks in fostering a sense of belonging and personal growth.

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If you’re curious about new ways of approaching faith and scripture, this episode is a good place to start.

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Episode Summary:

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• The Why behind, Tell me the dream again, and how writing projects span decades to produce.
• On dissociation and assimilation for BIPOC/Asian folks. We discuss when a racialized person thinks they fit, and when the veil comes down.
• What to do with feelings associated with assimilation. A talk about embodied characteristics of fitting in.
• Food as a way to reconnect to your roots and ancestors.
• Dismantling individualization of finding one’s self. (Yes, I bring up Brene Brown again.)
• Naming the grief with finding your community, but realizing what you’ve been missing for so long. Ways to bridge the gap when it comes to reclaiming yourself, your people and your culture.
• Why finding belong is sacred work.

Find Tasha’s book available wherever books are sold. Visit Tasha’s website, her Substack, and connect with her on Instagram and Facebook.

A little about “Tell me the dream again.”

Tasha Jun has always been caught between worlds: American and Korean, faith and doubt, family devotion and fierce independence. As a Korean American, she wandered between seemingly opposing worlds, struggling to find a voice to speak and a firm place for her feet to land.

The world taught Tasha that her Korean normal was a barrier to belonging—that assimilation was the only way she would ever be truly accepted. But if that were true, did that mean God had made a mistake in knitting her together?

Tell Me the Dream Again is a memoir-in-essays exploring

• what it means to be biracial in America today;
• the joy and healing that comes with embracing every part of who we are, and;
• how our identity in Christ is tightly woven with the unique colors, scents, and culture he’s given us.

We are not outsiders to God. When we let all the details of ourselves unfold—when we embrace who we were divinely knit together to be—this is when we’ll fully experience his perfect love.

Advent is a rhythm of waiting. Waiting for deliverance from a darkness. That can mean different things for each of us meandering through various seasons and life. In the Christian tradition this observance awaits liberation ushered in by a Saviour. This idea, or notion in history, only means something if your faith tradition or worldview ties Jesus’ victory over death as the pronounced symbol that ultimately all “that ain’t right”, in our lives and in the world, will and can be reversed for goodness. We hold this tension, a now but not yet, of living out the fulness of our humanity versus struggling with the defeats. A continuous cycle that clings to the hope spoken through Advent that in the end, the former will win out now and forever.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately following the violence in Gaza and Israel. What unique thought can I possibly add to the corpus of material and calls to action already online? Nothing really. I also think about how we ought to respond. Thought I suppose this makes an assumption–response. Christians should have a clear direction here. When Jesus shares his core teachings (Matt. 5 and Luke 6) peace making is explicit,

“Happy are people who make peace, because they will be called God’s children.” (Matt. 5:9)

If this were a sermon I might opt for a phrase that, “Jesus is calling us to act as peace MAKERS not peace TAKERS!” It sounds better in my head….

Beauty and joy are connected. One follows the other. How so?

Listen for more.

Welcome to the first Sunday of Advent. Grab a blanket and cup of something warm and hot and settle in…. This first Sunday of Advent will look at hope and annunciation.

*Advent as a liturgical tradition does not necessarily follow the typical Advent wreath lighting of candles (symbols of hope, joy, peace, love). They are (I believe) distinct practices (same same but different). I’m going to swing between the two by using the themes but also influence from the lectionary ‘A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church’ by Dr Wilda Gafney. I invite you to use these reflections over the coming weeks in whichever way that fit your own traditions be it lighting an advent candle or something else.*

Here’s my endorsement:

“Downey develops an expansive and relational hermeneutic adept for a more liberative and inclusive posture in our modern world. This wider theological imagination is indeed “dangerous”, as Downey concludes, because it subverts hegemonic power systems that describe a far too narrow view of who God is.”

A little more about Go Wide:

What happens when we sidestep the notions of hierarchy and verticality in how we think about God, the world, and all things theological? How does emphasizing the expansiveness and breadth of God affect how we read the Bible and engage with topics such as salvation and the church? Using the lens of latitude, Martha (Matte) Elias Downey reframes familiar biblical stories and reimagines theological concepts, purposefully circumventing the oppressive, top-down dynamics of hierarchy. This book encompasses a broad range of theology by combining biblical interpretation, systematic theology, practical theology, and a selection of personal anecdotes. Here is an accessible and inclusive foray into theology for anyone interested in a fresh take on an ancient course of study.

I have a PhD in dramatic theology and spend my time pondering the meanings of stories and texts, seeking wisdom in unexpected places, learning to ask better questions, labouring over my words, taking photographs of every little thing, feeling all the feelings, and drinking copious amounts of chai. This is where I share what I’m learning, thinking about, and seeing in the world. Nothing is final. All is in process.

Find her at https://mattedowney.wordpress.com/ and on Instagram.

Find Rohadi at www.rohadi.com and on Instagram. Please rate the podcast wherever you’re listening!

Part 2 of 2 featuring JR Woodward. We discuss his latest book, an iteration of his recent dissertation, on the Powers and church leadership. The Scandal of Leadership is now available wherever books are sold. Those in church leadership of any kind will find this conversation a crucial component to diagnosing systemic problems in church leadership formation. Both episodes derive from a deeply theological understanding of leadership, and digs into spiritual formation as well. CW: we do discuss Power through a spiritual lens that includes topics of spiritual warfare ranging from Christ, Satan, and so forth.

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Episode Summary

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This is a repeat of last week’s newsletter (sign up on the homepage). A important article to read is penned by: Rabbi Dayna Rattenburg.

Episode Summary

• Deconstructing Western missions and power systems. 0:00
• Identity, culture, and ministry. From Ethiopia to America. 4:15
• Christianity in Ethiopia and the role of missions. 9:51
• Missionary work and cultural context in Ethiopia. 15:15
• The introduction of evangelicalism in Ethiopia. 25:08
• Decoloniality and contextualization in Ethiopian evangelicalism. 29:44
• How contextual Ethiopian evangelicalism can inform mission in the West. 34:00
• Finding our humanity and through mutuality in our faith. 44:00

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A season on authors and their new books. In this episode I feature Caroline Sumlin. Here’s a brief synopsis of her debut.

BREAK UP WITH THE STANDARD Society has told you that you’re not good enough unless you live up to the standard. Society lied to you. Our worth lies in our ability to measure up to the narrow, socially constructed standards rooted in colonization, racism, and white supremacy.

From believing that the pinnacle of beauty lies in blonde hair and blue eyes, to believing we must maintain 24/7 productivity, we receive the message from every corner of society that, in one way or another, we aren’t enough.

As a result…we chase. We chase perfectionism. We chase productivity. We ignore trauma. We change ourselves to mold to the status quo. We erase our cultural identities to subscribe to Western culture. Our mental health suffers in silence. Our feelings of unworthiness deepen. All because we live in a society that determined that there was one ideal version of a human and everyone else was inferior.

Your chase ends today.

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Hello friends, welcome to the Faith in a Fresh Vibe Podcast, where we journey through decolonizing and deconstructing the Christian faith. Season 9 just finished and this episode is the start of Season 10! It’s also a “bridge” episode. Since last season was one on embodiment and mental health, and this season is for authors and their new books, I thought an episode that covers both would be fitting. Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes is someone I’ve been looking to invite on the podcast for sometime. You might remember her words if you’ve read my book, When We Belong. I reference, I Bring the Voices of My People, in my chapter on white supremacy. But this episode we talk more than reconciliation. We discuss Dr. Chanequa’s latest book, Scared Self-Care. We go deeper to address the systemic issues that impact self-care and how wholeness and liberation are tied to community and reconciliation. Dr. Chaenqua’s book is built to provide daily practices and strategies to survive what is often an unjust and hyper-individualized world. Listen in to this insightful and in-depth conversation to hear the expertise of a public theologian and clinical psychologist.

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Change is hard, and harder still when it involves institutions filled with individuals who don’t want to change. In this eye-opening and juicy conversation, Nkem Ndefo, founder of Lumos Transforms, joins Rohadi to discuss the pathways to embodying change. Change for both the self, and for organizations looking to become more equitable and inclusive spaces for all to work and thrive.

I think in some ways it resilience has been weaponized. And as I’ve been teaching and working with people over the many years, I’ve seen a lot of people recoil from the word because it’s been weaponized against folks in a very neoliberal context, in that we don’t acknowledge the system’s culpability in creating conditions of adversity. Instead, we look only at the individual and that unit, and we say that the individual must be more resilient, you must be strong, flexible to endure, whatever is going on, and that any resilience you build will then be extracted from you for greater production and consumption. – Nkem

Episode Summary

• Intro to this episode. 0:00
• Introduction to the show. 3:11
• Reciprocity and collaboration in leading organizational and individual change. 8:24
• The difficulty of existing in the liminal spaces that need to change. 15:08
• The way resiliency has been weaponized and how to reclaim it. 21:25
• The importance of naming systemic problems. 30:55
• How do we bring awareness to embodiment? 37:14
• How do we build resilience in the face of privilege and fragility? 43:43

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• Intro to this episode. 0:00
• Seven generations in the past, present, and future.
• Why is healing at the family and community level so important? 3:47
  • Describing embodiment. 5:22
• Challenging Western thought around embodiment and healing. 9:31
• How not to systematize our healing. 10:53
• Reducing barriers to access to healing. 14:56
• The importance of listening to your audience. 19:08
• Pathways to healing; what do you need to heal? 21:04
• Bringing awareness to missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW). 25:46

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Episode Summary

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We’ve been given this body and our somatic experiences and our emotions by design, they’re for our survival. They are part of us. There’s no part of our selves that need to be cut off. And it takes skill to become more attuned to what our bodies need. – Dr Peace.

We start with an intro and context for Dr. Peace and her work. We then transition to spiritual bypassing in the church and what it means to find belonging in full. Following that we interrogate the work marginalized folks need to do as we develop new skills around embodiment and mental health? We ask, what does a healthy response look like to systemic oppression? We end with glimpses, thoughts, previews of what a healthier, more liberated, community space (our context is the church) can look like, and what the key features might be and how leaders and those in power need to shift. Safety and belonging being two core attributes. That’s it. The pursuit of safety and belonging, bringing our whole selves to the table. Let’s go!

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In this episode we discuss embodiment, what it means to be attuned to our bodies, holding trauma, and then preview some pathways towards deeper connection in community and self. When culture demands we act a certain way, even if it’s unhealthy or destructive, unlearning those demands, and coming alongside new ways to be whole, takes time, energy, and insight. We discuss what a better way might look like, and how we can be attentive and offer care to our bodies. From mapping internal systems, to finding life giving community, we cover a lot of ground here. In your own pursuit of embodiment, find a piece in this episode that resonates with you, and go deeper.

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Formation in contemporary Christianity usually ignores the body, which is odd given the foundation of the faith is rooted in the mystery of incarnation.  But it makes sense because every time one thinks of the body, the messaging from the pulpit is how our bodies are profane, sinful even, so we dissociate from our bodies. But it’s not supposed to be this way. God came to earth in a body which can only mean our bodies indeed matter. We no longer have to compartmentalize the mind, body, and spirit, treating them as separate entities. Rather, we can embark on pathways to become more embodied. That’s where this episode comes in. Enjoy this meaningful conversation from therapist, speaker, writer, researcher, Dr. Hillary McBride. (Like this? Check out her recent podcast creation on the subject of trauma in the church.)

In this episode we begin by talking about Dr. McBride’s practice and approach to therapy. We reflect on Christian formation and the loss of connectivity to our bodies. Following the break we speak to cultural factors that contribute to shaping our picture of our bodies. What does power and trauma have to do with becoming more embodied? And how can we reclaim a more embodied picture of ourselves? We conclude with discussing some practices that can act as a guide to becoming more embodied.

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Rohadi invites Karen Keen back for Part 2 of a small series on How to Read the Bible.

What do we do with the way we’ve been formed around the Bible and specifically any teachings we’ve come to realize are incongruent with the way of Jesus, or at worse, spiritually abusive? Do we just give it all up? I pose this question to Karen, as we centre the start of our conversation on how humility and community are key pieces to shape our approach and picture of what we read in the Bible. Some key quotes form this episode:

Episode Summary:

• Intro to this episode. 0:00
• Her latest book, the word of a humble god.
• How we can approach scripture in the context of community. 2:26
• Her book on scripture and ethics and the possibilities of same-sex marriage.
• Seeing ourselves within the community of faith. 5:29
• How do the biblical authors deal with innovation and tradition? 6:52
• How to interpret scripture in community. 10:51
• Looking at the big picture. 13:00
• The problem with misinterpretation of scripture. 15:56
• The disposition of reading scripture. 18:16
• The disposition of scripture. 22:53

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Are you struggling to figure out how to interpret scripture without past baggage? Wondering if there is a different way to move forward especially coming out of traditions that hold high importance for the Bible but often misuse it?

Karen Keen is a biblical scholar and author who discusses what it’s like to come from an evangelical context where women couldn’t even teach the Bible, into a place that offers more humble approach to interpretation. Reclaim the Bible in this two part episode.

Show Summary:

• Intro to this episode. 0:02
• Expertise and about Karen; Making scholarship accessible to a broader audience. 5:49
• The problem with biblical illiteracy. 10:06
• A fan of Ignatian spirituality, what is that? 12:15
• Where am I seeing God? 16:27
• Why humility is crucial to spiritual formation. 19:40
• Power vs. humility. 23:02

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Yes. I went there, and a lot of white evangelicals ain’t gonna be happy, cause they used to be being the boss of everything. Claims of ‘revival’ swept contemporary evangelical-land this past month. I *think* the so-called revival out of Asbury University in Kentucky (of all places) is done (cause the students stopped going to class :P). It in its wake I ask two questions: who gets to dictate what constitutes a revival? and how might we know a revival is underway? I talk white supremacy, patriarchy, marginalization, and the last shall be first.

Find Rohadi online @rohadi in most places (@rohadi.nagassar on Instagram). Get his latest book, When We Belong, available wherever books are sold.

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We then switch gears to ask whether or not church institutions today can change. What would the institutional church re-orient towards if it was serious about ushering in change. Or is it more inclined towards self-preservation? Patty then introduces the “trickster” figure in various traditions, and how they operate as prophets who provoke change. Where are the tricksters today?

If the kingdom of God is among us, if it is here, shouldn’t the [institution] be looking for it rather than imposing it? Shouldn’t they be wondering, “what has God been doing here before we came?” But they never asked those questions, it was just about imposing their version of the kingdom on us. So if [this] institution fails, that’s OK.

We close off about the talk of inclusion. Inclusion into what? Why would BIPOC folks want chairs at tables established by the western church? So what does a new thing look like? We spend the last third of our conversation adding language and features into the new thing. We can start by looking at the communities that we like….listen for more beautiful stories including a re-telling of the ‘Good’ Samaritan.

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After the intro, our conversation takes a turn into making sense of identity as multi-ethnic/bi-racial human and what it means to be among your people. We then the process of growing up in white evangelicalism and growing out of old Christian formation. We touch on the legacy of Christian mission and colonization and why finding your people and your identity is important to press back against white hegemony. Even white folks!  That will end part 1 before we join part 2 in progress that will discuss Patty’s book in greater depth.

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Show excerpt:

“…so the Type-8…the reason it’s taught often like a white male with a lot of power, is because the Type-8’s focus is about who has power, are they wielding it well, my autonomy, who to keep it, how to make sure I don’t get it. There’s a focus on me controlling my destiny and having an impact on the world. That wasn’t really encouraged in community, especially white evangelical community…but you can serve. Twos (2) can serve. A lot of women who come to the Enneagram through white evangelicalism think they are a twos (2s) at first.

The reason why I (Jessica) don’t recommend tests is because often when we are testing there’s an ideal we are holding of ourselves, and it takes a good amount of self-reflection and the ability to be real with our selves, to be vulnerable, that it takes to answer that binary test with a level of honesty. Test also have bias, so its description of Types will describe the people that they know.”

We end our discussion on the Enneagram as a tool unto anti-racism, and how we may wrap embodiment into our discovery of self. Enjoy!

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Episode Summary

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Enjoy!

Check out this Bonus Episode! Season 7 opened with a cool interview where Gena Thomas hosted and I was the guest. We talked about my book, When We Belong. In this episode, my friend Marla Taviano, whose episode you can find here, asks me questions about the book and how the ideas flow into a renewed faith formation and the venture out of white religious hegemony. Topics we cover:

We talk about what books to read; what are some non-negotiables in the Christian faith?; on theodicy and why the resurrection; books for questions on atonement; on thinking in new ways; decolonizing Christianity; a conversation for budding authors – one writing.

Episode Summary

• Introduction of the episode.
• What to expect from a Christian publisher? 2:33
• How did you become aware of the white evangelical movement? 4:46
• Influences from Black theological thinkers and Indigenous writers. 7:33
• Reading a book by a white woman. 10:49
• Does the discernment of scripture by a community mean any theological position is up for grabs? 12:55
• Why bother with justice? Why bother with righteousness? 16:27
• Theories of atonement. 19:20
• Do you love to write or do you actually love writing? 22:13

Find Marla Taviano on: https://itsmemarla.com/; Instagram: Marla Taviano and White Girl Learning; Twitter: https://twitter.com/marlataviano

Faith in a Fresh Vibe connect: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram

The oppressor would not be so strong if he did not have accomplices among the oppressed. Simone de Beauvoir

In this conversation, pastor and author Jonny Rashid, shares a wonderful cross-section of topics ranging from being brown in America, and church leadership in predominantly white spaces. We discuss spiritual formation as it intersects the racialized brown experience in North America. But that’s not all, Jonny offers a vulnerable look inside pastoral leadership, and his latest book, Jesus Picks a Side. His book is a must-read particularly for those who are digging into aspects of justice and politics.

Episode Show Notes

• Tapping into the brown experience. Jonny shares his experience growing up as an Egyptian American as the war on terror began to pick up speed;
• Becoming conscious to the lived experience as an Arab American;
• Developing awareness of systemic racism caught in the ‘in-between’;
• Navigating familial and generational differences along the political spectrum;
• Jonny speaks to his faith formation in Anabaptism;
• Moving forward into liberation (how?);
• We take a step back and talk about the call to ministry for Jonny and a bit about his philosophy of ministry;
• Leading white congregations into justice and the push back received when white supremacy rears in the home community;
• How to not get discouraged, finding affirming voices in your ministry/community context;
• What to do when the world is falling apart – God’s faithfulness today;
• How do you know when to leave unhealthy community, paying attention to your body;
• 28mins Finding comfort making political stands as Christians, not to side with the oppressor but to stand with Jesus. We talk about Jonny’s latest book, “Jesus takes a Side”.
• Talking about faux diversity; Christian diversity seeks to centre the margins where as bipartisanship upholds the status quo….
• How to be polarizing like Jesus rather than sanitizing Jesus.
• 45mins Dropping the ‘third-way’ language and follow the Jesus who liberates. Engaging in a wider imagination.
• Peacemaking vs Peacekeeping. We end with a story of liberation.

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We live in a world that’s a barrage of grief, yet we lack the skills and communities to support through it all. Why is that? In this episode, Mandy and I meander our way through what it takes to cultivate life giving community where all can belong. Before that, Mandy shares her story walking through deconstruction and her own seasons of grief. As a grief coach, she has a few things to share. Check out the show notes below.

Show Notes

• A quick conversation about Oregon Trail;
• Deconstructing worship and the industrial worship complex;
• Mandy shares her recent journey through deconstructing evangelicalism;
• How loss and grief spiralled and catalyzed something new;
• Finding how contemporary church operates as self protective rather than walking in vulnerability in community;
• The search of belonging and community;
• Mandy shares about her story and experience with trauma and grief, her own journey, and holding space for others;
• Dissecting why churches struggle with lament and sorrow;
• The pursuit of wholeness walks through uncertainty yet through the human experience;
• When does grieving end? When does healing happen? Grief in every aspect of life….and what does fully alive mean.

More about Mandy Capehart:

Mandy Capehart is an author, speaker, and certified grief and life coach in the Pacific Northwest. She is the founder of The Restorative Grief Project, an online community of grievers and grief supporters looking for movement while they heal. Her own experience with grief left her searching for resources while offering empathetic, long-term support without minimizing the pain of the moment. When she found nothing, she created it for herself and for you.

Her first book is titled, “Restorative Grief: Embracing our losses without losing ourselves” released in 2021. This is a memoir and 31 day guidebook for managing grief and growth in the aftermath of loss, no matter how long it lasts.

You can hear more about her grief work on her podcast, Restorative Grief with Mandy Capehart. She also co-hosts The Uncomfortable Grace Podcast, where space is held for growth amid the messy middle-parts of life.

Mandy is a storyteller through and through, always in pursuit of adventure, grace, and opportunities to express gratitude. No matter the medium, her work revolves around learning how to honor our process of becoming. She currently lives in Southern Oregon with her husband, daughter, border collie rescue pup, and way too many houseplants.

Website: MandyCapehart.com Instagram: @MandyCapehart Twitter: @MandyCapehart

Coming at you from Treaty 7 Territory in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Don’t forget to rate and follow this podcast. Share it with your friends. Faith in a Fresh Vibe connect: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram

A deeply formative and reflective episode with Ms Micah Morgan. Where does one land when balancing the tensions between a fascination with theological questions surrounding body and suffering, and the lived experience in the church and beyond? Grappling with a sense of belonging and questions of sovereignty, Micah inserts joyful tones from her faith experience in the search for justice and wholeness. That brings us to her work today and what it means to be a Black reconstructing Christian.

Show Notes

• I come back yet again to the ‘tiers of friends’ in a discussion on friendships;
• Micah describes the storied racialized experience and its history;
• Reflections on Micah’s experience with colorism;
• Micah shares a little bit about her own story growing up in Ohio as a Black woman and her church formation;
• Shaping a parallel ‘deconstruction’ experience emanating from a rich Black church experience in theological questions around suffering;
• We balance theology with what we feel in our bodies;
• Rather than ‘deconstruction’ we dive into Micah’s journey through what she coins, the Black reconstruction experience;
• Cultivating church spaces of belonging for all. Surprisingly, we start with worship….
• Influential thinkers to consider, and Micah’s continued ministry.
• We end with reflection on the question, what does belonging and belovedness look like today?

Find Micah Morgan Online and her Bio:

“Micah Morgan (she/her/hers) is a trauma-informed licensed professional counsellor and bi-vocational pastor serving in the state of Ohio. She’s committed to helping others get connected with God, with each other, and with themselves. You can usually find her laughing with her husband and friends, sitting somewhere thinking deeply, reading, or enjoying the rain.”

• Her writings: https://micahjmmorgan.medium.com/

Coming at you from Treaty 7 Territory in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Don’t forget to rate and follow this podcast. Share it with your friends. Faith in a Fresh Vibe connect: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram

Show Notes

• We start and end with a chat about Trey’s podcast, “The New Living Treyslation” and the importance of understanding scripture;
• Get to know Trey and a bit about his church experience growing up;
• We dissect contemporary discipleship which might be of interest to church leaders out there;
• How to promote healthy dialogue and questioning in faith communities;
• Examples on re-imaging church traditions and gatherings. This is a beautiful segment on re-imagining Christian worship and gatherings;
• Decolonizing Christianity in the bid to find wholeness.

Find Trey Online and his Bio:

“Host of the New Living Treyslation and co-host of Three Black Men, Trey’s passions include building community, digital engagement, Black church history, and the University of Miami Hurricanes. His best feature is actually his wife, Jessica. When he’s not theologizing, he enjoys roasting people on twitter and maybe landing himself in hot water with the other elders at his church.”

• His website: https://rfxmovement.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pastortrey05/;
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/PastorTrey05;
• The New Living Treyslation https://anchor.fm/treyslation;
• Find the links for the Three Black Men podcast here.

Coming at you from Treaty 7 Territory in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Don’t forget to rate and follow this podcast. Share it with your friends. Faith in a Fresh Vibe connect: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram

“Daughter of the King, and Kingstonians. Schooled in the Ivy League, the Bible Belt, and the Boogie-Down.”

Coming at you from Treaty 7 Territory in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Don’t forget to rate and follow this podcast. Share it with your friends.

Have you had a conversation and in the middle of it you realize you’ve found a kindred soul? That’s how I felt after this episode. Our discussion covered honest portrayals of our world today. What makes this episode special? It wasn’t just the Eeyore jokes, naming how we collectively bathe in waters of unrest, or how we may share a prophetic voice when all is not right in the world…. It wasn’t even our conversation that I didn’t include on mangoes. Mangoes you say? Frankly, so many of the worl’d’s problems would be solved by eating more mangoes. Amiright? As you listen you’ll flow through our discussion like so:

Show Notes

• Bathing in the waters of angst and unrest. The violence of Christian formation and resisting with vision for what is good.
• Sharifa’s story, journey through seminary, and growing up in a diverse church context.
• Developing and insight into the prophetic voice;
• Finding affirmations in all the right and wrong places;
• Elevating women of color, resistance, and finding ultimate liberation.
• What does liberative community look like? Going small.
• Dispersing power, the Jesus way.

Sharifa is the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, born and raised in New York, and currently residing with her family in Dallas, TX. She graduated from Columbia University in New York with a Bachelor in African American Studies before earning a master in theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. Sharifa is a conglomeration of intersections: Bronx wisdom and prep-school code-switching; smoke shop Now-and-Laters and church peppermints; hip-hop and hymns. Intersections can be a mash-up—rife with both tragedy and opportunity; places of pause within movement. Sharifa aspires to use writing as a vehicle that moves readers to intersect with the sacred and the honest. She contributed to the book Vindicating the Vixens: Revisiting Sexualized, Vilified, & Marginalized Women of the Bible and Rally: Communal Prayers for Lovers of Jesus and Justice. Sharifa is married to a Renaissance man, and mother to two lively boys.

Find Sharifa online: https://sharifastevens.com/; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharifawrites/; Twitter: https://twitter.com/sharifawrites; and her Substack https://sharifahstevens.substack.com/.

Faith in a Fresh Vibe connect: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram

Episode #46 with author Marla Taviano

Marla shares a story about moving away from, and re-discovering, new roads of faith and spirituality. Making sense of Christianity after deconstructing takes time. The journey is fraught with loss, but there are pathways unto better. Here’s what’s in store.

Show Notes

• We meet Marla and talk about her numerous books over the years.
• Taking a look at her latest publication, “unbelieve. poems on the journey to becoming a heretic”;
• Catalysts into deconstruction and becoming aware of the downfalls of white evangelicalism. Including books, relationships, political change, and taking the Bible seriously;
• Challenging historical assumption of white hegemony;
• On farts. Her book “What makes you fart?”;
• Challenging assumptions that are canon in evangelicalism like abortion, immigration, and power.
• What do you love and discussing freedom.
• What’s next, and new possibilities.

Marla Taviano is the author of a whole bunch of books (but just read her most recent, unbelieve, because it’s pretty much the only one she can still get behind). She’s a mom to some really awesome kids and loves books and justice and rainbows and poems. She wears her heart on her t-shirts and is on a mission to live wholefarted (not a typo).

Find Marla Taviano on: https://itsmemarla.com/; Instagram: Marla Taviano and White Girl Learning; Twitter: https://twitter.com/marlataviano

Faith in a Fresh Vibe connect: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram

Episode #45 with author Gena Thomas

Gena has written for several Christian publications, and published her first book, A Smoldering Wick: Igniting Missions Work with Sustainable Practices in 2016. Her book, Separated by the Border: A birth mother, a foster mother, and a migrant child’s 3,000-mile journey unpacks the story of reuniting her Honduran foster daughter with her family after separation at the US border. Gena’s most recent book, Alisa & The Coronavirus, is a self-published interactive children’s book based on conversations she and her family had, especially those with her 4-year-old on how to deal with emotions surrounding life changes affected by the virus. She is currently working another book about God’s great abundance.

Season 7’s first guest is Gena Thomas. Our episode engages the tension of re-orienting faith when the environment turns dissonant. We chart through Gena’s story of family and how relationships ultimately paved the path to guide her faith. Topics include: dignity, privilege, adoption, and Paulo Freire.

Show Notes

• Gena’s intro, family story, and faith formation.
• Approaching the era of Trump and malformed powers as an evangelical;
• Missionary work in Mexico;
• How relationships informs faith and life perspectives that lead to deconstruction;
• Engaging the adoption and foster care system;
• The making of, ‘Separated by the Border’, and how Gena’s wove together a narrative between US immigration policy, human smuggling, the broken foster system, and everything in between.
• What’s next, new projects and possibilities.

Find Gena Thomas at her website: https://www.genathomas.com/; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/genalrthomas/; Twitter: https://twitter.com/genaLRthomas

Faith in a Fresh Vibe connect: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram

The Faith in a Fresh Vibe podcast opens the Summer Series with a look inside how Rohadi’s book, “When We Belong. Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins.” came to life. Guest host, Gena Thomas, leads this episode, but don’t worry, she takes the role of guest in the next episode!

This shorter episode is the perfect start to an exciting line-up for Season 7 including: Gena Thomas, Marla Taviano, Ms Marie, Mandy Capehart, Trey Ferguson, Jonny Rashid, and me, Rohadi.

Show Notes

• Intro to this episode. 0:06
• When We Belong and how it came to be. 3:34
• Why did you write this book? 7:47
• How did church planting and missional church influence the book? 12:18
• The prophetic voice that needs to call out. 16:09
• The cost of belonging. 21:43
• Whiteness is like the terms and conditions. 25:02
• The rejection of assimilation and resistance to assimilation. 29:59

Find Gena Thomas at her website: https://www.genathomas.com/; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/genalrthomas/; Twitter: https://twitter.com/genaLRthomas

Faith in a Fresh Vibe connect: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram

In Episode 43, we cover a lot of ground starting with an introduction and story of Michiko’s path into ministry. We then detour to share stories about our Japanese ancestors during interment. The remainder of our conversation hovers around deconstruction, the importance of identity, and a critique of progressive Christian spaces.

Show Notes

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Show Notes

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In this episode I invite my friend Omar Reyes to share about his journey through deconstruction. Originally form El Salvador, Omar grew up in the Pentecostal tradition and found himself a pastor for a decade. But then something didn’t fit. Listen to Omar’s story, his thoughts on deconstruction, moving away from works and shame based faith tradition, and how he thinks of deconstruction through an emotional and connective lens. We often spend a lot of time working out the “right” way to believe when in fact we should consider the right way to be in relationship with one another.

We end our conversation talking about ideas of how Christian gatherings look like in a pandemic age.

Find Omar on Twitter or Instagram.

Show Notes

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Episode #40 welcomes Blake Chastain who coined the #exvangelical hashtag alongside the launch of the Exvangelical podcast in July 2016. Exvangelical conversations and communities have proliferated online across social networks like Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Reddit.

Blake Chastain is host of the Exvangelical and Powers & Principalities podcasts, and writer of The Post-Evangelical Post newsletter. He is also writing a book with Convergent, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

“Exvangelical” functions as both a way to find others who have left white evangelical beliefs and communities behind, as well as a helpful frame for criticizing white evangelical institutions and practices. It is not a wholesale replacement of evangelicalism, but a shared starting point–it acknowledges that we are rooted in similar experiences, and celebrates the new and diverse ways people find to flourish.

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Show Notes

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Drew and Rohadi challenge white hegemony in the realm of Christian deconstruction by offering their take. Part 1 examines the root cause of the deconstruction movement that’s not always obvious–white supremacy. Both share their stories growing up in different churches, making sense of a Christianity that pushes certain bodies to the margins, and outline their own journeys through deconstruction.

Divesting from institutional whiteness needs different voices speaking to new realities–a new imagination–surrounding faith and belonging. Here are two.

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Bringing the often excluded marginalized voices to the centre, we take a deep dive into the past, present, and future chase in deconstruction. Who’s we? From the Prairies to the Great Lakes, Rohadi and Drew Brown combine for bulk of episodes in this season. Check in on this intro and sneak peak on what’s in store.

This season also features the brilliance of Drew Brown’s, Hymns for the Architect, available wherever fine music is sold.

In the final episode of the summer season 5 edition of Faith in a Fresh Vibe, we welcome pastor Melissa. This insightful episode offers a number of interesting and pragmatic ways to re-think Christian formation. Ranging from leadership formation for predominantly white congregations seeking racialized justice, to to tangible ways to access and unlock scripture in new and exciting ways. Find Melissa online at her website: https://www.melissaflorerbixler.com/. Also her social media links on Twitter and Instagram. Here’s a bio:

Melissa is the pastor of Raleigh Mennonite Church, and a graduate of Duke University and Princeton Theological Seminary. She spent times studying in Israel/Palestine, Kenya, and England. Much of her formation took place in the L’Arche community of Portland, OR. Now she prefers the Eno River and her garden in Raleigh, NC. She is the chair of L’Arche North Carolina and a steering committee member in broad-based organizing in her county. Melissa’s writing has appeared in Christian Century, Sojourners, Geez, Anabaptist Witness, The Bias, Faith&Leadership, and Anabaptist Vision. From time to time she publishes academic writing. She and her spouse parent three children.

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It’s often challenging to picture a world after deconstruction and following old formation from institutional Christianity. In this episode, Starlette paints a picture of what is to come. An idea, a vision, the possibilities, of rooting our faith in the Kingdom coming. “There’s another way things are supposed to be!” Starlette also reframes identity outside of racialized distinctions. Here’s more about Starlette Thomas:

Starlette Thomas is an author, activist, visual artist and race abolitionist. She is the founder and director of The Raceless Gospel, LLC, a non-profit para-church teaching ministry dedicated to leading didactic dialogues on race and its progeny, which empower Christian believers, leaders and thinkers to passionately, pastorally and prophetically speak about the sociopolitical construct of race and the myriad injustices that intersect in their churches, communities and country.

A womanist in ministry, Starlette is graduate of both Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School and Buffalo State College. She has served as an associate and interim pastor as well as a denominational leader. She regularly preaches and teaches in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region and her sermons have been featured by Sojourners. 

She has written for Herald, a publication of Baptist News Global, Baptists Together, a publication of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Formations, a publication of Smyth & Helwys Publishing Company.  She is a contributing correspondent with Good Faith Media and writes on the intersections of race, faith and politics. Starlette is a contributing author for the book Faith Forward: A Dialogue on Children, Youth & a New Kind of Christianity.

An unrepentant academician and bibliophile, she is presently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry degree at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., studying ecclesiology, the intersections of gender, politics and race and their interplay for a transformative spirituality.

Find her online at her website: https://racelessgospel.com/; Twitter; Instagram; and her links.

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About Chandra:

“So what are you?” Chandra Crane knows what it’s like to get that question. She has a Thai birth father, an European American mother, and an African American father who adopted her when she was five. With this mixed multiethnic and multicultural background, she has keenly felt the otherness of never quite fitting in. Where do people of mixed ethnicity belong?

Those of us who have multiethnic backgrounds may have pain surrounding our mixed heritage. But we also have the privilege and potential to serve the Lord through our unique experiences, if we root ourselves in him. Crane explores what Scripture and history can teach us about ethnicity and how we can bring all of ourselves to our sense of identity and calling.

You can discover the fullness of who you are. Find out how your mixed identity can be a blessing to yourself and to the world around you.

Find Chandra on Twitter, where you will find her links to more about her work. Her debut book is called, Mixed Blessing. Embracing the Fullness of Your Multi-Ethnic Identity. Available wherever books are sold.

Show Notes

• Cartoons, comedies, cooking, and race neutral TV
• Multi-ethnic Jesus (5 mins) and mixed existence
• Multi-ethnic leaders set to lead
• invitation to participate in God’s unfolding hope
• multi-ethnic people have prophetic eyes (15 mins) and a super power
• What do multi-ethnic people bring to the church today?
• On superheros (22 mins)
• Knowing the struggle of belonging (26 mins)
• Matthew’s lineage (29 mins) and welcoming to the nations
• Monoethnicity and white normativity

Faith in a Fresh Vibe connect points: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram

Chandra Crane has a Thai birth father, a European American mother, and an African American father who adopted her when she was five. With this mixed multiethnic and multicultural background, she has keenly felt the otherness of never quite fitting in. Where do people of mixed ethnicity belong?

Those of us who have multiethnic backgrounds may have pain surrounding our mixed heritage. But we also have the privilege and potential to serve the Lord through our unique experiences, if we root ourselves in him. Crane explores what Scripture and history can teach us about ethnicity and how we can bring all of ourselves to our sense of identity and calling.

You can discover the fullness of who you are. Find out how your mixed identity can be a blessing to yourself and to the world around you.

Find Chandra on Twitter, where you will find her links to more about her work. Her debut book is called, Mixed Blessing. Embracing the Fullness of Your Multi-Ethnic Identity. Available wherever books are sold.

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SPEAKER, ACTIVIST, AUTHOR, AND THOUGHT LEADER IN THE REALM OF SYSTEMIC POVERTY. Find him online @imTerenceLester (Twitter) and https://linktr.ee/imterencelester.

He’s known for nationwide campaigns that bring awareness to issues surrounding homelessness, poverty, and economic inequality. His awareness campaigns have been featured on MLK50, CNN, Good Morning America, TVONE, Creative Mornings, USA Today, NBC, AJC, Black Enterprise, Rolling Out, Upworthy, and have been viewed by millions of people worldwide.

In 2013, Terence founded the non-profit Love Beyond Walls and has helped hundreds of individuals experiencing homelessness and poverty rebuild their lives. In 2019, Terence launched the first museum in the U.S. representing homelessness out of a shipping container called Dignity Museum.

Terence has written six books, and his new book, When We Stand: The Power Of Seeking Justice Together, was released May 18, 2021. We also talk about his other book with IVP, “I See You. How love opens our eyes to invisible people.” He holds four degrees and is working towards his Ph.D. at Union Institute & University in Public Policy & Social Change.

Show Notes

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How about a quick intro into the latest season of the Faith in a Fresh Vibe podcast? Guests include Terence Lester, Starlette Thomas, the_decolonized_christian, Melissa Florer-Bixler, and Chandra Crane. I open this season, however, with an inside look at my forthcoming book, When We Belong. Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins. You get an exclusive preview inside as I share direction and the heart of why I am writing a story on deconstruction and decolonizing Christianity. It’s part my story, and part a pathway forward unto liberation. Don’t miss out on this short episode!

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Episode Summary

• Introduction to this episode. 0:06
• Spiritual formation and spiritual growth. 3:03
• The church often tries to sell you the church. 10:27
• Community that gives life to others. 15:08
• How to hold space for lament. 21:40
• How much capacity do you have to tolerate injustice? 27:57
• We can’t embody the brokenness of White Supremacy. 34:29
  • Doing the work to change from within. 41:36
• Pushing outside your comfort zone. 47:04
• How to deal with fear? 52:58
•  

  A new way of doing community.

(more…)]]> full 29 4 https://www.rohadi.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/FAITH-IN-FRESH-scaled.jpg false no 1:05:32 No no https://www.rohadi.com/podcast/28-might-margins-dennis-edwards/ Fri, 26 Feb 2021 01:52:58 +0000 https://www.rohadi.com/?post_type=podcast&p=5856 On Centering Marginalized People: Might from the Margins with Rev Dr. Dennis Edwards. Dr. Edwards is Professor of NT at Northpark Theological Seminary. He’s also an ordained minister with the Evangelical Covenant Church. In this episode, Rohadi interviews Dr. Edwards and his early days church planting and leading multi-ethnic churches. We ask, can white evangelicalism become more inclusive and multi-ethnic? We then transition to talk about his book, Might from the Margins. Dr. Edwards shares his insight on diaspora people from his work in the NT. Listen as we unpack his teaching around justice, church planting, and building new spaces of faith for tomorrow.

Connect and find more info about Dr. Edwards online. Visit his bio at Northpark: https://www.northpark.edu/faculty-staff-directory/dennis-edwards/ and follow him on social media including: Twitter and Instagram. His latest book, “Might from the Margins: The Gospel’s Power to Turn the Tables on Injustice “ is now available.

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Connect and find more about Charlotte online Visit her website: https://charlottedonlon.com/ and follow her on social media including: Twitter and Instagram. Her latest book, “The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other” is now available.

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Connect and find more about Charlotte online Visit her website: https://charlottedonlon.com/ and follow her on social media including: Twitter and Instagram. Her latest book, “The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other” is now available.

Episode Notes:

Summary

• Introduction to Charlotte Donlan. 0:00
• Who are your people and where are you from? 3:24
• The power of power in Birmingham. 12:41
• Living in a suburb of Birmingham. 17:03
• Why do churches sanitize the gospel? 23:59
• White Supremacy in the church. 29:16
• How loneliness leads us to each other. 34:37
• Why loneliness is not a problem. 41:09
• The mystery of loneliness and blogging. 47:44

Faith in a Fresh vibe connect points: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram |

Go find Robert online. You can find his book online at: https://www.subcultureinc.org/product-page/subversive-stillness-1. Follow him on social media including Twitter and Instagram.

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Find Robert’s book online at: https://www.subcultureinc.org/product-page/subversive-stillness-1. Follow him on social media including Twitter and Instagram.

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• Dive into his latest book, “Who Will be a Witness? Igniting Activism for God’s Justice, Love, and Deliverance”;
• Decolonizing white Christianity and white supremacy;
• Rejecting domesticated white Jesus;
• Unpack what the church of the future can look like for marginalized people and all.

Episode Summary

• Intentionally decolonizing scripture. 0:17
• Anti-racist discipleship and anti-imperialism. 2:02
• Who is the target of your book Trouble I’ve Seen? 6:45
• What does it mean to do the work in anti-racism and Civil Rights movements? 9:10
• What happens when you disrupt the establishment space? 13:24
• Turning Jesus white. 15:46
• What does it look like to reimagine the church of tomorrow? 19:26
• What does it mean to be a community? 20:52
• Basic practices of being followers of jes. 25:20
• The value of collective response. 29:31

Find Dr Hart online at this website: https://drewgihart.com/ Follow him on social media including Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Faith in a Fresh vibe connect points: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram

Episode Summary

• • Introduction of the podcast. 0:21
  • Whiteness at church conferences? 2:47
  • What is the current state of the church in the Us? 6:59
  • Engaging white supremacy in theological dialogue. 11:16
  • White supremacy and critical race theory. 15:40
  • Understanding the roots of power. 22:55
  • White blessings instead of white privilege. 32:03
  • The race to the bottom to make profit. 36:13
  • How activism leads to systemic change. 39:34.
  • Why did the occupy movement fail? And on American exceptionalism. 45:37

This is a must listen to learn new formation on Christian ethics and spirituality. Don’t miss it!

Find Dr. Hart online at this website: https://drewgihart.com/ Follow him on social media including Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Faith in a Fresh vibe connect points: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram

Episode Summary

• Intro to this episode. 0:26
• Learning to love yourself the way God loves you. 4:46
• Learning to love yourself and compassion. 7:51
• The work around personal formation of self. 12:11
• What does it mean to be a good man? 14:09
• Step off grow and be aware. 18:03
• How the Jonathan’s book changed my perspective on trauma. 19:46

  How to deal with your emotions? 23:43

• Analytic meditation tracks. 27:41

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Faith in a Fresh vibe connect points: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram | Cypher Church

Faith in a Fresh vibe connect points: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram | Cypher Church

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Find Chad Lucas for all his book announcements on Twitter.

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Faith in a Fresh vibe connect points: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram | Cypher Church

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Find Drew Brown in all locations. That includes his website: http://www.drewbrownmusic.com/. Social media including SPOTIFY, Twitter and Instagram.

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Faith in a Fresh vibe connect points: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram | Cypher Church

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Find Drew Brown in all locations. That includes his website: http://www.drewbrownmusic.com/. Social media including SPOTIFY, Twitter and Instagram.

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Faith in a Fresh vibe connect points: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram | Cypher Church

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Find Drew Brown in all locations. That includes his website: http://www.drewbrownmusic.com/. Social media including SPOTIFY, Twitter and Instagram.

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Faith in a Fresh vibe connect points: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram | Cypher Church

About Bernadette

Bernadette Arthur spent over 15 years studying and working in the social services sector. She took a leap of faith and shifted into doing work that more aligned with her values and practices. She stumbled upon the work of John McKnight and grassroot practitioner like Dr. John M. Perkins, which lead her to embark on a self-directed journey to learn more about Asset Based Community Development (ABCD).

One of the results of that journey was her becoming a vetted Community Advancement Coach for a North American network of ABCD coaches and practitioners. Fuelled with the knowledge and lived experience of the effects of systemic oppression, Bernadette has spent half of the last decade engaging more directly in racial equity, justice and re-conciliation work. She has worked mainly within the non-profit sector designing and facilitating innovative learning opportunities for community and organizational groups.

Bernadette specializes in designing, curating and facilitating transformational learning events that offer saf(er) space for people to listen, unpack, explore, create and heal. She is a proud Afro-Caribbean Canadian who was born and raised in Scarborough, ON, but who is Trini to the bone. When she not crafting new ways to creatively bring people together, she loves exploring new restaurants that feature authentic cultural cuisine, being in the presence of majestic things (like mountains, water, and forests), and dancing awkwardly on a dance floor.

Find her over at https://www.asharedtable.ca/ and https://linktr.ee/asharedtable.ca

Faith in a Fresh vibe connect points: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram

This season is the BIPOC edition with voices from across Canada. To launch things off I welcome a fellow Trini into the mix, Bernadette Arthur, in a two part series. In this first edition, Bernadette shares about her journey of faith, what it looked to deconstruct her experience in both Black Caribbean and Seventh Day Adventist traditions, and putting together the pieces into a new way forward.

About Bernadette

Bernadette Arthur spent over 15 years studying and working in the social services sector. She took a leap of faith and shifted into doing work that more aligned with her values and practices. She stumbled upon the work of John McKnight and grassroot practitioner like Dr. John M. Perkins, which lead her to embark on a self-directed journey to learn more about Asset Based Community Development (ABCD).

One of the results of that journey was her becoming a vetted Community Advancement Coach for a North American network of ABCD coaches and practitioners. Fuelled with the knowledge and lived experience of the effects of systemic oppression, Bernadette has spent half of the last decade engaging more directly in racial equity, justice and re-conciliation work. She has worked mainly within the non-profit sector designing and facilitating innovative learning opportunities for community and organizational groups.

Bernadette specializes in designing, curating and facilitating transformational learning events that offer saf(er) space for people to listen, unpack, explore, create and heal. She is a proud Afro-Caribbean Canadian who was born and raised in Scarborough, ON, but who is Trini to the bone. When she not crafting new ways to creatively bring people together, she loves exploring new restaurants that feature authentic cultural cuisine, being in the presence of majestic things (like mountains, water, and forests), and dancing awkwardly on a dance floor.

Find her over at https://www.asharedtable.ca/ and https://linktr.ee/asharedtable.ca

Faith in a Fresh vibe connect points: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram

Dr. Bailey can be found on Twitter at: @baileymonetta

Faith in a Fresh vibe connect points: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram | Cypher Church

Dr. Bailey can be found on Twitter at: @baileymonetta

Faith in a Fresh vibe connect points: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram | Cypher Church

Tony Snow is the Rights Relations lead at Hillhurst United Church in Calgary, and a member of the Stoney Tribe located East of Banff. He shares some of his work and challenges in the church in the pursuit of reconciliation.

Note: This episode was recorded in the Summer of 2019.

Connect points: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram | Cypher Church

Tony Snow is the Rights Relations lead at Hillhurst United Church in Calgary, and a member of the Stoney Tribe located East of Banff.

Note: This episode was recorded in the Summer of 2019 and completed in May 2020.

Connect points: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram | Cypher Church

Here are the links to the additional articles on lament: https://sojo.net/articles/lamentation-over-individualism and https://www.asianamericanchristiancollaborative.com/article/truth-telling-in-corporate-lament

Connect points: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram | Cypher Church

You can find Deborah and her work online. Twitter @deborahmeb. She is on the Advisory Board for Leading in Colour, and just launched a magazine called Trad.

Other connect points: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram

Connect points: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram

Connect points: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram | Riley Rossmo

In this episode we begin by tracking the career of Riley and analyze the process of making it big.

Connect points: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram | Riley Rossmo

Connect points: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram | Cypher Church

Connect points: Rohadi.com | Twitter | Instagram | Cypher Church