Episodes

  • Breaking Free: Paul Darminio on Radical Love, Queer Inclusion, and Leaving the Nazarene Church

    Breaking Free: Paul Darminio on Radical Love, Queer Inclusion, and Leaving the Nazarene Church
    Dec 23 2024
    In this powerful episode of Radical Love Live, we sit down with Paul Darminio, an ordained minister (for now) in the Church of the Nazarene, chaplain at an inpatient behavioral health center in New Jersey, and PhD candidate at Northwind Theological Seminary. As a cisgender hetero man, married with two teenagers, Paul shares his evolving faith journey and deep commitment to a religious worldview that embraces all people as God's beloveds, including queer individuals often excluded by traditional church doctrines. Paul opens up about his own struggles with depression and the experience of being an outsider, offering a raw and empathetic perspective that informs his ministry today. He discusses the mounting tension between his inclusive beliefs and the anti-queer stances of the Nazarene Church—a conflict that ultimately become one of his reasons to resign. The breaking point was a shocking scandal where church leadership chose to cover up a case of sexual abuse instead of reporting it to authorities. Now, Paul focuses his energy as a chaplain, where he provides spiritual care with a special tenderness for queer patients. He also reflects on the work of the Open Table Network and his vision for a future where radical love and justice replace exclusion and silence. Join us for an honest and hopeful conversation about faith, accountability, and what it means to truly embody God’s radical love. 🎧 Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe to Radical Love Live, a member of the QuoirCast network. www.RadicalLoveLive.com and www.Quoir.comFind your guides at Quoir Academy! If you’ve ever deconstructed your faith you know it’s not easy. But just imagine if you could have people to guide you through your process? People like, Jim Palmer, Kristin Du Mez, Jennifer Knapp, Brad Jersak, Brian Zahnd, Paul Young, and more? Well, if you head over to Quoir Academy and register for SQUARE 2 using the Promo Code [RAD] you’ll get 10% off the regular registration cost of this awesome course and community just for being a fan of our show. Follow this registration link: https://www.bk2sq1.com/square-2-next-steps-into-reconstruction?coupon=RAD
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    1 hr and 16 mins
  • Gender, Madness, and Theology: A Conversation with Charlotte Dalwood

    Gender, Madness, and Theology: A Conversation with Charlotte Dalwood
    Dec 16 2024
    Charlotte Dalwood has written a fantastic new book, Until at Dawn We Wake, (Now Available from Quoir publishing) which takes us on a revealing, bold, raw journey through the experience of psychosis, gender dysphoria, and Christian faith. In this bold, honest conversation, Charlotte shares her journey with us and how it has urged her to reexamine creation, sin, and redemption. We cover a wide range of territory, including disability theory, anti-carceral politics, feminism, and how our theology might be shaped by the ongoing abuse crisis plaguing American churches. Charlotte Dalwood a commentator on Canadian constitutional law, 2SLGBTQ+ rights, and religion. Her monthly column for Rabble.ca appears on the third Monday of each month. She also regularly writes for Xtra Magazine, and her work has appeared in in CBC News, Religion Dispatches, and Sojourners. Until At Dawn We Wake is her first book. Charlotte’s scholarly research spans the fields of law, religion, and contemporary critical theory. She also blogs at The Ends of Justice about administrative and constitutional law.Find your guides at Quoir Academy! If you’ve ever deconstructed your faith you know it’s not easy. But just imagine if you could have people to guide you through your process? People like, Jim Palmer, Kristin Du Mez, Jennifer Knapp, Brad Jersak, Brian Zahnd, Paul Young, and more? Well, if you head over to Quoir Academy and register for SQUARE 2 using the Promo Code [RAD] you’ll get 10% off the regular registration cost of this awesome course and community just for being a fan of our show. Follow this registration link: https://www.bk2sq1.com/square-2-next-steps-into-reconstruction?coupon=RAD
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    46 mins
  • Can Reviving Progressive Christianity Save the World?

    Can Reviving Progressive Christianity Save the World?
    Dec 8 2024

    Rev. Dr. Bruce Epperly believes it can! Join us for this groundbreaking discussion about doubling down on the power of Jesus and the Holy Spirit as forces for good in our nation and the world. In the dark aftermath of the January 2020 storming of the US Capitol, Epperly was inspired to fly to his writing desk to lay out a sweeping vision for healing the American spirit. Far from shying away from Christian teaching as the source of revival in the US, he dives in deep into the prophetic iconoclasm and system-shaking theology of progressive Christianity, and makes the case for reclaiming our relationship with Jesus as a mystic, healer, and prophet.

    Rev. Bruce Epperly PhD, is a multi-talented theologian, minister, professor, and author of over 80 books, including his latest, "Saving Progressive Christianity to Save the Planet." He is a pioneer in progressive Christianity and process/open and relational theology. He regularly speaks in person and on Zoom at conferences, seminars, churches and classes studying his books, and urgent topics of society, culture, politics, and faith. He also continues to teach as Adjunct Faculty at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington DC. From his website: "I believe that we are all mystics, and that there is a mystic in you. Each of us, whether we are spiritual, religious, agnostic, seeking, struggling with belief, is on a holy adventure. Find out more about Bruce at https://www.drbruceepperly.com.

    Find your guides at Quoir Academy! If you’ve ever deconstructed your faith you know it’s not easy. But just imagine if you could have people to guide you through your process? People like, Jim Palmer, Kristin Du Mez, Jennifer Knapp, Brad Jersak, Brian Zahnd, Paul Young, and more? Well, if you head over to Quoir Academy and register for SQUARE 2 using the Promo Code [RAD] you’ll get 10% off the regular registration cost of this awesome course and community just for being a fan of our show. Follow this registration link: https://www.bk2sq1.com/square-2-next-steps-into-reconstruction?coupon=RAD
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    58 mins
  • M.E. Young: Let Your Silenced Voice Grow Wild PART 2

    M.E. Young: Let Your Silenced Voice Grow Wild PART 2
    Dec 1 2024

    [Part 2 of 2] M.E. Young has led a varied and abundant life, with so much wildness and experience we needed two episodes to even begin to scratch the surface. Through this lively conversation we cover a range of lessons she has learned through her spiritual journey, including her vocation as a Catholic Missionary Sister and Music Minister who challenged traditional conventions, her controversial service as a Family Planning Clinic Administrator, her awakening to her true sexuality that transformed her idea of sacred desires, and her creative and healing work as a writer, visual artist, shaman, and integrative massage therapist. M.E. Young is the author of the newly released book, Naked Seeds: One Woman’s Journey to Unearth What Was Silenced, which contains her seventy-plus year curation of songs, poems, sermons, and stories that she has collected along the way. As she describes her mission as helping “women and men give voice to personal truths that the religious patriarchy has silenced in the past.” She enjoys encouraging others on their healing journey and would enjoy connecting with you on her website at www.MeYoungCreator.com. M.E. Young https://www.meyoungcreator.com/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Get Information and Tickets for Theology Beer Camp October 17-19 Denver, CO https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tRADICALHOBBITthe-return-of-the-god-pods-tickets-824208298207 Promo Code for our listeners: RADICALHOBBIT (all caps, no spaces) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Get Information and Tickets for Theology Beer Camp October 17-19 Denver, CO https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tRADICALHOBBITthe-return-of-the-god-pods-tickets-824208298207 Promo Code for our listeners: RADICALHOBBIT (all caps, no spaces)

    Find your guides at Quoir Academy! If you’ve ever deconstructed your faith you know it’s not easy. But just imagine if you could have people to guide you through your process? People like, Jim Palmer, Kristin Du Mez, Jennifer Knapp, Brad Jersak, Brian Zahnd, Paul Young, and more? Well, if you head over to Quoir Academy and register for SQUARE 2 using the Promo Code [RAD] you’ll get 10% off the regular registration cost of this awesome course and community just for being a fan of our show. Follow this registration link: https://www.bk2sq1.com/square-2-next-steps-into-reconstruction?coupon=RAD
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    47 mins
  • M.E. Young: Let Your Silenced Voice Grow Wild

    M.E. Young: Let Your Silenced Voice Grow Wild
    Nov 25 2024
    [Part 1 of 2] M.E. Young has led a varied and abundant life, with so much wildness and experience we needed two episodes to even begin to scratch the surface. Through this lively conversation we cover a range of lessons she has learned through her spiritual journey, including her vocation as a Catholic Missionary Sister and Music Minister who challenged traditional conventions, her controversial service as a Family Planning Clinic Administrator, her awakening to her true sexuality that transformed her idea of sacred desires, and her creative and healing work as a writer, visual artist, shaman, and integrative massage therapist. M.E. Young is the author of the newly released book, Naked Seeds: One Woman’s Journey to Unearth What Was Silenced, which contains her seventy-plus year curation of songs, poems, sermons, and stories that she has collected along the way. As she describes her mission as helping “women and men give voice to personal truths that the religious patriarchy has silenced in the past.” She enjoys encouraging others on their healing journey and would enjoy connecting with you on her website at www.MeYoungCreator.com.Find your guides at Quoir Academy! If you’ve ever deconstructed your faith you know it’s not easy. But just imagine if you could have people to guide you through your process? People like, Jim Palmer, Kristin Du Mez, Jennifer Knapp, Brad Jersak, Brian Zahnd, Paul Young, and more? Well, if you head over to Quoir Academy and register for SQUARE 2 using the Promo Code [RAD] you’ll get 10% off the regular registration cost of this awesome course and community just for being a fan of our show. Follow this registration link: https://www.bk2sq1.com/square-2-next-steps-into-reconstruction?coupon=RAD
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    37 mins
  • God, Sex, & Rich People: Confessions of an Ex-Evangelical

    God, Sex, & Rich People: Confessions of an Ex-Evangelical
    Nov 17 2024
    An eye-opening (and VERY candid) conversation about one woman’s discovery that not everything she learned about God and Sex growing up was necessarily what Jesus said, OR how things are done in the big city. We are grateful to Mattie Jo Cowsert, author of the new book God, Sex, and Rich People (Quoir Publishing), for taking the time to share her story with us, “shamelessly oversharing” about how she kept laughing and learning (even through some of the worst times) as her purity culture façade came undone and she found her authentic self underneath. Mattie Jo was a pastor’s kid and proud purity ring wearer before she moved to New York City and experienced an unexpected worldview and identity implosion. Her popular blog God, Sex, and Rich People exposed the sometimes painful, sometimes hilarious realities of a young female EXvangelical navigating the diversity of the Big Apple, working for the 1%, and trying to have good sex without hating herself in the city that never sleeps (and never stops sleeping around). Mattie Jo has appeared on The New Evangelicals Podcast, IndoctriNation, and Talkin’ Politics and Religion without Killin Each Other, among many others. She was invited by author Linda Kay Klein to join the Voices and Faces + Breakfree Together collaboration writing cohort on Religious Trauma, one of only ten individuals across the US to be selected.Find your guides at Quoir Academy! If you’ve ever deconstructed your faith you know it’s not easy. But just imagine if you could have people to guide you through your process? People like, Jim Palmer, Kristin Du Mez, Jennifer Knapp, Brad Jersak, Brian Zahnd, Paul Young, and more? Well, if you head over to Quoir Academy and register for SQUARE 2 using the Promo Code [RAD] you’ll get 10% off the regular registration cost of this awesome course and community just for being a fan of our show. Follow this registration link: https://www.bk2sq1.com/square-2-next-steps-into-reconstruction?coupon=RAD
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    51 mins
  • Tahtianna Fermin: Fostering hope for gender-nonconforming community and beyond

    Tahtianna Fermin: Fostering hope for gender-nonconforming community and beyond
    Nov 12 2024

    Tahtianna Fermin (she/her) has many roles, including being an ordained minister, community activist, and founder of Bridges4Life, an organization that helps the Transgender Non-Conforming (TGNC) community—work that is so essential in this current political climate that seeks to restrict care and protections for transgender/non-conforming people. In this refreshingly sunny conversation. Tahtianna talks with Kelly about her spiritual journey from conservative religious patriarchy to radical inclusion and outreach.

    We also talk about the need for the work that she and the Bridges4Life community is doing now, and look for some hope for the future. In addition to the qualifications listed above, Tahtianna Fermin is also a public speaker, writer, a member of The National LGBTW Workers Center’s NYC chapter and other community organizations, a practitioner of spiritual healing, and an International Business and Marketing Student.

    Find out more about Tahtianna at https://bridges4life.org/our-founder/ and at https://tahtiannasministry.wixsite.com/transgender. Bridges4Life is an organization built on helping the TGNC community and serves the northern New Jersey and New York City metro areas. Bridges4Life provides services for a range of people in need, including children in the foster care system, young adults, and surviving sex workers. The organization is committed to helping teens and young adults on the street and in foster care become responsible, self-sufficient, confident and educated adults. Learn more about Bridges4Life at https://bridges4life.org/.

    Tahtianna Fermin
    Facebook: @tahttiana.infiniti Instagram: @tahtianna_fermin_
    Bridges4Life
    Facebook: @Bridges4Life Twitter: @bridges4_life Instagram: @bridges4life_

    Find your guides at Quoir Academy! If you’ve ever deconstructed your faith you know it’s not easy. But just imagine if you could have people to guide you through your process? People like, Jim Palmer, Kristin Du Mez, Jennifer Knapp, Brad Jersak, Brian Zahnd, Paul Young, and more? Well, if you head over to Quoir Academy and register for SQUARE 2 using the Promo Code [RAD] you’ll get 10% off the regular registration cost of this awesome course and community just for being a fan of our show. Follow this registration link: https://www.bk2sq1.com/square-2-next-steps-into-reconstruction?coupon=RAD
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    52 mins
  • Luke Healy – From Conservative Roots to a New Era of Mystical Christianity

    Luke Healy – From Conservative Roots to a New Era of Mystical Christianity
    Nov 5 2024
    In this episode, Mark sits down with Luke Healy, cofounder of the Integral Christian Network (ICN), to explore Luke’s journey from a conservative Christian background to becoming a pioneer in mystical, integral Christianity. Luke shares how his evolving faith led him to connect with Paul Smith, a significant figure in progressive Christianity, and how their shared vision sparked the creation of ICN. Together, Luke and Mark reflect on the soul enriching We Spaces, the small online gatherings that bring people together from across the globe, and the large Sunday gatherings designed to foster deep, spiritual connections among participants. They also dive into the reasons why ICN has seen substantial growth as people are drawn to its one-of-a-kind mystical Christian experience. Mark also reflects on a specific We Space group exclusively for queer men he co-created with Paul. Find out more about ICN at IntegralChristianNetwork.orgFind your guides at Quoir Academy! If you’ve ever deconstructed your faith you know it’s not easy. But just imagine if you could have people to guide you through your process? People like, Jim Palmer, Kristin Du Mez, Jennifer Knapp, Brad Jersak, Brian Zahnd, Paul Young, and more? Well, if you head over to Quoir Academy and register for SQUARE 2 using the Promo Code [RAD] you’ll get 10% off the regular registration cost of this awesome course and community just for being a fan of our show. Follow this registration link: https://www.bk2sq1.com/square-2-next-steps-into-reconstruction?coupon=RAD
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    46 mins