Exvangelical

Ep. 58: George Mekhail, co-founder of Church Clarity. My guest this week is George Mekhail, one of the co-founders of the new organization, Church Clarity, as well as the Director for Strategic Partnerships and Innovation at the Riverside Church in New York City. We talk a lot about his life and experiences, and how much of that has led into his work at Church Clarity. Learn more about Church Clarity at churchclarity.org. Follow George on Twitter @gmekhail. Support the show on Patreon: patreon.com/exvangelicalpod Follow me on Twitter: @brchastain Follow the show on Twitter: @exvangelicalpod Like the show on FB: Facebook.com/exvangelicalpod Join the Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/332199817139241/ Intro: "Night Owl" by Broke for Free Interludes/Outros from the Clarity album by Jimmy Eat World Tracks: "On A Sunday" and "Clarity" --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/exvangelical/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/exvangelical/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://www.postevangelicalpost.com/about

This week's guest is the musician David Bazan. In this conversation, we talk about his Pentecostal upbringing, how he's processed faith and doubt through his music, Trump and evangelicalism, the return of Pedro the Lion, and more. Bazan is on tour right now. Learn more at davidbazan.com/shows. Follow him on Twitter @davidbazan. Bazan & Pedro the Lion songs in this episode: "Hard to Be," from Curse Your Branches [Bazan] "Secrets of the Easy Yoke," from It's Hard to Find a Friend [Pedro] "Harmless Sparks" from Curse Your Branches [Bazan] "People," from Strange Negotiations [Bazan] "Magazine," from Control [Pedro] "Keep Trying," from Care [Bazan] Support the show on Patreon: patreon.com/exvangelicalpod. Follow me on Twitter @brchastain, and follow the show @exvangelicalpod. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/exvangelical/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/exvangelical/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://www.postevangelicalpost.com/about

This one is a re-release of a conversation with my friend Sean Reed, from very early in the feed. We talk a lot about CCM in the 90s, evangelical pop culture scandal (divorce! swears! we were so innocent.), and the youth group scene in the Chicago suburbs. Support the show on Patreon: patreon.com/exvangelicalpod Like the show on Facebook: Facebook.com/exvangelicalpod Follow the show on Twitter: @exvangelicalpod Follow me on Twitter: @brchastain Search Facebook for "Exvangelical" to find the closed group. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/exvangelical/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/exvangelical/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://www.postevangelicalpost.com/about

My guest this week is Laura Jean Truman. She blogs over at her blog, In/Between, which can be found at laurajeantruman.com. Laura Jean and I talk about her life, how the way we view our past changes over time, her experience being queer in a non-affirming church, and why she remains engaged with Christianity. It's a great conversation. My audio is rougher b/c my mic didn't record properly. Sorry. Read Laura Jean's blog In/Between at laurajeantruman.com, and follow her on Twitter @laurajeantruman. Support the podcast at patreon.com/exvangelicalpod, follow me on Twitter @brchastain & the show @exvangelicalpod, and join the Exvangelical fb group! Intro: "Night Owl" by Broke for Free Interlude 1: "I am here" by P!nk Interlude 2: "Down to the River to Pray" by Alison Krauss Outro: "In Between Days" by The Cure --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/exvangelical/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/exvangelical/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://www.postevangelicalpost.com/about

After an unexpected hiatus, the show returns in full force. Our stories are more important than ever. Keep telling them. Share your stories on Twitter with the hashtag #exvangelical. Show Notes: "Steve Bannon Sought To Infiltrate Facebook Hiring" https://www.buzzfeed.com/josephbernstein/steve-bannon-sought-to-infiltrate-facebook-hiring?utm\_term=.lnbvrKnvq#.at0bOZpbr "Trump is dismantling Obama’s religion initiatives" https://thinkprogress.org/trump-dismantling-obamas-religion-initiatives-49d89df9b0e4/ "The Danger of President Pence" https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/10/23/the-danger-of-president-pence Follow me on Twitter @brchastain, and follow the show on Twitter @exvangelicalpod. Join the Exvangelical facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/332199817139241/ Support the show on Patreon: patreon.com/exvangelicalpod Intro: "Night Owl" by Broke for Free Outro: "I Give You Power" by Arcade Fire & Mavis Staples --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/exvangelical/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/exvangelical/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://www.postevangelicalpost.com/about

My guest this week is Chris Stroop. Chris was a guest back on episode 15 of the show, and since that time he has become well-known for his essays on Religion Dispatches (as well as his threads on Twitter, including the trending hashtag #EmptyThePews) about the global Religious Right, particularly in American and Russian politics, as well as Exvangelical experience more broadly. He is also a fellow administrator of the Exvangelical Facebook group. We talk at length about #EmptyThePews and the stories people have told through it, as well as the value of sharing ex-Evangelical stories in private and in public. You can support Chris's work via Patreon at patreon.com/cstroop and follow him on Twitter @C\_Stroop. You can also support this show via Patreon at patreon.com/exvangelicalpod. Join the Exvangelical facebook community here: http://bit.ly/2gZQEql. Follow me on Twitter @brchastain, and follow the show on Twitter @exvangelicalpod. Follow the ephemeral podcast at anchor.fm/exvangelicalpod. Intro/Outro: "Night Owl" by Broke for Free Interlude 1: "Pure Comedy" by Father John Misty Interlude 2: "Culture War" by Arcade Fire --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/exvangelical/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/exvangelical/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://www.postevangelicalpost.com/about

My guest this week is Mike James. Mike talks about his experiences going to a megachurch youth group, a small Christian college, moving from planting a church to starting a winery, and what his deconstruction has revealed about the "life on rails" he felt he was leading before. We also talk about the privilege afforded to both of us as white straight men, and much more. Follow Mike on Twitter @HyperbolicMike. Intro/Outro: "Night Owl" by Broke for Free. Interludes: "No Phone" by Cake, "BBC Dad" by BBC Dad, and "Ghosts" by The Head & The Heart. Support Exvangelical: patreon.com/exvangelicalpod. Join the Exvangelical Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/332199817139241/ Follow Blake on Twitter @brchastain. Follow the show on Twitter @exvangelicalpod, like the show on Facebook at facebook.com/exvangelicalpod, follow the show on Anchor.fm at anchor.fm/exvangelicalpod. Rate & Review the show on iTunes! End of Show Notes! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/exvangelical/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/exvangelical/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://www.postevangelicalpost.com/about

My guest this week is Tori Williams Douglass (@ToriGlass on Twitter). She and I discuss her history, as well as how the death of Michael Brown altered her understanding of white evangelicalism. We also discuss her must-read blog post, "The Day I Learned White Christians Hate Me." Read it here: https://toriglassdotcom.wordpress.com/2017/08/08/the-day-i-learned-white-christians-hate-me/ This a frank discussion about race that centers Tori's experience. Follow her on Twitter @ToriGlass, and read her work at toriglassdotcom.wordpress.com. No pre-roll intros this week - I had a cold and nobody needs to hear that. Join the FB group by searching "Exvangelical" on Facebook and answering the three brief questions. Follow me on Twitter @brchastain. Support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/exvangelicalpod. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/exvangelical/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/exvangelical/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://www.postevangelicalpost.com/about

Trying to make sense of what just happened in Charlottesville, VA and what it means for the country. Trying to figure out how to address racism and racial systems on the show. I don't know where we go from here, and I need your input. Join the Exvangelical community on Facebook. Discuss on Twitter with the hashtag #wheredowegofromhere. Follow me on Twitter @brchastain. Outro: "Action" by Mavis Staples. Show notes, and stories you need to read: Broderick Greer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BroderickGreer/status/896560477119164416 Broderick Greer's Theology Live podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-2-blacklivesmatter/id1045300697?i=1000356252307&mt=2 https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-10-whitechurchquiet/id1045300697?i=1000377126018&mt=2 Charlotte Henderson's "Advice for White Allies in the Wake of Charlottesville: https://sisterresistance.wordpress.com/2017/08/14/advice-for-white-allies-in-the-wake-of-charlottesville/ Tori Glass's "The Day I Learned White Christians Hate Me:" https://toriglassdotcom.wordpress.com/2017/08/08/the-day-i-learned-white-christians-hate-me/ Gita Jackson's "After Charlottesville, I Asked My Dad About Selma:" http://kotaku.com/after-charlottesville-i-asked-my-dad-about-selma-1797837094 "The Most Christlike Thing for a Cis/Hetero/White Christian Man to Do with His Power is Abdicate It:" https://www.exvangelicalpodcast.com/blog/2016/9/26/the-most-christlike-thing-for-a-cisheterowhite-christian-man-to-do-do-with-his-power-is-to-abdicate-it?rq=privilege --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/exvangelical/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/exvangelical/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://www.postevangelicalpost.com/about

Lyndsey Medford is a post-evangelical writer and blogger. She writes at lyndseymedford.com. Follow her on Twitter @lyndseymedford! The first #exvreads book club book has been chosen! It is \*The Evangelicals: The Struggle to Shape America\* by Frances Fitzgerald. Use this link to buy it! http://amzn.to/2uEthDU More details about the book club discussion will be coming out soon on Twitter and in the Exvangelical Facebook group. The first discussion will happen at the end of August/early September. Follow Blake on Twitter: @brchastain Follow the show on Anchor: anchor.fm/exvangelicalpod Follow the show on Twitter: @exvangelicalpod Like the show on Facebook: facebook.com/exvangelicalpod Support the show via Patreon: patreon.com/exvangelicalpod --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/exvangelical/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/exvangelical/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://www.postevangelicalpost.com/about