The Puddcast

My guest this week is author, speaker, trauma-survivor and disability advocate Stephanie Tait. We had a profoundly deep conversation on the theology of suffering, prosperity, faith, trust, disabilities and ableism, and community. I cried real tears, you guys. I strongly urge every one of you to take the time to listen to this, Stephanie’s wisdom and grace are remarkable and every one of us have something to learn from her.

Resources mentioned:

Support me and my work at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle
Order Stephanie’s book, The View from Rock Bottom: Discovering God’s Embrace in our Pain
Visit Stephanie at stephanietaitwrites.com
Support Stephanie’s work on Patreon
Follow Stephanie on Twitter and Instagram

This week's guest on The Puddcast is yours truly! I'm introducing my new devotional You Are Enough: Learning to Love Yourself the Way God Loves You through a free daily email during the season of Lent. In this episode, I explain the origins of Lent, how Easter is like heart surgery for Christians and why it’s worth preparing for surgery, and then I read the first daily reflection along with the accompanying meditation from my book. My invitation to you is to give up self-hatred, self-doubt and self-condemnation for lent this year, and try on love instead.

Sign up for the Lent email series at jonathanpuddle.com/lent

Support me and my work at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle

This week I had the great pleasure of chatting with John Mark McMillan all about his brand new album, “Peopled with Dreams.” An accomplished singer-songwriter, John Mark is quite possibly my favourite musician on the planet, so this was a real treat. We talked about life and death and gods and a God who bleeds alongside us, and the connection between love and suffering. Listen today!

Resources mentioned:

Support me and my work at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle
Listen to Peopled with Dreams by John Mark McMillan on Apple Music or Spotify
Visit John Mark online at johnmarkmcmillan.com
Follow John Mark on Twitter and Instagram

Danielle Strickland joined me on The Puddcast this week to discuss how women and men can work together for a brighter future, one in which girl’s self-confidence doesn’t peak at 9 years old, where 1 in 3 women will not experience unwanted sexual attention and where men don’t live in fear of sexual accusation. We discussed power, fear, corruption and the Billy Graham rule, too. Whoever you are, you need to listen to this!

Resources mentioned:

Support me and my work at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle
Order Better Together: How Women and Men Can Heal the Divide and Work Together to Transform the Future by Danielle Strickland
Visit daniellestrickland.com
Learn more about Brave Global
Follow Danielle on Twitter and Instagram

Michael Bird is a theologian and New Testament scholar, who was responsible for editing the landmark work with NT Wright, The New Testament in it’s World. Mike and I talked about how to read the New Testament, what it tells us about power, empire, community, culture, history and more.

Resources mentioned:

Support me and my work at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle
Order The New Testament in its World by NT Wright and Michael Bird
Watch the Council of Nicea rap battle
Check out Biblica Hipsteria
Read Mike’s blog
Follow Michael Bird on Twitter

David Kinnaman is President of the Barna Group, specialists in church-related research. He joined me on the show this week to discuss what is working in churches around the world looking to build resilient, faithful disciples. We also discussed using research as a lens on what’s happening in culture, and using that as a means of helping the church understand its times and the way forward.

Resources mentioned:

Support me and my work at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle
Order Faith For Exiles: 5 Ways for a New Generation to Follow Jesus in Digital Babylon by David Kinnaman and Mark Matlock
Link to Brené Brown interview with Russell Brand
Sign up for news on my devotional, You Are Enough: Learning to love yourself the way God loves you

My guest this week is poet and artist Morgan Harper Nichols. We talked about Morgan’s upbringing, her lifelong search for a creative outlet, her self-doubt and feelings of insufficiency, and the surprise success of her artwork and poetry. We also discussed Instagram as a platform that can foster personal intimacy and connection. Expect lots of graceful thoughts, kind words and laughter.

Resources mentioned:

Support me and my work at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle
Order All Along You Were Blooming: Thoughts for Boundless Living by Morgan Harper Nichols
Follow Morgan on Instagram and Twitter

In November last year, I spent two weeks in South Africa volunteering at a children’s home and daycare centre. Today I’m honoured to share with you the story of the centre’s founder, Maria Gaba. Born in Soweto (once the home of Nelson Mandela), Maria’s story is one of overcoming traumatic childhood abuse by the power and love of God. It is honest, brutal at times, yet ultimately hope-filled. The work Maria does is nothing short of remarkable, and she gives all the glory to God. You will come away impacted, I promise you.

To assist in contextualizing her story, the following is a brief glossary of terms, people and places she mentions:

Angel of Hope - The HIV/AIDs counselling centre run by Rebecca, Maria’s daughter.
Rebecca - Maria’s eldest biological daughter.
Soweto - The South Western Townships of Johannesburg, once the largest Black city in South Africa, a hotbed of race riots until the end of Apartheid.
Eastern Cape - A province in the South East of South Africa.
Tebuho - Once of Maria’s biological sons, died of AIDS-related illnesses.
Mandla - One of Maria’s biological sons
Bulelwa - One of Maria’s biological daughters
Lukanyo - One of Maria’s biological sons
Windmill Park - A predominantly Black settlement in Boksburg, in the South East of Johannesburg.
Creche - Daycare centre. “Mpumelo” is Zulu for success.
80 Rand - Approximately $7 CAD / $5 USD
Free State - A province in central South Africa.

Support me and my work at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle

This week I am joined by Courtney Burg AKA Mombojombo, to talk about everything to do with trauma-informed parenting. We touched on boundaries, safety, self-regulation, rewiring your own brain, tantrums, and changing your parenting to reflect the unconditional love of God. Even if you’re not a parent, there’s something in here for you!

Resources mentioned:

Support me and my work at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle
Order Boundaries, by Dr Henry Cloud & Dr John Townsend
Get Courtney’s Breaking Free journaling guide
Follow Courtney on Instagram

My guest this week is Episcopal priest and poster of popular liturgical reflections, Father Kenneth Tanner. We discussed the character of God and what it means to participate in the life of God, who has already done all things and redeemed all of creation for our benefit. It might leave you speechless at the goodness of God. You have been warned.

Resources mentioned:

Support me and my work at patreon.com/jonathanpuddle

Follow Father Kenneth on Instagram and Twitter

Listen to my interviews with Wm. Paul Young and Brad Jersak.