We both are huge believers in being life-long learners and not just for the benefit of expanding knowledge. We’ve found continued learning, curiosity, and asking questions has had a positive impact on our spiritual lives as well. One thing that really supports learning is being in community with others who are wrestling with and asking similar questions. So we invite you to join us! We’ve got a new and exciting way to connect with community and resources. And as you think about what role...

It’s that time of year when people start thinking about setting goals and resolutions so Brian is taking this episode and discussing his thoughts on how we can take better care of ourselves and our communities! He invites you to reflect back on the year with some questions and reflections around loving yourself and loving your neighbor. Modern life is HARD and full of distractions so taking care of yourself and taking care of others needs to be an intentional priority.  Resources: New...

Father Shay shares a sermon based on Matthew 21:33-46 for this episode. Has there ever been a time someone told you the truth about yourself that hurt you or you didn’t want to hear? Sometimes the truth can hurt or be hard to hear but we must learn to listen to the truth-tellers.    Join the community at Sanctuary Collective.    If you want to support the Patreon and help keep the podcast up and running, you can learn more and pledge your support at patreon.com/queertheology. Want to have...

Worship music might be killing your soul, but attending an unaffirming church, reading material that is unaffirming, and hate-following accounts that are actively harmful against the LGBTQ community is killing your soul too! People often tell us that it’s hard to leave behind worship music and that it helps them feel connected to God, but we’re here to tell you that you kinda have to. Seriously, you’ll feel so much better and might even build some really life giving spiritual practices in the...

One of the things that comes up the most often in our work with people is that they have this feeling of loneliness, a feeling of not being connected to others or able to find a community. We very strongly feel that it’s important to be connected to a community, but what happens when you outgrow a community before finding a new one? We’re dedicating this episode to talking about making new friends and the importance of friendship and spiritual supporters! We got some practical tips for...

Thinking about your religion as only a personal relationship with God is dangerous to you and to others. There are so many ways claiming a personal connection to God can be powerful and life-giving, but you have to really examine if minimizing religions and rituals that come with other religions are actually a way to minimize communities and avoid accountability. In this episode, we talk about how important it is to have a personal connection to the Divine, but also how important it is to...

We’re coming up on All Souls Day and this has us thinking about death, dying, and grief. What was your experience around death growing up? For us, it was all about celebrating the people who were now in heaven with little room for grieving. But the grief and loss was still very much there. We talk about the importance of rituals and community when it comes to grief. A supportive community and rituals can help you heal amidst loss and the good news is that these rituals do not have to be...

It’s not enough to leave a church or faith that is harmful, you still have to unlearn the bad theology that was taught in those spaces. Why? Because that sh*t is going to keep coming up and having an impact on you and you’ll still be in a place of anger and fear!  In this episode we get into the ways you can recognize where shame, anger, and fear are still coming up for you and what you can do next.. Psst- it has to do with learning HOW to read the Bible better!    We also answer a couple...

Last week we talked all about harm reduction. But we don’t want you to just go from hurting to numb- we want you to get you all the way to thriving! And for this you really gotta lean in and parse out what exactly you want, what exactly you are feeling. Previous faith communities might have made you feel isolated and alone, but there may also have been moments of joy and love. What are those things? Can you name them and bring them out? It’s so important to recognize the nuance and how the...

We’re getting into our feelings in this episode talking about that sense of homesickness for a place/home/church you can’t go back to. A place that might have caused you harm, a place you are still healing from. And this is a great reminder that no matter how much you are thriving, there might still be some hurt that you are harboring or wounds that need to be healed. Are you healed from the places that hurt you? What ARE those feelings that come up for you when you hear or think about a...

One thing we often hear is that people are so overwhelmed they can’t possibly start making changes or living their authentic life right now. But that is often EXACTLY the time to start! We’re not talking about doing something rash or unsafe, but taking one small first step. Sometimes you might not know what the next steps will be until you take that first step!    In this episode, we talk about how to notice if “not the right time” is “exactly the right time.” We got some questions to help...

As we head into the new season we are reflecting and setting intentions for the fall. Maybe it’s the years we spent in school, but September just kinda always feels like the beginning of the year in a way!   This summer we hosted a bunch of amazing guests, we held the Queerness Every Day Challenge, and we kicked off a cohort of Flip Your Faith. One of the things that we continually notice is how often people feel they are alone. Alone in a journey, alone in deconstruction, alone in their...

For the final episode of our Summer Guest Series we are joined by Cindy Wang Brandt. Cindy describes herself as ‘someone who wants to find interesting things and do them’ and, as we found in this interview, she definitely does that and has so much wisdom from her experiences!   Cindy Wang Brandt is an author, podcaster, and speaker. She hosts conferences and communities that help parents heal from religious trauma to raise children with healthy spirituality.   We discuss how religious trauma...

Candice Marie Benbow is on the podcast this week talking about growing up in the Black Baptist Church, Red Lip Theology, and the beauty of faith in marginalized folks.   Candice is a multi-genre theologian who situates her work at the intersections of beauty, faith, feminism and culture, giving voice to Black women’s shared experiences of healing and journeying toward wholeness. Reimagining how faith can be a tool of liberation and transformation for women and girls, she challenges Black...

We are talking with Candace Simpson on this episode of our Guest Series about a God who gives a damn with no room for cheap, easy theology!  Candace (she/they) is a sister, educator and preacher. She went to Trinity College and Union Theological Seminary and served as site coordinator for the Concord Freedom School for several years. It is their joy to design immersive participatory experiences where people can “be responsible for their own learning.” She is one of the associate ministers at...

It is such a privilege to have Bishop Karen Oliveto on the podcast for this guest series episode. She describes herself as a pastor, preacher, teacher, and activist who works with diverse communities to change the world through her work as a Bishop in the United Methodist Church and we think adding ‘cultivator of joy’ to that list is also appropriate!   Bishop Oliveto was consecrated as a bishop of The United Methodist Church and assigned to the Mountain Sky Episcopal Area, which includes 355...

It. Is. HERE! Y’all, we are at our 500th podcast episode and it just so happens to also coincide with our 10 year anniversary of Queertheology.com! (a whole decade!! ) Over the last couple months we’ve been anticipating this as a pretty incredible milestone and we’re so excited to celebrate 500 episodes of queer joy, queer spirituality, and community! For this episode, we reflect on what life was like a decade ago, what it is like now, and our hopes for the next 10 years. We’ve got some of...

We’re so excited to invite y’all to join us for our Queerness Everyday Challenge! It’s a big ol’ celebration of queerness and the sacred, of community and finding more queer joy, of recognizing queerness in yourself whether you are just starting your journey or have been out and proud for a long time. We’re inviting EVERYONE to join in this fun challenge of finding more queerness between your faith life and spirituality. What are you waiting for? Join us!!   Join the Queerness Everyday...

We have Kate Boyd as our guest this week for a conversation that will really resonate with folks who have seen contradictions between what was in the real world versus what was taught in church.  Kate is the author of “An Untidy Faith” and host of the Happy & Holy podcast. She helps weary and wounded Christians rebuild their relationship with Scripture and community and love God and their neighbors with their whole selves. She is currently pursuing a masters in theological studies with an...

One prominent voice in the polyamory community is that of Kevin A. Patterson. Kevin is an active member of the Philadelphia polyamory community. He’s been practicing ethical nonmonogamy since 2002 after opening up a relationship that eventually became his marriage. He was inspired to start Poly Role Models, an interview series for people describing their experiences with polyamory and was part of a drive and a desire to change the way poly lives and communities are viewed. He has written both...

This week we have an inspiring interview with Madison Morrigan as part of our continuing Summer Guest Series.  Madison is an international award winning life coach, speaker, creative consultant and creator of Awaken Her Soul, a 14 week mentorship program designed to help womxn embody their worth, power and fullness. Centered on self-responsibility and full expression, Madison coaches ambitious and creative women as they shed the layers of old programming keeping them small and finally come...

If you’ve been here with us for a while, you’ll know how much we like to highlight context and historical perspective when reading the Bible. You’ll also know we often reference and recommend reading the work of scholar, John Dominic Crossan. We’re so honored to have the opportunity to chat with him about the historical Jesus and what that means for Christians today.  John Dominic Crossan is an Irish-American biblical scholar with two-year post-doctoral diplomas in exegesis from Rome’s...

We’re so excited to bring this discussion with former colleague and activist comrade, J Mase III for this episode of our Summer Guest Series! We get into the intersections of faith, transness, and queerness and his impactful work as a creative and public theologian.  J Mase III is an award winning Black Trans poet, author, educator, and filmmaker. He was raised in a Christian and Muslim home and coined the term ‘Black Trans Liberation Theology’ alongside his creative partner, Lady Dane...

We’re breaking into our Guest Series to give you an update on what we’ve got going on behind the scenes and what you can expect over the next couple months. It’s incredible to think we’re celebrating 10 years of QueerTheology.com and almost our 500th podcast episode ( !!). We’re so excited to share this journey with you and are really excited to bring you the next chapter of QueerTheology!   Join the QueerTheolgy email list: https://www.queertheology.com/    Join the online community...

We’re so honored to get the opportunity to have Rob Bell on for this episode of our guest series! Some of you might know the Rob Bell of 7 Rob’s ago… And some of you might know him currently- a New York Times Bestselling author of 13 books and plays which have been translated into 25 languages and the host of a podcast called The RobCast. But what we found about Rob is that there is beauty in allowing yourself to change and become a different version of yourself as long as you just be...