In this special episode of The BETWEEN Podcast, host Matt Mattson gets baptized in a coffee shop. Baptism is an incredibly important and meaningful ritual. But the host of this podcast (and the creator of BETWEEN), Matt Mattson, simply had never experienced baptism (he explains why in the intro). What better way to explore the sacredness of simple moments of human connection than to put a holy sacramental ritual right into the middle of a very sincere and meaningful conversation between...

Moments of transition in our lives and relationships can be really scary. They can be really sacred too. This short episode of The BETWEEN Podcast features host Matt Mattson offering some thoughts on this season of transition, and the transitions in our lives. This episode also serves as the official conclusion of Season 1 of the show (don't worrry... we're already working on Season 2!) As always, listen to our show wherever you listen to podcasts, or just visit our website:...

"Our world is hurting and broken. People are divided, disconnected, and lonely. It’s time for a fresh reimagining of what it means to be the Church in our day." -New Wine Collective Website This new episode of The BETWEEN Podcast (the first that includes a video version!) features host Matt Mattson cherishing a sacred conversation with Eugene Kim, founder of New Wine Collective. Eugene is an ordained minister with over 25 years of experience in local church ministry. For 17 years, he...

This episode features an amazing new author, Jenai Auman having a beautiful and sacred conversation with host, Matt Mattson. Her new book, Othered is for anyone who has felt left out or pushed out of the church, Othered is your invitation to find spiritual rest and belonging in a God who loves, restores, and blesses the outcast and the marginalized. Jenai Auman draws on her experience growing up as a biracial kid in the American South as well as working within toxic ministry environments...

MaryB Safrit is a NYC-based relationship coach, an author, the host of the Found Family podcast, and she also makes and sells some pretty fun and empowering clothing and merch. She’s also your friendly neighborhood bisexual, recovering people-pleaser, and current goblin obsessed with all things relationship-building, hospitality, spirituality, and culture. (We talk about those obsessions in this episode). This episode is a truly sacred conversation about the idea of found family, about the...

When Paul wrote about being "DEEP-SPIRITED FRIENDS," well, we aren't exactly sure what he meant. But he might have been hinting at our longing for the full colors of our soul to be seen. He might have been encouraging us to feel all of the humanness that the people around us are feeling. Alongside them. Even if only for a while. This BONUS episode of The BETWEEN Podcast features host Matt Mattson sharing a story about a friend who helped him understand the technicolor potential that lies...

Our special guests on this episode of The BETWEEN Podcast are Ashlie Sanders and Emilie Call... and these two sisters are doing something really cool... Ashlie and Emilie are the hosts of a podcast called "That's Church." They're also both members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In fact, Ashlie has a separate big social media presence... she goes by "The Nuanced Mormon." Ashlie and Emilie's "That's Church" podcast features the two of them visiting and talking with people...

Catherine McNiel is our guest and WOW, what a powerful and sacred conversation this is about fear and faith. Catherine's newest book is titled, Fearing Bravely: Risking Love for our Neighbors, Strangers, and Enemies. This book is an amazing mirror into which we all might look to see how much we might have been unknowingly discipled in fear instead of love. Catherine is an author and speaker who lives in the Chicagoland area with her husband, where they care for their three kids and...

This episode features Kristen Lavalley (author of "Even If He Doesn't") and host Matt Mattson diving deeply into the experiences of trauma and suffering that mark so much of our life path. Our guest has experienced so much -- a major faith crisis, witnessing a murder, the loss of a pregnancy, a traumatic birth experience with twins, and yet finds faith even when God doesn't show up in perfect ways. Kristen LaValley is a gifted writer whose words provide a refreshing perspective on faith and...

This new episode of The BETWEEN Podcast features a sacred conversation between host Matt Mattson and author Gregory Coles, Ph.D. about his book No Longer Strangers. Gregory Coles is a tangle of identities: born in upstate New York, raised on the Indonesian island of Java, and now working as a freelance author and scholar in Idaho's Treasure Valley. He holds a PhD in English from Penn State and has been in love with language since age 8, when he started learning his older brother’s SAT...

Whoa. Near Death Experiences is new territory for our podcast, and what a cool conversation this was. Host Matt Mattson shares a sacred conversation with Rev. Stephanie Chase Bradbury about the moments when people seem to transcend beyond our earthly realm and live to tell about it. The Reverend Stephanie Chase Bradbury is a graduate of Yale Divinity School, ordained an Episcopal Priest for 28 years, and serves a congregation in Massachusetts. She is a wife, mother, and grandmother. She is...

Enjoy this short BONUS episode of The BETWEEN Podcast featuring host, Matt Mattson telling you the secrets of the alternate universes he has discovered (and some that he learned about from people on social media). These alternate universes are "thin places." They are places where the rules of social engagement are morphed. They are places where it is incredibly easy to feel God in the presence of others. Do you know of any alternate universes like the ones described in this episode? Visit...

This episode of The BETWEEN Podcast features a gentle and beautiful conversation between host Matt Mattson and our special guest, Sarah Westfall. What if BELONGING isn't something to attain, but instead is someone to become? How could faith offer a kind of belonging that could transform us all into "people of welcome"? Sarah E. Westfall is a writer, speaker, and host of the Human Together podcast. She has a brand new book out titled, The Way of Belonging: Reimagining Who We Are and How...

What if loneliness isn't the boogeyman we've made it out to be? What if in our pursuit of belonging we skipped self-worth and it has left us feeling inauthentic? What if God showed up in a hotel lobby, would you recognize God? This episode of The BETWEEN Podcast features a wonderfully sacred conversation between host Matt Mattson and our special guest, Dr. Kelly Flanagan. Dr. Kelly Flanagan is an author, speaker, relationship coach, and licensed clinical psychologist. He writes regularly...

Lizz Enns Petters and Esther Joy Goetz are our special guests on this episode of The BETWEEN Podcast. Lizz and Esther host The Deconstructing Mamas Podcast and... If you are trying to figure out how to navigate the tricky tightrope of parenting while you have questions, doubts and wonderings about your spiritual journey, their podcast is for you (and so is this episode of our podcast!) Lizz Enns Petters is a passionate voice for so many people out there... she encourages her readers and...

This episode features host Matt Mattson and special guest, Nicole Mason. This slightly longer and deeply sacred episode is somehow about the future of faith communities, the heavy weight carried by so many women within the context of religious institutions, innovative church life, and really so much more... Nicole Mason is a church planter. She is a writer. She is an innovative Christian. She spent 7 years in vocational ministry within complementarian spaces -- and then left that world....

What is a mystic? Can you be one? Is contemplative prayer something that might bring us closer to each other? Can a dirty diaper be a sacred thing? Keith Kristich joins host Matt Mattson on this very contemplative episode of The BETWEEN Podcast. Keith Kristich is a writer, a retreat leader, a contemplative, a mystic... and the founder of the online contemplative community called Closer Than Breath. His mission is to help people unlearn rigid religion, reimagine what is divine, and see God...

Our special guest Rev. Lindsey Turner (They/Them) joins host Matt Mattson on this celestial episode of The BETWEEN Podcast. In 2018, Reverend Lindsey Turner who was a pastor at a church... was forced out of that church. In one swift and painful moment, Lindsey lost the house, career, and community they had built. After learning that Lindsey had offered a home to a young adult who was both trans and housing-insecure, a small group of church leaders demanded Lindsey's resignation in...

We're so excited to feature Sarah Bessey, author of Field Notes For The Wilderness: Practices for an Evolving Faith on this episode of The BETWEEN Podcast. Listen in as host Matt Mattson and Sarah Bessey discuss faith deconstruction, reconstruction, and things that are helpful if you find yourself wandering out there in a spiritual wilderness. Sarah Bessey is the author of the popular and critically acclaimed books, Out of Sorts: Making Peace with an Evolving Faith, Jesus Feminist,...

This episode of The BETWEEN Podcast features host Matt Mattson jumping into the "MESS" with special guest, Melissa Neeb. They discuss faith, deconstruction, parenting, mental health, addiction, and public speaking -- all within the context of building sacred moments of human connection in our lives. S Melissa gives some powerful advice about showing up and creating "honest rooms" that could be transformative for listeners trying to bring more meaningful (and maybe even holy) connection...

Join host Matt Mattson and special guest Pastor Justin Spurlock as they take a deep dive into the "unofficial sacrament of conversation." They discuss whether or not the "space between people" is actually sacred, they explore the importance of BELONGING in-depth, they talk about the challenges of faith-related language, and they share stories in an authentic exchange of real sacred conversation. Learn more about BETWEEN at ⁠our website⁠ and subscribe to our ⁠YouTube channel⁠. Don't forget to...

Today's guest on The BETWEEN Podcast is Rev. Nathan Albert (he/him). Nathan is a professional actor turned university chaplain, author, and religious pluralist. He seeks to be a disruptor of the dominant, a multifaceted theologian, a champion of religious diversity, and a multiple religious participant who promotes interreligious learning. As a chaplain, his focus is interreligious learning, spiritual engagement, and religious difference. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre...

Reverend Bethany Peerbolte is known by literally HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of people... maybe MILLIONS OF PEOPLE on social media... especially TikTok... as RevBethany... RevBethany is a loving, affirming, celebrating representative of Christianity who lifts up everyone who encounters her content... especially folks who have been pushed to the margins by organized religion in the past. RevBethany finds these wonderfully creative ways to bring scripture to life... and to connect the message of...

Our guest on this episode of The BETWEEN Podcast is Paula Stephens. Paula is many things... Here are five lines from her bio... Paula Stephens is an ordained Chaplain in the Zen Buddhist tradition. She wrote a book a while back and spent a significant part of her career helping parents overcome the unspeakable grief of losing a child. She is a Gold Star Mom. Wife of an SVU detective. Mom to a firefighter. And Mom to two other boys who are incredible humans! She's also a Nationally...