Spiritual Misfits Podcast

Karen Pack at the Future Church Conference discusses the power of storytelling, challenges historical narratives for LGBTQIA+ inclusivity, reimagines Australia's history, advocates for inclusive storytelling in Christianity, highlights erasure of marginalized voices in religious narratives, and empowers LGBTQIA+ representation in faith communities.

Hello good people!In January this year a group of us hosted the first ever Future Church conference. It was a fantastic day — we had people travel from South Australia, Queensland, Victoria…converging in Redfern Town Hall for an exploration of what the church of tomorrow could look like at its most expansive, welcoming and imaginative. We delved into some heavy topics, but it was a really inspiring and wonderful space of connection and possibility. There will be another Future Church Conference — if you want to make sure you don’t miss any announcements about that give New City Church a follow on the socials — or even feel free to send an email to spiritualmisfits@outlook.com and we will make sure you’re in the loop when a date is announced.In the meantime, I’m going to be playing some of the talks from last time here on the podcast. They were all brilliant, in my opinion, and are well worth sharing around and using as the basis for ongoing conversations.  We were so grateful to be joined by Safina Stewart on the day. Safina is a proud Wuthathi and Mabuiag Island woman who grew up cross culturally in New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Australia. She is an artist, the Relationships and Storytelling Coordinator at Common Grace, and a brilliant storyteller in her own right. Safina gave a talk at Future Conference called ‘The Future Church is Decolonising’. This was such a powerful and palpable talk to be in the room for. If you couldn’t be in the room this recording is absolutely worth listening to! At certain points in the talk Safina used her body to illustrate the points she was making. For example, when she talks about looking back at the past to inform our future she turned away from the audience. Knowing this I’m sure you can imagine those moments as you listen. Are you part of a church that wants to find out more about partnering with Common Grace? Email info@commongrace.org.au  Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.The Spiritual Misfits Survival Guide (FREE): https://www.spiritualmisfits.com.au/survivalguideSign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/View all episodes at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

Hello good people,In January this year…which feels like a long time ago right now….a group of us hosted the first ever Future Church conference. It was a fantastic day — we had people travel from South Australia, Queensland, Victoria…converging in Redfern Town Hall for an exploration of what the church of tomorrow could look like at its most expansive, welcoming and imaginative. We delved into some heavy topics, but it was a really inspiring and wonderful space of connection and possibility. There will be another Future Church Conference — if you want to make sure you don’t miss any announcements about that give New City Church a follow on the socials — or even feel free to send an email to spiritualmisfits@outlook.com and we will make sure you’re in the loop when a date is announced.In the meantime, I’m going to be playing some of the talks from last time here on the podcast. They were all brilliant, in my opinion, and are well worth sharing around and using as the basis for ongoing conversations.  Joel Hollier was a major force in instigating Future Church Conference, along with the crew at New City Church. And here is Joel’s talk: The Future Church is Trauma Informed…Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.The Spiritual Misfits Survival Guide (FREE): https://www.spiritualmisfits.com.au/survivalguideSign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/View all episodes at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

Scott M. Coley is a lecturer in philosophy and the author the forthcoming book 'Ministers of Propaganda: Truth, Power and the Ideology of the Religious Right.'In this conversation Scott gives an excellent overview of how propaganda can function in reinforcing systems that benefit those who are currently in positions of power and privilege. He also explains the role of 'legitimising narratives' in perpetuating social hierarchies. For people seeking to disentangle the core of faith from the ideology that is often overlaid for political or other purposes, this conversation and Scott's book can be a helpful and accessible guide.Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.The Spiritual Misfits Survival Guide (FREE): https://www.spiritualmisfits.com.au/survivalguideSign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/View all episodes at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

Growing up my understanding of Islam was largely informed by Christian sources telling me what was wrong. I actually remember a book I owned called ‘why are there so many gods?’ In and of itself this is not a terrible question, but the contents of the book included a 1-2 page summary of all the major (and many minor) religions of the world. And at the end of each one it had ‘the catch’ - a couple short sentences on why it was false.Of course on the page about Christianity ‘the catch’ section said ‘there is none!’These days I find the project a book like that is trying to engage in preposterous and arrogant. I would much rather look for the common ground across spiritual traditions. I’m happy to acknowledge and discuss differences, but I’m not looking for ‘the catch’ in every view that differs from mine! Speaking of common ground, this week I had a conversation with Adis Duderija, a scholar of contemporary progressive Islam. Perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised to discover so much of what Adis outlines in terms of his approach to faith is deeply resonant with my own. And many of the tensions he describes within the tent of his tradition…sound like they could just be describing the same trends within Christianity.I desire a spirituality that sees people from all perspectives as conversation partners and fellow learners. So I was very grateful for this chat with Adis. There’s so much more we could have explored. But if, like me, your engagement in inter-faith dialogue has been more limited than you’d like, I hope this provides an opportunity to listen, learn and see common ground in our pursuit of a good, just and beautiful life.About Adis Duderija:Adis Duderija is an academic, working at Griffith University. Teaching and researching on contemporary Islam with a special focus on the theory of progressive Islam, salafism and religious extremism, Islam and Gender, western Muslims’ identity construction and inter-faith dialogue theory and practice.Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.The Spiritual Misfits Survival Guide (FREE): https://www.spiritualmisfits.com.au/survivalguideSign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/View all episodes at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

Rachel Collis has often felt like the ‘non-Trekkie at the Star-Trek convention’ at church. Still, she has shown up over the years, through faith, doubt and everything in between. We explore her story as well as the powerful music she makes, closing our conversation with one of her songs, ‘the least of these.’Check out more of Rachel’s work here: https://rachelcollis.com/Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.The Spiritual Misfits Survival Guide (FREE): https://www.spiritualmisfits.com.au/survivalguideSign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/View all episodes at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

We're adding a twist to our beloved Pub Theology episodes: bring a friend - who brings the topic. This time, Will has brought Carlynne Nunn. And Carlynne has brought shame and disappointment. Great topics for a lively ol' pub chat! Pour a drink of your choosing and join us for a rich and wide conversation about the dark and uncomfy things in life and faith. Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.The Spiritual Misfits Survival Guide (FREE): https://www.spiritualmisfits.com.au/survivalguideSign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/View all episodes at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

Dear friends,  If you are listening on the day this comes out, happy resurrection Sunday! And if you are listening at any other time that’s cool because resurrection is not restricted to Easter Sunday. It pops up in all kinds of places, often where it's unexpected. This conversation with Josephine McDonnell Inkpin is a wonderful reminder of that, and I am just delighted to share it with you.  Josephine was Australia’s first transgender priest, and she is the minister at Pitt St Uniting Church. As you will hear throughout this conversation she has a depth of wisdom, compassion, wit, generosity -- and a remarkable perspective on the great religious traditions. As you’ll hear she’s deeply grounded in her Christian tradition while having a wonderful collaborative approach to other traditions — and to me, that’s good news. We talk about many things, one of them being the beautiful perspective transgender folks can bring to our understandings of resurrection. Listen deeply, share widely. The biggest thanks to Jo for joining us for this one! Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.The Spiritual Misfits Survival Guide (FREE): https://www.spiritualmisfits.com.au/survivalguideSign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/View all episodes at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

James Watson is a musician, music educator and a lovely fella who possesses many of the same qualities as a golden retriever. He’s warm, loveable and quick to make friends. He’s also deeply thoughtful and considered, as you’ll hear in this conversation about changing churches, evolving beliefs and the ‘little hurts’ that can build up in communities over time. At the end of the chat he shares a song he wrote in anticipation of this podcast interview. And trust me, it’s a goody. You’ll probably want to play it twice, like I did the first time he sent me a voice memo with a rough recording. Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.The Spiritual Misfits Survival Guide (FREE): https://www.spiritualmisfits.com.au/survivalguideSign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/View all episodes at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

Rob Waters, Gomeroi poet and storyteller and the current Australian Poetry Slam champion joined me for a rich and deep conversation about an all-encompassing spirituality that exists beyond the boxes of a compartmentalised life. Rob shares about the grounding role of Country and Story from a First Nations perspective. We then explore the prophetic role of the poets in speaking truth in an unjust world, while also acknowledging that listening ought to precede speaking. Towards the end of the conversation Rob shares two powerful poems and some particularly poignant and challenging stories. There’s great wisdom here for those who take the time to open their hearts and listen. Big love to Rob for sharing with us ❤️ Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.The Spiritual Misfits Survival Guide (FREE): https://www.spiritualmisfits.com.au/survivalguideSign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/View all episodes at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com