This week we're doing a short series of Taylor Swift-linked podcasts. In today's episode, we examine Taylor's journey as a storyteller, as told through her music. 

Heather and I explore the art of storytelling, and how Taylor has perfected and practiced this through her musical career.

We also discuss the power of sharing our stories in our art and why good stories are so compelling, and where our own stories have connected with Taylor's work. 

This episode is a great insight into the power of story, what makes great art, and how we can find ourselves through sharing and hearing stories. 

Today my guest is the inspiring author and speaker Jay Bakker. In this episode, recorded in July 2020, he shares his own powerful story of personal and spiritual transformation.

He shares more about the trauma, grief, and losses he's experienced and how they impacted his life, theology and faith, as well as the mental health challenges he's faced. 

We explore how the things Jay experienced changed his perspective on spirituality, Christianity and the church. We also discuss the potential impact of the pandemic, as we experience a collective grief and trauma.

It's a powerful and inspiring story, and well worth a listen.

In this episode I'm honoured to be joined by Amanda Held Opelt, to share her stories of grief. 

Amanda shares her experiences of grief, from losing a beloved grandmother, miscarriage, and the death of her sister Rachel Held Evans.

She tenderly and honestly shares the impact grief has had on her life and faith, the questions it raised, how it's shaped her own journey - and we talk about how we as a culture, and individuals, need to develop healthier rituals to name and process our grief. 

(This episode was shared with Amanda's consent). 

Today a new on-off series 'Our Grief Stories' begins with author J. A. Browne telling the story of the loss of her mother in 2015, and then her dad in 2019, how she experienced grief, her reaction, and the lessons she learned. 

She tells us how she learned how we experience life differently through the lens of loss, and how the loss of a parent is a very particular, and very painful type of grief. She tells us the physical, emotional and bodily trauma responses.

In talking about this I resonated and shared a bit of my own journey, as we found shared experiences and reactions to the loss of a parent, how life changes, how it influences our life choices, and how we have both discovered healthy ways to process and manage our grief.

Today Rev Dr Kate Hanch PhD, comes on the show to talk about her study on prophetic humility through the lens of women, and marginalised women. 

Fully acknowledging her own inbuilt bias and white privilege, she talks about how we need to centre women in conversations around theology, and historical women theologians whose voices have been silenced due to patriarchy. 

Dr Kate then moves on to talk about how and where she is finding hope in these difficult times we're living in and how her faith helps her face challenges.  And then she talks about finding joy in the midst of pain, and lessons we can learn from periods of struggle.

Today I welcome writer and speaker Bob Doto to the show. In this episode we explore how we can have a form of relationship with the spirits of those who have passed.

Bob explains how he discovered and experienced how we can encounter spirits and do spirit work through the lens of biblical hermeneutics, magical and mindfulness practices, shadow work, and self-inquiry. 

Bob shows having a relationship with the spirits of those who have passed is not only possible within the all Christian traditions, but is inherent to the faith as a whole - and we discuss exactly how this fits in with the practices and experiences of lament and grief.

Today author and coach Caroline McGraw joins me to talk about her new book and why "You Don't Owe Anyone".  

Caroline explains to us how often we feel obligated to the world around us, feel we "owe" people and put impossible expectations on ourselves, and the unhelpful roles we can sometimes assign ourselves. We explore the dangers of perfectionism and how to free ourselves of it.

We also discuss why it's so important to name what we're carrying - fear, trauma, mistakes - and face up to it in order to be transformed and grow. And why continually pursuing growth is so important.

Finally, Caroline gives us some practical steps we can take to begin this journey in our own lives. 

****

Pre-Order Carolines book here (& get some amazing pre-order bonuses): 

https://awishcomeclear.com/james-prescott

Today I'm joined by author & speaker Sarah Bessey, and speaker, author, podcast host and activist Lisa Sharon Harper, to talk about the new collaborative book they've worked on and contributed to, along with many others, 'A Rhythm of Prayer'.

We talk about the background to the creation of the book in the context of the events of the last 12 months - global pandemic, the murder of George Floyd, the US Presidential election and the weight this book carries and the message it wants to send us in these times of grief & uncertainty. 

We talk about the inspiration for Lisa's own contribution, Sarah's reasons for creating this book and the importance of new liturgies for a new time - and the significance of all of these voices being women. 

"A Rhythm of Prayer" is available now at all online booksellers. 

In this special episode, I sit with Becky Castle Miller and tell my own story.

A story of childhood trauma, multiple grief experiences, and a journey through the unhealth of certainty and spiritual abuse, into deconstructing not just my faith, but my life and my identity.

It's a story of transcendent spiritual experiences, betrayal, suicidal ideation and nearly losing it all.

A journey of healing, transformation and embodiment. 

My story. 

Today my friend Kelly Wolfe joins me, to talk about sex, desire, lust, masturbation and healthy ways we can connect these with Christian faith. 

We talk about the damage purity culture and shame has done to so many people, and how we need to unlearn this and begin to talk about these subjects openly and honestly, and be honest about our desires and how our bodies work, and need to express themselves sexually. 

Kelly talks openly about how masturbation in the right context can be a healthy expression of our sexuality - and how and why this fits with the way of Jesus and honours how we were created.

Finally, Kelly also discusses the difference between lust and desire, and why we should have no shame in discussing and ethically exploring our sexuality - and why this is a beautiful, divine gift.