Our guest this week is singer-songwriter and former member of Caedmon's Call, Derek Webb! Derek has earned both the applause and the ire of the Christian music industry, over the years. He has been a central figure in the deconstruction movement for many years, and has challenged many of the contemporary church's ideals and sentiments through his music.

Derek is also in the middle of an ambitious project with his fans. He is streaming the writing and recording of his next album, "The Jesus Hypothesis," in real time for his subscribers. If you'd like to learn more about his music, or become a supporter of the new album, visit www.derekwebb.com, or subscribe to his Patreon at www.patreon.com/derekwebb!

On this episode of Friday Fellowship, we're hanging out with professional cosplayer, OnlyFans extraordinaire, and Casey's wife of 11 years, April Gloria! We cover some fun topics like purity culture object lessons (you know, like how a girl who's kissed a boy is like chewed gum), "crossing the line" in Christian relationships, the all-consuming inferno of teenage jealousy, coming to terms with and embracing your sexuality, and the never-ending cringe factory that is an E-girl's inbox. We had a blast hanging out with April, and definitely suggest checking out her work on Instagram (@_aprilgloria), Facebook (www.facebook.com/aprilgloriacosplay), Twitch (twitch.tv/aprilgloria), and OnlyFans (www.onlyfans.com/aprilgloria).

This week, we're joined all the way from Norway by Peter Espevoll, one of the founding members of Christian death metal band Extol (Century Media & Solid State Records). In the late 90's and early 2000's, there was a real groundswell of creativity in the Christian heavy music scene, and Extol was one of the keystone bands from that era. However, surviving and thriving in an emergent genre like faith-based metal is not exactly a walk in the park. In spite of Extol's success, life on the road and in the studio was a struggle, to say the least. In this episode, Peter talks about the excitement of being a signed band on tour, how a disastrous tour lead to the end of his music career, his struggles with anxiety and mental health, the deconstruction of his faith, and falling in love with music again after years of negativity. We enjoyed hanging out with him, and we're very excited to tell you about the debut single from his new music project, HRADA! Check out "Gospel Oak" at the link below, or anywhere you listen to music, and subscribe to their youtube channel to stay up to date on new music!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJmqPjgUzwg

This week, we're joined by actor, writer, and comedian Jonathan Braylock, who you may recognize from his roles on fantastic shows like Netflix's Astronomy Club and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, as well as the 2016 romantic comedy How to Be Single! He comes from a conservative Christian household, and like many of us, he has painstakingly re-evaluated his faith over the course of many years. Jonathan has a fascinating story, and we covered a lot of ground: off limits entertainment, the diminishing returns of apologetics, getting started in show business, and all the fun ways to keep the peace with religious family members. We had a blast talking with him, and if you haven't already, do yourself a favor and watch Astronomy Club on Netflix!

If you're enjoying the show, Sam and I would love to hear from you! Leave us a review on iTunes, and join in the conversation on our Discord. You can find the link on any of our social media pages. We'll see you there!

I've got good news and bad news for you. The bad news is that billions of taxpayer dollars are propping up religious universities that actively discriminate against LGBTQ+ students. The good news is there's an elite team of legal professionals, activists, creators, and victims of discrimination that are leading the charge to cut government funding to those schools!

Our guest this week is Paul Southwick, Director of the Religious Exemption Accountability Project. REAP empowers queer, trans and non-binary students at more than 200 taxpayer-funded religious schools that actively discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. Through civil rights litigation, documentary film, oral history, research and public policy, we work towards a world where LGBTQ students on all campuses are treated equally, with safety and respect.

REAP has garnered attention with their class action lawsuit against the Department of Education that aims to cut federal funding to schools with discriminatory policies. This is a BIG undertaking, and they need your support! If this cause resonates with you, go to www.thereap.org to pledge your support and make a donation. This is a cause that so many of us were blind to while studying at Christian universities, and it's time we did our part to support our LGBTQ+ friends. Take it to 'em, and enjoy our talk with Paul Southwick!

In my experience, doing anything worthwhile means that sooner or later, you're going to lock antlers with old guard apologists - people so entrenched in tradition or ideology that they just can't seem to understand a different perspective. Sometimes it's hard to believe that you're even reading the same source material as them! 

Benjamin L. Corey is an activist, theologian, blogger, speaker, and author of "Undiluted: Rediscovering the Radical Message of Jesus" and "Unafraid: Moving Beyond Fear Based Faith." Over the years, Ben has challenged the long-held positions of mainstream American Christianity on issues of equality, tolerance, and what it means to emulate the character of Jesus. We had a great time talking about his run-ins with church bureaucracy, and managing depression and other mental health conditions using ketamine and other psychedelics. Enjoy!

Check out this article that Ben wrote about spotting the antichrist: https://www.benjaminlcorey.com/could-american-evangelicals-spot-the-antichrist-heres-the-biblical-predictions/

If you spent a lot of time at youth group, chances are good that a few different Christian organizations gave a presentation about their program. Some of them were focused on the local community, some sent kids overseas for missionary work, and others were more of a Bible training program centered around the individual. They almost always had a great pitch, with pictures of exciting places and stories about incredible experiences, but as I got older, I met more and more people who had strange experiences in these programs. 

Our guest, Bianca, joined Master's Commission fresh out of high school. It's a program affiliated with the Assembly of God church which describes itself as "an intense discipleship training center that challenges you to grow an intimate relationship with God and pursue the dreams God has placed before you." As far as Bianca knew, that meant two years of community service and missions work which resulted in a Biblical studies certificate offered through the church. What it actually meant was surrendering every waking moment of her life to a strict group of fundamentalists with no qualms about working teenagers to the bone, while simultaneously bombarding them with intense, and sometimes dangerous, spiritual programming. Despite the negative aspects of her experience, Bianca is able to look back on her time at Master's Commission with a degree of appreciation for the lessons she learned, and the friends she grew close to. You're going to enjoy her infectious positivity, and her take on what faith means to her, these days!

Alright kids, grab your Kutless tshirt and a copy of CCM Magazine, because we're finally doing a Christian music recap episode! We sat down with old friends Jesse Hoffman and Jeremiah Skinner to talk about the best and worst of 90's and 00's Christian rock, hip hop, and all the bland stuff in between. If your mom ever insisted on reading the lyrics in your Project 86 cd jacket, or you blew out the stock speakers in your Ford Escort cranking "Do Not" by John Rueben, you're going to have fun with this episode!

I put together a couple of Spotify playlists featuring our picks for the best Christian rock and hip hop, and you can check them out here: https://open.spotify.com/user/vu1n758vls4ia9xeivq85zfm5

Join our Discord server, and let us know if we missed any of your favorites!

Today, we ask the age-old question: "Does Jesus own an AR-15, or does he own ALL AR-15s?"

There are an estimated 390,000,000 guns in the US - a country with a population somewhere around 328,000,000. In January alone, Americans bought over 4.1m guns, which is a 60% increase! Within five years, every man, woman, and child in the country will be able to dual wield AK-47s to combat the impending alien invasion invasion, and I just don't know that we can, in good conscience, condemn that strategy. However, easy access to firearms comes at a price. 2020 saw  an increase in gun violence, with 20k deaths attributed to firearms, as well as 24k suicides using guns. Regardless of where you stand on the 2nd Amendment, we should ALL strive to curb those statistics.

Our guest, Shane Claiborne, is an accomplished Christian author, activist, and founder of Philadelphia-based non-profit The Simple Way. His most recent book "Beating Guns: Hope for People Who Are Weary of Violence" (coauthored by Michael Martin) is an in-depth critique of gun culture in the United States. Shane and Michael examine the history of gun culture in the US, it's strange relationship with American Christians, and the real world implications that gun laws have on people, especially in our most vulnerable communities. 

This is a difficult subject to tackle. Many of you (like me) are probably gun enthusiasts, and have been staunchly opposed to gun regulations of any sort. Others may have little or no association with guns, and think that this whole issue is insane. Regardless of which side of the fence you're on, we have to learn how to have productive, respectful conversations about the realities that access to firearms creates, and in my opinion there's no better person to do that with than Shane Claiborne!

We've all heard the phrase "living well is the best revenge," but one of the most important and encouraging things I've learned over the past few years is that living well makes the most compelling case for change. If changing hearts and minds is your goal, you've got to show the other side how green the grass is where you're standing!

Brad Harker grew up in a tightknit Mormon community in Australia. After decades of repression, he came out as a gay man, and was determined to serve the community that he felt he had betrayed for so long. Over the years, Brad has become an influential voice in the LGBTQ+ community, and especially among previous Latter Day Saints members. He organized a group called "the Peacock Mormons," which advocates for broader acceptance of minority communities within the LDS church. Brad's optimistic message of love, tolerance, and hope for a better future is a breath of fresh air, and we had a great time talking to him!

Big thanks to our buddy Luke “Slam Dunk” Wilson for joining us for the intro! Check out Ep. 12 - Conversion Therapy Speed Dating to hear his story.