Spiritual Misfits Podcast

You may have heard the phrase ‘dark night of the soul’, originally attributed to St. John of the Cross. A mystic and poet. This idea of darkness refers to the invisibility and unknowabilty of God and is often used to describe the moments that feel like a crisis of faith. When you don’t know what to make of things anymore. Maybe what was once easy to believe has become very difficult. Maybe what once held together feels like it’s falling apart.And if it’s a dark night of the soul, we can maintain hope that morning light will come. Things won’t always feel like this. But, how do we make it through the existential angst of those dark nights? I was speaking with my friend Rach about this a while ago, and she had started to write a list of affirmations to hold onto when the light felt dim. I immediately thought — these could really help other people. So you’re about to hear Rach share some of her affirmations. And I encourage you as you listen, to make a note of any that particularly resonate with you. You might want to choose one or two of these that you can memorise or write down somewhere, and hold onto it when you need to.  We’re going to release a few of these in coming weeks, themed around slightly different areas we might be struggling with. This first one, is about things we can affirm regarding how a loving God would see us - even when our faith feels frayed. 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

It’s a natural and healthy part of development to ‘differentiate’ from your parents/carers. Even if you grew up in a safe, secure and loving environment there comes a point at which you begin to take ownership for your life, your values and your beliefs. As I reflect on the household I grew up in, I feel like my parents gave me two great gifts (among many others):1. They passed on their beliefs and practices for understanding the world.2. They cultivated a sense of permission to explore beyond the boundaries of these. Undoubtedly, my experience is partly reflective of being the 5th (out of 6) kids. By the time my folks got to me they’d had a decent amount of practice/levelling out. Either way, I have this strong sense that the capacity I feel that I have to honestly explore the doubts, questions and frustrations of faith, while maintaining a core belief that the centre of this Jesus tradition is goodness and love and liberation - I owe much of this to the generosity and flexibility of my folks’ faith. So, on a recent visit to their home I pulled out the mics, and convinced them to have a cup of tea and a chinwag with me about how their view of God has changed, expanded and been challenged over their lifetimes. If my generation is going to make it to our 60s with some form of robust, healthy Christian spirituality, we need role models like these. I hope you have them. If not, I hope this episode gives you a window into the ‘gentle renovations’ that can take place in healthy, life-long faith (befriended by doubt). 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

This week, my friend showed me the rejection letters. Not from a publishing house rejecting a manuscript. Not from a university rejecting an enrolment. The letters are from the church she grew up  in. And their rejection is of her...This episode is a reading of a piece of writing from our Spiritual Misfits website. You can find it in its original written form at spiritualmisfits.com.au, or listen via this episode. 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 want to use this podcast feed to create conversations that spark your grey matter. But we also want to help you develop practices that connect your mind, body and heart with the sacred. With love. With Christ. So this episode is an invitation. Into some space. A moment — to breathe, to be still, to become centred. We’ll be making a few of these over time, that you can use whenever you want to. Try and listen somewhere free from as many distractions as possible.You may want to walk while you listen. Or perhaps you want to sit in a comfortable chair, and close your eyes.Are you ready? Note: there are two versions of this guided reflection. One with backing music and one without it. So you can trial both and use whichever one you find more helpful. Connect with more resources for spiritual misfits and sign up for our Sunday Message emails at spiritualmisfits.com.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

We want to use this podcast feed to create conversations that spark your grey matter. But we also want to help you develop practices that connect your mind, body and heart with the sacred. With love. With Christ. So this episode is an invitation. Into some space. A moment — to breathe, to be still, to become centred. We’ll be making a few of these over time, that you can use whenever you want to. Try and listen somewhere free from as many distractions as possible.You may want to walk while you listen. Or perhaps you want to sit in a comfortable chair, and close your eyes.Are you ready? Note: there are two versions of this guided reflection. One with backing music and one without it. So you can trial both and use whichever one you find more helpful. Connect with more resources for spiritual misfits and sign up for our Sunday Message emails at spiritualmisfits.com.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

Welcome to the official first episode of the Spiritual Misfits podcast.If you’ve ever found yourself on the fringes of Christian faith this is a safe space for you. Your questions, doubts and hopes are all welcome here. We’re creating conversations, affirmations, meditations and other resources to support you on your spiritual journey and let you know that even if you feel like a misfit, you don’t have to feel alone. Our first episode is a conversation with Bronte Hughes about social work, Jesus and more.A quick note at the beginning here. Towards the end of our conversation Bronte and I explored some of our reactions to the recent Rise and Fall of Mars Hill podcast from Christianity Today. During this conversation we touch on gender issues though we don’t necessarily unpack them in the depth they deserve. We certainly hope to do this in future episodes. After our chat Bronte and I wanted to note that we neglected to mention non-binary people and the impact of gender inequality on their experience in churches. So please bear that in mind as you listen and may we all continue to learn in this space together.Spiritual Misfits podcast is brought to you by Meeting Ground — a church for the misfits. Sign-up to receive The Sunday Message email each week by heading to spiritualmisfits.com.au, where you’ll also find a range of content to support you where you’re at.     If you know someone who this would help or encourage, please share the love. Give us a rating and review online and feel free to send us a message via our website. We’d love to hear from you.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

Hi friends, My name’s Will and a little while ago some friends and I started a little church called Meeting Ground. Many of us grew up in the church but somewhere along the way we found ourselves in positions you may be familiar with.   Some of our beliefs didn’t make sense anymore. We saw gaps between the teachings of Jesus and the culture of many churches. Some of us had experienced spiritual abuse or trauma or were excluded from faith communities for one reason or another. Some of us just felt like the church wasn’t set up to handle our honest questions about God, the bible or difficult areas of theology.  Some of us left. Some of us stayed. Either way, we found ourselves on the fringes of faith, trying to hold onto the beautiful and life-giving parts, while trying to let go of toxic or harmful stuff. I fundamentally believe that faith and doubt are both best experienced in safe community. And so one of the worst things that can happen is having to process deep spiritual questions, painful experiences or evolving beliefs in isolation.That’s kind of why we started Meeting Ground — to be a safe place for misfits in process.I believe there are life-giving theologies, practices and communities oriented around Jesus. I also believe healthy community ought to be inclusive — and welcome people to the table at all stages in their journey. This can be messy. But it’s worth it. It’s beautiful. It seems to me at least like something Jesus would be into. So, this podcast is part of a larger body of work we are creating to let misfits everywhere know, you aren’t alone — and there’s a place at the table for you. We’re creating reflections, meditations, liturgies, conversations and other resources to help you on your spiritual journey. You may feel like a spiritual misfit. But you don’t have to feel alone. Sign-up for The Sunday Message at spiritualmisfits.com.auWant 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