
This Is Not Church Podcast
This Is Not Church podcast offers a compelling and thought-provoking exploration of the intersections between deconstruction, activism, spirituality, and the LGBTQIA+ community, as well as vital issues like Black Lives Matter and First Nations' rights. Hosted by passionate individuals who are dedicated to fostering open and inclusive conversations, this podcast delves into the complex journey of deconstructing one's faith, while simultaneously embracing and advocating for the rights and stories of the LGBTQIA+ community, as well as the fight for racial justice within the Black Lives Matter movement and the preservation of First Nations' cultures and rights. With a focus on examining the evolving landscapes of faith and identity, "This Is Not Church" provides a safe and informative space for listeners to engage with narratives of self-discovery, resilience, and transformation, ultimately encouraging a more empathetic and understanding society.
Latest episodes

Jul 30, 2024 • 59min
My Guncle And Me: A Conversation With Jonathan Merritt
This Quoircast podcast episode is brought to you by Fire And Silk by Meghan Irene Turner. It is published by Quoir and is available now.In this episode we chat with Jonathan MerrittJonathan Merritt is one of America's most prolific and trusted writers on faith, culture and politics whose articles have appeared regularly in outlets such as The Atlantic, The New York Times, USA Today, Christianity Today, and The Washington Post. He is the author of numerous critically-acclaimed books including "Learning to Speak God from Scratch: Why Sacred Words are Vanishing and How We Can Revive Them," which was named "Book of the Year" by Englewood Review of Books. Jonathan has become a popular speaker at conferences, colleges, and churches and has provided commentary on CNN, Fox News, CNN, NPR, PBS and ABC World News. He holds graduate degrees from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and Emory University's Candler School of Theology.You can follow Jonathan on:Facebook Instagram TwitterYou can find all things Jonathan Merritt related on his websiteYou can purchase Jonathan Merritt's books on Amazon.comYou can connect with This Is Not Church on:Facebook Instagram Twitter TikTok YouTubeAlso check out our Biolink for all things This Is Not Church relatedPlease like and follow our Quoircast Partners:Heretic Happy Hour Messy Spirituality Apostates Anonymous Second Cup with Keith The Church Needs TherapyIdeas Digest Snarky Faith Podcast Wild Olive Deadly Faith Spirituality Brew Pub Faith For The Rest Of UsJonathan_Foster Sacred Thoughts Holy Heretics Reframing Our Stories Bros Bibles & Beer Liminal LivingLove Covered Life The Social Jesus Project I Was A Teenage FundamentalistEach episode of This Is Not Church Podcast is expertly engineered by our producer The Podcast Doctor Eric Howell. If you’re thinking of starting a podcast you need to connect with Eric!

Jul 22, 2024 • 1h 14min
Abundant Lives: A Conversation With Amanda Udis-Kessler
This Quoircast podcast episode is brought to you by the Deadly Faith podcast. Deadly Faith is a true crime podcast that explores the world where religion and crime collide. In this episode we chat with Amanda Udis-KesslerAmanda Udis-Kessler is a sociologist, ethicist, nonfiction writer, songwriter, composer, and liturgist. Her books include Queer Inclusion in the United Methodist Church (Routledge, 2008), Abundant Lives: A Progressive Christian Ethic of Flourishing (Pilgrim, 2024), and Cultural Processes of Inequality: A Sociological Perspective (Anthem, 2024). She is also one of the main contributors to the collection A Liturgy for All Bodies (Cyclical Publishing, 2023). Her chapters and essays appear in an additional 13 books.You can follow Amanda on:Facebook YouTubeYou can find all things Amanda Udis-Kessler related on her websiteYou can purchase Amanda's books on Amazon.comYou can connect with This Is Not Church on:Facebook Instagram Twitter TikTok YouTubeAlso check out our Biolink for all things This Is Not Church relatedPlease like and follow our Quoircast Partners:Heretic Happy Hour Messy Spirituality Apostates Anonymous Second Cup with Keith The Church Needs TherapyIdeas Digest Snarky Faith Podcast Wild Olive Deadly Faith Spirituality Brew Pub Faith For The Rest Of UsJonathan_Foster Sacred Thoughts Holy Heretics Reframing Our Stories Bros Bibles & Beer Liminal LivingLove Covered Life The Social Jesus Project I Was A Teenage FundamentalistEach episode of This Is Not Church Podcast is expertly engineered by our producer The Podcast Doctor Eric Howell. If you’re thinking of starting a podcast you need to connect with Eric!

Jul 15, 2024 • 1h 3min
Honoring The Journey: A Conversation With Leslie Nease
This Quoircast podcast episode is brought to you by Breaking Bad Faith by Michael Camp. Published by Quoir and is available nowIn this episode we chat with Leslie NeaseLeslie Nease, formerly recognized as Sister Christian from Survivor China, boasts a multifaceted background as a former Christian Radio Show Host, Speaker, and Writer specializing in women's ministry. Transitioning from her prominent role in faith-based media, Leslie embarked on a profound journey of deconstruction, reevaluating her former faith tradition. Today, she extends her expertise and empathy to others navigating similar paths through her podcast, "Honoring the Journey," and her coaching enterprise, dedicated to guiding individuals through life and faith transitions.You can follow Leslie on:Facebook Instagram Twitter TikTok YouTubeListen on follow Leslie's podcast Honoring The JourneyYou can connect with This Is Not Church on:Facebook Instagram Twitter TikTok YouTubeAlso check out our Biolink for all things This Is Not Church relatedPlease like and follow our Quoircast Partners:Heretic Happy Hour Messy Spirituality Apostates Anonymous Second Cup with Keith The Church Needs TherapyIdeas Digest Snarky Faith Podcast Wild Olive Deadly Faith Spirituality Brew Pub Faith For The Rest Of UsJonathan_Foster Sacred Thoughts Holy Heretics Reframing Our Stories Bros Bibles & Beer Liminal LivingLove Covered Life The Social Jesus Project I Was A Teenage FundamentalistEach episode of This Is Not Church Podcast is expertly engineered by our producer The Podcast Doctor Eric Howell. If you’re thinking of starting a podcast you need to connect with Eric!

Jul 8, 2024 • 60min
Life After Doom: A Conversation With Brian McLaren
This Quoircast podcast episode is brought to you by I Was A Teenage Fundamentalist Podcast. Brian and Troy used to be loyal Christian megachurch leaders. They’re not anymore. This podcast explores life after fundamentalism.In this episode we chat with Brian McLarenBrian D. McLaren is an author, speaker, activist, and public theologian. A former college English teacher and pastor, he is a passionate advocate for “a new kind of Christianity” – just, generous, and working with people of all faiths for the common good. He is a core faculty member and Dean of Faculty for the Center for Action and Contemplation. and a podcaster with Learning How to See. He is also an Auburn Senior Fellow and is a co-host of Southern Lights. His newest books are Faith After Doubt (January 2021), Do I Stay Christian? (May 2022), and Life After Doom: Wisdom and Courage for a World Falling Apart (2024). His co-authored children’s book Cory and the Seventh Story was released in 2023.You can follow Brian on:Facebook TwitterYou can find all things Brian McLaren related on his websiteYou can purchase Brian's book on Amazon.comYou can connect with This Is Not Church on:Facebook Instagram Twitter TikTok YouTubeAlso check out our Biolink for all things This Is Not Church relatedPlease like and follow our Quoircast Partners:Heretic Happy Hour Messy Spirituality Apostates Anonymous Second Cup with Keith The Church Needs TherapyIdeas Digest Snarky Faith Podcast Wild Olive Deadly Faith Spirituality Brew Pub Faith For The Rest Of UsJonathan_Foster Sacred Thoughts Holy Heretics Reframing Our Stories Bros Bibles & Beer Liminal LivingLove Covered Life The Social Jesus Project I Was A Teenage FundamentalistEach episode of This Is Not Church Podcast is expertly engineered by our producer The Podcast Doctor Eric Howell. If you’re thinking of starting a podcast you need to connect with Eric!

Jul 1, 2024 • 1h 12min
You Will Always Belong: A Conversation With Matthew Paul Turner
This Quoircast Podcast episode is brought to you by Bros Bibles and Beer Podcast. Serious conversations on faith and culture while not taking ourselves too seriously, Bros Bibles & Beer is a podcast about life, faith & our favorite beverage - Unpolished and potentially unsafe. Kind of like life. Grace-Peace-Cheers!In this episode we chat with Matthew Paul TurnerMatthew Paul Turner is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller What Is God Like? as well as When God Made You and When I Pray for You. When the father of three isn’t writing books, he’s photographing interesting people and places, practicing wood carving, and watching his children play soccer. Visit his website at matthewpaulturner.com.You can follow Matthew on:Facebook Instagram YouTube You can find all things Matthew Paul Turner related on his websiteYouy can purchase Matthew's books on Amazon.comYou can connect with This Is Not Church on:Facebook Instagram Twitter TikTok YouTubeAlso check out our Biolink for all things This Is Not Church relatedPlease like and follow our Quoircast Partners:Heretic Happy Hour Messy Spirituality Apostates Anonymous Second Cup with Keith The Church Needs TherapyIdeas Digest Snarky Faith Podcast Wild Olive Deadly Faith Spirituality Brew Pub Faith For The Rest Of UsJonathan_Foster Sacred Thoughts Holy Heretics Reframing Our Stories Bros Bibles & Beer Liminal LivingLove Covered Life The Social Jesus Project I Was A Teenage FundamentalistEach episode of This Is Not Church Podcast is expertly engineered by our producer The Podcast Doctor Eric Howell. If you’re thinking of starting a podcast you need to connect with Eric!

Jun 24, 2024 • 1h 8min
Hurt And Healed: A Conversation With Ryan George
This Quoircast podcast episode is brought to you by Mornings With Schleiermacher by Chad Bahl. Published by Quoir and will be available on July 9, 2024In this episde we chat with Ryan GeorgeRyan George co-leads Dude Group, a parachurch spiritual adventure community, as well as a serving incubator of volunteers at his church. During business hours, he works as a virtual marketing assistant; and his work has won more than 250 state & national awards for projects spanning 49 states and seven countries. Ryan enjoys conversations about the connection between faith and adventure. His goal is to help you embrace a life of spiritual awareness and discovery. Whether on stage or on social media, he hopes to inspire you to follow Jesus outside your comfort zones. In his books and blog posts, Ryan invites readers to explore a rich faith experience available in the midst of doubt, fear, and pressure. Ryan has traveled to all seven continents and both polar circles across 30 countries, searching for spiritual discoveries. He looks for Jesus in places and activities that don't look like Sunday morning church services. And, because Jesus promised it would happen, Ryan has found profound moments with Jesus in all of them.You can follow Ryan on:Facebook InstagramYou can find all things Ryan George related on his websiteYou can purchase Hurt and Healed by the Church on Amazon.comYou can connect with This Is Not Church on:Facebook Instagram Twitter TikTok YouTubeAlso check out our Biolink for all things This Is Not Church relatedPlease like and follow our Quoircast Partners:Heretic Happy Hour Messy Spirituality Apostates Anonymous Second Cup with Keith The Church Needs TherapyIdeas Digest Snarky Faith Podcast Wild Olive Deadly Faith Spirituality Brew Pub Faith For The Rest Of UsJonathan_Foster Sacred Thoughts Holy Heretics Reframing Our Stories Bros Bibles & Beer Liminal LivingLove Covered Life The Social Jesus ProjectEach episode of This Is Not Church Podcast is expertly engineered by our producer The Podcast Doctor Eric Howell. If you’re thinking of starting a podcast you need to connect with Eric!

Jun 17, 2024 • 1h 1min
Thriving On A Riff: A Conversation With Bill Carter
This Quoircast podcast episode is brought to you by Inking Christ: A Theological Approach To Tattoos by Justin Scoggins. The book is published by Quoir and will be available on July 30, 2024In this episode we chat with Bill CarterWilliam G. Carter maintains a dual career as a jazz pianist and a Presbyterian minister. He is the pastor and head of staff at the First Presbyterian Church of Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, and the leader of the Presbybop Quartet. A highly regarded speaker, teacher, workshop leader, and composer, Carter is regarded as a national authority on the use of jazz music in liturgical settings. He is the author of eleven books and numerous published articles and the editor of the jazz hymnal Swing a New Song to the Lord: Jazz Resources for Worship. Carter is a graduate of Binghamton University and Princeton Theological Seminary and lives in South Abington Township, Pennsylvania.You can purchase Thriving On A Riff on Amazon.comYou can connect with This Is Not Church on:Facebook Instagram Twitter TikTok YouTubeAlso check out our Biolink for all things This Is Not Church relatedPlease like and follow our Quoircast Partners:Heretic Happy Hour Messy Spirituality Apostates Anonymous Second Cup with Keith The Church Needs TherapyIdeas Digest Snarky Faith Podcast Wild Olive Deadly Faith Spirituality Brew Pub Faith For The Rest Of UsJonathan_Foster Sacred Thoughts Holy Heretics Reframing Our Stories Bros Bibles & Beer Liminal LivingLove Covered Life The Social Jesus ProjectEach episode of This Is Not Church Podcast is expertly engineered by our producer The Podcast Doctor Eric Howell. If you’re thinking of starting a podcast you need to connect with Eric!

Jun 10, 2024 • 1h 1min
Rift: A Conversation With Cait West
This Quoircast podcast episode is brought to you by A New Way Of Seeing: Meaning In Life And The Christian Vision Of Nature by Pierce Alexander Marks. Available June 25, 2024 and published by QuoirIn this episode we chat with Cait WestCait West is a writer and editor based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her work has been published in The Revealer, Religion Dispatches, Fourth Genre, and Hawai`i 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.You can follow Cait on:Facebook Instagram Twiter Threads TikTok You can find all things Cait West on her websiteYou can purchase Rift on Amazon.comYou can connect with This Is Not Church on:Facebook Instagram Twitter TikTok YouTubeAlso check out our Biolink for all things This Is Not Church relatedPlease like and follow our Quoircast Partners:Heretic Happy Hour Messy Spirituality Apostates Anonymous Second Cup with Keith The Church Needs TherapyIdeas Digest Snarky Faith Podcast Wild Olive Deadly Faith Spirituality Brew Pub Faith For The Rest Of UsJonathan_Foster Sacred Thoughts Holy Heretics Reframing Our Stories Bros Bibles & Beer Liminal LivingLove Covered Life The Social Jesus ProjectEach episode of This Is Not Church Podcast is expertly engineered by our producer The Podcast Doctor Eric Howell. If you’re thinking of starting a podcast you need to connect with Eric!

Jun 3, 2024 • 1h 7min
Exploring Doubt And Deconstruction: A Conversation With Amanda Waldron
This Quoircast Podcast episode is brought to you by Everything Is The Same, But Exactly Different (And It Always Will Be) Improv, Jesus, And The Radical Affirmation Of Difference by Samuel Tanner. Published by Quoir, and available now.In this episode we chat with Amanda WaldronAmanda Waldron is the visionary behind the Wonder & Doubt Mentoring Program, a project born from her profound passions for Clinical Social Work and Theology. This program embodies the support she longed for during her own period of deconstruction a decade ago—a transformative time when she reassessed the beliefs she had grown up with. This journey led Amanda to seek therapy, attend seminary, and ultimately earn a Master's degree in Clinical Social Work. Through her mentoring program, she aims to guide others navigating similar paths, ensuring they feel supported and less isolated.You can follow Amanda on:Instagram Twitter PinterestYou can find all things Amanda Waldron related on her WebsiteYou can connect with This Is Not Church on:Facebook Instagram Twitter TikTok YouTubeAlso check out our Biolink for all things This Is Not Church relatedPlease like and follow our Quoircast Partners:Heretic Happy Hour Messy Spirituality Apostates Anonymous Second Cup with Keith The Church Needs TherapyIdeas Digest Snarky Faith Podcast Wild Olive Deadly Faith Spirituality Brew Pub Faith For The Rest Of UsJonathan_Foster Sacred Thoughts Holy Heretics Reframing Our Stories Bros Bibles & Beer Liminal LivingLove Covered Life The Social Jesus ProjectEach episode of This Is Not Church Podcast is expertly engineered by our producer The Podcast Doctor Eric Howell. If you’re thinking of starting a podcast you need to connect with Eric!

May 27, 2024 • 1h 11min
Wishful Thinking: A Conversation With Donna Freitas
This Quoircast podcast episode is brought to you by the Quoirlings: A Book Club for the Deconstructing Community.In this episode we chat with Donna FreitasTHE NINE LIVES OF ROSE NAPOLITANO is Donna Freitas’s first adult novel. She has spoken at nearly two hundred colleges and universities about her nonfiction work. She is the author of CONSENT: A MEMOIR OF UNWANTED ATTENTION, as well as ten novels for children and young adults. Donna has written for The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Boston Globe, and she has appeared on radio and television, from NPR’s All Things Considered to The Today Show. She has been a professor at Boston University and Hofstra University, and is currently a member of the faculty at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s MFA program.You can follow Donna on:InstagramYou can find all things Donna Freitas related on her websiteYou can purchase Wishful Thinking on Amazon.comYou can connect with This Is Not Church on:Facebook Instagram Twitter TikTok YouTubeAlso check out our Biolink for all things This Is Not Church relatedPlease like and follow our Quoircast Partners:Heretic Happy Hour Messy Spirituality Apostates Anonymous Second Cup with Keith The Church Needs TherapyIdeas Digest Snarky Faith Podcast Wild Olive Deadly Faith Spirituality Brew Pub Faith For The Rest Of UsJonathan_Foster Sacred Thoughts Holy Heretics Reframing Our Stories Bros Bibles & Beer Liminal LivingLove Covered Life The Social Jesus ProjectEach episode of This Is Not Church Podcast is expertly engineered by our producer The Podcast Doctor Eric Howell. If you’re thinking of starting a podcast you need to connect with Eric!