The Back Pew

Danielle Bennett is a poet, educator, and true sage of a woman who has journeyed through a diverse collection of both pulpits and pews. 

She drops wisdom on everything from transcending the racial divide in America, to women in leadership, to leaving then cultivating spiritual communities. 

You can see all things related to Danielle's performances and book her to speak at your next event at missdaniellebennett.com

The fellas sit down with Rev. Gideon Mbui to hear about his experiences navigating American culture, figure out who in the world is leading the way - spiritualy speaking, and get a rural African's perspective on what Church is & should be. 

The fellas get deep into the future and foibles of modern day religious movements around the world with a member of the mafia turned international missionary, aka Dan's dad aka Dr. Prevette aka Oxford Seminary Professor and Back Pew Lifetime Acheivement Award Winner.

Staley Jophiel Munroe is a front pew kind of Christian with a back pew kind of story. She’s a gorgeous transgender woman who has experienced being on the fringe of both religious and LGBTQ communities.

In this episode, the fellas take some bullets for the “cisnormative community” as they stumble through the complex yet wonderful process of embracing their transgender brothers & sisters.

Breakdowns include an eloquent vocabulary lesson from Dan & an exploration of how the book of Genesis can be used to understand God’s intention for human nature by Colton.

Enjoy!

Sex. Everybody has a story about their first time, or lack there of. 

In this episode, the fellas get real intimate about the way purity culture has shaped their lives for the good or the bad with special guest Johan Khalilian, who shares the story of his transition away from being the abstinance-advocating, youth motivatational speaker and into a life filled with far more questions about how, why and IF one should continue to wait for sex after losing their virginity. 

The dudes talk to transformational life coach Janet Wood about jumping in, flailing around, and learning the hard way that sometimes the love we need the most is our own.

Key Topics: Christian Marriages, Affairs, Divorce, Life Coaching, Healing, and True Vulnerability.  

The guys get raw and real about the modern millennial church, why feelings aren't everything, and why be Christians at all.

Barry Taylor found his faith on The Highway To Hell working as the sound engineer for AC/DC. Since then, his journey through Christian culture has led him to Fuller Theological Seminary where he earned his PhD and currently teaches several courses on the arts, pop-culture, and how people in the Church can remain relevant to the rest of the world. His perspective is as far outside the mainstream as it gets, and his ability to synthesize a diverse set of seemingly contradictory worldviews is unparalleled.

Barry coauthored A Matrix of Meanings: Finding God in Pop Culture and A Heretic's Guide to Eternity. His latest book, Entertainment Theology: New Edge Spirituality in a Digital Democracy, was published in 2008.

We bring Dei & Tawanna back for PART II to talk about the complex differences between seemingly parallel civil rights movements rooted in race, gender, religion and sexuality. We also take a deep dive into what the Bible says about homosexuality and examine the historical persecution of the LGBTQ community. 

In PART I of our time with Dei Thompson & Tawanna Benbow, we sit down for cocktails to discuss racial tension between black & white people, the Christian faith within an African American context, and how earnest white folks should respond to the current civil rights movement.

In PART II [coming soon] we will discuss homosexuality & gender as it relates to both black & white religious communities.

Comedian, podcaster, and transcendental question asker Joe Quint sits down with us to discuss Zen Buddhism, hallucinogenics, and why any of us need Jesus at all.

Mysticism

Matcha

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Social Activism rooted in spiritual practices are also of primary concern in this episode. 

Enjoy!