The Puddcast

I’m honoured to welcome to The Puddcast this week, my city’s mayor, Cam Guthrie! Cam and his wife Rachel shared some of their life story along with insights on managing hectic schedules, putting in boundaries, dealing with criticism, supporting one another’s career goals, the COVID rollercoaster and the opioid overdose crisis. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with them.

Follow Cam on Twitter and Instagram, follow Rachel on Instagram.

Support me and my work at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle
Order my new devotional, You Are Enough: Learning to Love Yourself the Way God Loves You.
Find every book or resource I’ve talked about on my Amazon storefront, in Canada, the United States or the United Kingdom.

This week we are joined once more by Max Lucado, one of the most prolific Christian authors of our time. Max and I briefly discussed some themes from his new book, You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God's Presence and Power before we moved on to examining the intensity and pain of the moment we find ourselves in, how so many of our systems are failing us and how we desperately need help from the Holy Spirit. There’s a little something in here for everyone.

Order Max’s latest book, You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God's Presence and Power.

Follow Max on Twitter and Instagram.

Support me and my work at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle
Order my new devotional, You Are Enough: Learning to Love Yourself the Way God Loves You.
Find every book or resource I’ve talked about on my Amazon storefront, in Canada, the United States or the United Kingdom.

To celebrate my book launch in a few days, you get a very special edition of The Puddcast this week where my friend Anthony McLean hosts the show and interviews me! We talked about trauma, vulnerability, courage, blackness, the importance of embodiment in our spiritual practice, performance vs identity, challenges Enneagram type 2s tend to experience, and we practiced some self-compassionate meditation together.

You can order my brand new devotional, You Are Enough: Learning to Love Yourself the Way God Loves You, right here.

You can learn more about Anthony McLean at anthonymclean.org

I briefly referenced the idea of not feeling safe with God. If that’s an issue for you, I talk about it at length in my devotional book, but I also discuss it in this article here.

You can support me and my work at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle
You’ll find every book or resource I’ve talked about on my Amazon storefront, in Canada, the United States or the United Kingdom.

On The Puddcast this week is Derwin L. Gray, pastor of Transformation Church in South Carolina, and author of The Good Life: What Jesus Teaches about Finding True Happiness. We discussed the Beatitudes as an invitation to a life of meaning and purpose, how that intersects with racial justice, how the prosperity message has crippled our witness, and our great need for leadership from those who have pastored on the margins.

Order Derwin’s book, The Good Life: What Jesus Teaches about Finding True Happiness.
Follow Derwin on Twitter and Instagram.

Support me and my work at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle
Order my new devotional, You Are Enough: Learning to Love Yourself the Way God Loves You.
Find every book or resource I’ve talked about on my Amazon storefront, in Canada, the United States or the United Kingdom.

This week we look at a crucially important topic: suicide and mental health. My guest is Kayla Stoecklein, whose husband Andrew died by suicide two years ago. Andrew had been the lead pastor of their church, and had struggled with significant mental health issues for some time. Kayla shares vulnerably how warning signs were missed and a great tragedy could have been averted. She provides hope and practical help for anyone facing depression, anxiety, panic attacks or suicidal ideation, as well as for those people loving others through it.

Order Kayla’s excellent book, Fear Gone Wild: A Story of Mental Illness, Suicide, and Hope Through Loss.
Follow Kayla on Instagram.

Support me and my work at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle
Order my new devotional, You Are Enough: Learning to Love Yourself the Way God Loves You.
Find every book or resource I’ve talked about on my Amazon storefront, in Canada, the United States or the United Kingdom.

I’m joined this week by my good friends Marc & Tryphena Gagnon, who share their story so far raising their multiracial family. Marc is of French Canadian heritage and Tryphena’s family is from India, and they have learned a lot about one another and themselves as they raise their mixed-race children to understand and own their racial identities and engage with the world around them in compassion and love. Marc is also the teaching pastor at Lakeside Church in Guelph.

Tryphena recommends the following books:
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
Martin Luther King, Jr. (Little People, BIG DREAMS series), by Maria isabel Sanchez Vegara
Rosa Parks (Little People, BIG DREAMS series), by Lisbeth Kaiser

Visit Marc & Tryphena’s church at lakesidechurch.ca

Support me and my work at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle
Order by new devotional, You Are Enough: Learning to Love Yourself the Way God Loves You.
Find every book or resource I’ve talked about on my Amazon storefront, in Canada, the United States or the United Kingdom.

Hey friends, I’m off for a little vacation. The Puddcast will be back on air sometime in August! Thanks for your support… will talk soon.

My guest this week is Kevin Makins, pastor of Eucharist Church in Hamilton, Ontario. Kevin and I chatted about walking away from God, building communities that are safe for people questioning their faith, and how Jesus shatters the idols we make out of our churches and communities. This conversation presents a hope-filled, loved-centred path forward for the church in secular society. It’s full of joy. You’ll love it.

Order Why Would Anyone Go to Church? A Young Community’s Quest to Reclaim Church for Good, by Kevin Makins.
Visit Kevin online at kevinmakins.com.
Subscribe to his YouTube channel at youtube.com/kevinmakins.
Follow Kevin on Twitter and Instagram.

Support me and my work at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle
Find every book or resource I’ve talked about on my Amazon storefront, in Canada, the United States or the United Kingdom.

K.J. Ramsey is a therapist, writer and the author of This Too Shall Last: Finding Grace When Suffering Lingers. K.J. and I have become good friends over the course of the pandemic, and in this interview we discussed the hope embedded in suffering, the tension between Jesus’ words “All these things and more you will do” and “In this life, you will have troubles”. She shared how stories that include very hard things can also include great hope and love, and how brain science reveals that being still with God in the midst of our suffering is of transformative importance. I cannot recommend her to you highly enough.

Order This Too Shall Last: Finding Grace When Suffering Lingers by K.J. Ramsey
Follow K.J. on Twitter and Instagram.

I’ve been shortlisted for best Christian blog of the year in Canada! Follow The World Guild on Facebook to watch the awards ceremony on Saturday 13th June.

Support me and my work at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle
Find every book or resource I’ve talked about on my Amazon storefront, in Canada, the United States or the United Kingdom.

Rich Villodas, pastor of New Life Fellowship in the heart of Queens, NY, joined me on the show this week. I’ve been hugely impressed by Rich’s depth of thought and the integration of emotional health, racial reconciliation, Holy Spirit power and more that he teaches and embodies. We discussed sexual wholeness, contemplative spirituality and discipleship all in the lens of his new book, The Deeply Formed Life.

Support me and my work at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle
Find every book or resource I’ve talked about on my Amazon storefront, in Canada, the United States or the United Kingdom.

Read Kaitlin Curtice’s piece on pressing into the discomfort of this moment.
Order The Deeply Formed Life: Five Transformative Values to Root Us in the Way of Jesus by Rich Villodas
Follow Rich on Twitter and Instagram.