🎙️ 31. Rev. Elizabeth Ashman Riley (Episcopal) – Rage Prayers & What to Expect at an Episcopal Church

What if the holiest prayer you could pray wasn’t polite at all—but a full-body, honest, angry, “Are you seeing this, God?!”

In this episode of The Sacred Slope, Rev. Elizabeth Ashman Riley (@therevriley), Episcopal priest & author of Rage Prayers, invites us to bring our whole selves—grief, fury, doubt, and all—to God. We talk about queer-affirming faith, the beauty of small Episcopal communities, and what newcomers can expect when they step inside an Episcopal church for the first time.

✨ In this conversation, we explore:
• Elizabeth’s call story in a tiny Alaskan village
• 20+ years of Episcopal debates around queer inclusion
• Why “Jesus loves you, but…” is not the Gospel
• The surprising, viral origin of Rage Prayers
• How to write your own rage prayers (and why God can handle them)
• What it’s really like to attend an Episcopal church—rituals, liturgy, community
• The gift of small, intergenerational churches where people actually notice you
• A closing prayer for anyone who hasn’t been prayed over in a long time

✨ What to Expect at an Episcopal Church
If you’re coming from non-denominational or megachurch spaces, an Episcopal church may feel smaller, quieter, more ancient—and more intimate. Expect ritual and scripture, weekly communion, candles, responses, and a community that knows your name. Expect belonging without condition, space for questions, and a faith shaped by love over fear.

💡 Key takeaways
• God is not fragile—your full emotions and doubts are welcome
• Rage can clarify what matters most
• Queer-affirming, justice-centered churches exist
• You deserve a church that doesn’t confuse “neutrality” with love
• Faith can be rebuilt with honesty, curiosity, and courage

📚 Resources Mentioned
• Rage Prayers – Elizabeth Ashman Riley
• Father Lizzie McManus-Dail – God Didn't Make Us to Hate Us @rev.lizzie
• April Ajoy – Star Spangled Jesus – @aprilajoyr
• Erin Hicks Moon – I’ve Got Questions – @erinhmoon
• Church Clarity – @churchclarity
• The New Evangelicals – @thenewevangelicals
• Theology Beer Camp - @theologybeercamp
• Tripp Fuller - @trippfuller
•  Adam Clark - @adamclk

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Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground.
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🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice
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🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿
Fruit of the Spirit: ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control

🎙️ 30. Jen Hatmaker (Relaxed in the love of Jesus) and Awake

Alexis Rice welcomes NYT Bestselling author, podcaster, and spiritual trailblazer Jen Hatmaker (@jenhatmaker) for a tender, fierce, and raw conversation about her new memoir Awake. It's about the collapse of her marriage, and the systems that helped build the house that fell. Together they unpack patriarchy, purity culture, codependency, women’s leadership in the church, LGBTQIA+ inclusion, and how to survive the holidays with people whose politics and theology break your heart.
Grab a copy of the book for a friend this holiday season!

💡 Key Takeaways

• Why deconstructing toxic systems is faithful work - and why some churches and platforms simply won’t change
 • A blessing and a help for parents when a child comes out, and how to build a safe home
 • How to navigate holiday tables with MAGA relatives: what you can’t control, when to draw a boundary, and why clear is kind (THX @BrenéBrown)
• A gentler Jesus: relaxed, non-fragile, present inside and outside institutions - and what it means to co-create “the good life” right now

👤 About Our Guest
 Jen Hatmaker is a longtime Christian author, speaker, and podcast host whose work has walked millions of women through authenticity, agency, and spiritual evolution. She’s the author of Awake and Fierce, Free, and Full of Fire, host of the For the Love podcast, and a loud, unapologetic advocate for women’s leadership and LGBTQIA+ inclusion in the church.

📚 Resources & Mentions
 📖 Awake: A Memoir – Jen Hatmaker
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Awake/Jen-Hatmaker/9781668083680

📘 Fierce, Free, and Full of Fire – Jen Hatmaker
https://jenhatmaker.com/fierce-free-and-full-of-fire/

🎙 For the Love with Jen Hatmaker – Podcast
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/for-the-love-with-jen-hatmaker-podcast/id1258388821

🌈 Church Clarity – finding clear, affirming churches (women in leadership & LGBTQIA+ inclusion) @churchclarity

📗 Codependent No More – Melody Beattie (on codependency & responsibility for our own healing)
https://www.melodybeattie.com/codependentnomore

📖 Renovation of the Heart – Dallas Willard (on spiritual formation & the character of Christ)
https://dwillard.org/resources/books/renovation-of-the-heart  @dallas_willard_ministries

Support the show

Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground.
For the spiritually tender—raised in or rooted in Christianity, exploring its many expressions.

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FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky)

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🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice
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🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿
Fruit of the Spirit: ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control

🎙️ 29. Pastor Josh Scott – (Non-Denominational, Progressive, Open & Affirming) The Kind of Pastor I Wish I’d Had Growing Up 

What if the pastor you grew up with had made room for your questions instead of your fear? In this episode, Pastor Josh Scott (@josh_a_scott) shares how a kid raised in conservative Free Will Baptist Appalachia—where reading the NIV was considered “progressive”—became one of the most trusted voices in today’s progressive, Open & Affirming, non-denominational Christian movement.

Josh grew up in a tiny holler on the Kentucky/West Virginia border with King-James-Only theology, fear-based sermons, and a faith built on certainty. But the loss of his grandfather inside a church conflict cracked that certainty open and launched his lifelong journey of re-imagining Christianity around justice, compassion, and Jesus at the margins.

In this conversation, we explore:

• Growing up fundamentalist and slowly unraveling that worldview
• Why his progressive convictions come from Scripture, not in spite of it
• How he teaches his kids about gender, pronouns, and diverse families with simple Christian compassion
• Why he refuses to become the “progressive version” of the fundamentalism he left
• What to look for in a safe, affirming church
• How he pastors online without losing his soul to trolls
• A prayer for anyone who hasn’t been prayed over in a long time

💡 Key takeaways
• Deconstruction often begins with grief, not rebellion
• Christianity was never meant to be about control
• A Christ-shaped faith always widens the circle of belonging
• You can hold convictions without dehumanizing anyone

📚 Resources Mentioned

✨ Brian D. McLaren – Life After Doom, Faith After Doubt, Do I Stay Christian?
Instagram: @brian_mclaren

✨ Marcus J. Borg – The Heart of Christianity, Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time

✨ John Dominic Crossan – The Historical Jesus, God and Empire

✨ Rob Bell – Love Wins, What We Talk About When We Talk About God
Instagram: @realrobbell

✨ Jay Bakker – Fall to Grace, Revolution Church, One Punk Under God
Instagram: @jaybakker

✨ Vote Common Good – Faith-rooted civic engagement
Instagram: @votecommongood

✨ Doug Pagitt – Pastor, author, Executive Director of VCG
Instagram: @dougpagitt

Support the show

Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground.
For the spiritually tender—raised in or rooted in Christianity, exploring its many expressions.

🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify
LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere
FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky)

🔗 Connect
🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope
🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice
🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence
📬 Nominate a guest: [email protected]

🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿
Fruit of the Spirit: ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control

🎙️ 28. Rev. Joash P. Thomas (Saint Thomas Christian / Evangelical Anglican tradition) – The Justice of Jesus & Decolonizing Our Faith

Who taught me my theology - and who is missing from the table? From his roots in the ancient St. Thomas Christian tradition in India, through white American evangelicalism and Georgia Republican politics, to ministry in Canada, Rev. Joash shares how reclaiming his Global South perspective transformed his understanding of Jesus, justice, and the global church.

What we cover

• Why it’s “dangerous to only learn from one branch of the church”
 • The 2,000-year story of St. Thomas Christians
 • How colonization reshaped Western theology and our picture of justice
 • Re-centering the table: why Eucharist once sat at the heart of Christian worship
 • Seeing Christ on the margins—survivors of trafficking, refugees, the poor
 • Deconstruction vs. decolonization, and why justice is good news for bodies and souls
• Being “politically agnostic” except on behalf of our marginalized neighbors
• A pastoral blessing and the Prayer of St. Francis for listeners who need prayer

💡 Key takeaways

• It’s dangerous to only learn from one wealthy, powerful branch of the church
• Christianity is global and ancient; it never belonged exclusively to the West
• Deconstruction without decolonization can recreate the same power structures
• Jesus is already on the margins; we’re invited to recognize and join him there

⛪ About our guest

Rev. Joash P. Thomas (@joashpthomas) is a Saint Thomas Christian with deep Anglican roots, born and raised in India within one of the world’s oldest Christian communities, tracing back to the apostle Thomas. He holds two master’s degrees from Dallas Theological Seminary and a master’s in political management from George Washington University. A former political consultant and international human rights worker, he now serves in Hamilton, Ontario, helping the church recover a justice-centered, decolonized vision of the gospel in his book The Justice of Jesus.

📚 Resources mentioned

• The Justice of Jesus – Rev. Joash P. Thomas (@joashpthomas)
• James H. Cone – The Cross and the Lynching Tree (Black Liberation Theology)
• Dr. Willie James Jennings – The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race (theology, race, ecclesiology)
• Gustavo Gutiérrez – A Theology of Liberation (founder of Liberation Theology; Peruvian Catholic theologian)
• Dr. Jamar Tisby (@jemartisby) – The Color of Compromise, How to Fight Racism, historian of race, religion & justice
• Leonardo Boff – Liberating Theology / Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor (Latin American liberation theologian)
• René Padilla – Mission Between the Times (Latin American evangelical theology / “integral mission”)

Podcasts

• Bodies Behind the Bus – J

Support the show

Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground.
For the spiritually tender—raised in or rooted in Christianity, exploring its many expressions.

🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify
LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere
FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky)

🔗 Connect
🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope
🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice
🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence
📬 Nominate a guest: [email protected]

🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿
Fruit of the Spirit: ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control

🎙️ 27. Mike Maeshiro (Ex-evangelical pastor) – God Made Me Gay: Healing from Spiritual Harm

Growing up evangelical, Mike was taught that being gay was sinful, dangerous, and something God would eventually “fix.” Today, he’s an ex-evangelical pastor helping thousands heal from spiritual trauma and rediscover a God who delights in them. In this episode, Mike shares his story with honesty, humor, and courage — from coming out, to losing his church community, to rebuilding a life rooted in joy, integrity, and love.

We explore how harmful theology takes root, what harm-reduction can look like for queer youth still inside evangelical spaces, why parents should celebrate (not merely tolerate) their queer kids, and how allies can use their voices to protect those most vulnerable.

What we cover

• Growing up fundamentalist & knowing he was gay at age 10
• Why “pray the gay away” theology creates lifelong trauma
• Harm-reduction for queer teens still stuck in non-affirming churches
• The healthiest Christian response when your child comes out
• How to begin deconstructing fear-based, authoritarian theology
• Finding safer, affirming churches—and spotting red flags
• Why allies must be loud in the comments & in real life
• What gives Mike hope for the future of Christianity

💡 Key takeaways

• Queer kids need celebration and safety — not neutrality
• Evangelicalism is a constructed system; leaving it is not leaving God
• Affirming theology saves lives
• Allies speaking up publicly is essential for closeted youth
• You can be queer and Christian — many pastors and scholars already are

⛪ About our guest

Mike Maeshiro (@mikemaeshiro) is an ex-evangelical pastor, emotional-health coach, and writer. He is currently releasing his memoir God Made Me Gay on Substack, helping people recover from spiritual harm and reconnect to themselves, to joy, and to love.

📚 Resources mentioned

Affirming theology & deconstruction
• 1946: The Movie (@1946themovie)
• Dan McClellan (@maklelan) – Data Over Dogma
• Unclobbered – Colby Martin (@colby_martin)
• Brian McLaren (@brianmclaren) – A New Kind of Christianity
• Pete Enns (@peteenns) – The Bible Tells Me So
• J.S. Park (@jspark3000) – As Long As You Need
• Eucontamination: Disgust Theology and the Christian Life – Paul & Billie Hoard

Queer pastors, priests & musicians previously featured on The Sacred Slope
• Rev. Dr. Chris Davies (@jesuslovesdinos, Episode 4)
• Rev. Darrell Goodwin (@revdgoodwin, Episode 5)
• Rev. Roberto Che Espinoza, PhD (@drrobertoche, Episode 15)
• Father Lizzie @rev.lizzie (Episode 7)
• Semler (@gracebaldridge, Episode 13)

Findi

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Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground.
For the spiritually tender—raised in or rooted in Christianity, exploring its many expressions.

🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify
LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere
FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky)

🔗 Connect
🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope
🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice
🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence
📬 Nominate a guest: [email protected]

🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿
Fruit of the Spirit: ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control

🎙️ 26. Dr. Jennifer Garcia Bashaw (Bible Scholar) – Wrestling with Scripture Beyond Literalism

When “Bible-believing” meant literalism and inerrancy, many of us thought that was the only Christian option. Dr. Jennifer Garcia Bashaw—New Testament scholar, professor, and church practitioner—opens the door to a bigger, older, more beautiful Christian story. We unpack why inerrancy & literalism are relatively recent (1800s) theologies, how the Bible’s genres invite deeper reading, what Revelation is actually doing, and how multiple atonement models live inside the tradition.

What we cover

• Inerrancy & literalism as modern control theologies
 • Reading the Bible as literature: genres + context
 • Atonement models 101: moral exemplar, Christus Victor, satisfaction → penal substitution
 • Revelation as apocalyptic resistance literature (and why the rapture isn’t in Revelation)
 • Practical tips for finding Jesus-centered churches today
 • Learning to think in stories not isolated verses
• Jennifer’s forthcoming Serving Up Scripture (with @abhigashi)

💡 Key takeaways

• Wrestling with Scripture is ancient & holy work
 • The rapture is a 19th-century doctrinal system, not a Revelation doctrine
 • Center Jesus when doctrines conflict
 • You’re not alone — many scholars make Scripture accessible without dumbing it down

⛪ About our guest

Dr. Jennifer Garcia Bashaw (@jgbashaw) is a New Testament scholar & professor who also serves in congregational ministry — bridging academy + church with clarity, courage, and compassion.

📚 Resources mentioned

@thebiblefornormalpeople (Bible Scholar Pete Enns @peteenns + former pastor Jared Byas @jaredbyas)
 Homebrewed Christianity @theologynerd (host @trippfuller)
 @maklelan – Bible Scholar and podcast host, Data Over Dogma
 @abhigashi – co-author and Bible Scholar
 @crosspointecary – church where Jennifer preaches
 @derekwebb – songwriter mentioned

🔎 Episode highlights

“Nowhere does the Bible say you must read this literally or that every word is inerrant.”
 “Genres matter. Reading apocalyptic like a newspaper guarantees you’ll miss the point.”
 “If a church talks more about the inerrancy of the Bible than the way of Jesus, pause.”
 “Think in stories, not isolated proof-texts.”

Support the show

Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground.
For the spiritually tender—raised in or rooted in Christianity, exploring its many expressions.

🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify
LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere
FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky)

🔗 Connect
🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope
🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice
🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence
📬 Nominate a guest: [email protected]

🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿
Fruit of the Spirit: ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control

🎙️ 25. Bishop Guðrún Karls Helgudottir (Church of Iceland) – A Nation Led by Women, and a Bishop Who Says Queer People Should Be Safe in Christianity

When a nation is led by women at the highest levels - the President, the Prime Minister, the Mayor of Reykjavík, the National Police Commissioner, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Bishop of Iceland - something becomes visible: women in power isn’t an exception, it’s normal. Into that context steps Bishop Guðrún - the second woman ever to serve as Bishop of Iceland - who tells LGBTQ+ people that God’s creation is good — and that we are holy creations of God.

Together, Alexis & Bishop Guðrún dive into:

• Iceland’s 1975 Women’s Strike & gender equality milestones
• From harm to repair - why churches MUST affirm LGBTQ+ people
• The Bishop’s civic role - national funerals, ceremonies, moral voice
• Mental health, suicide, and walking with people in suffering
• A prayer in Icelandic for listeners who left church but not God

💡 Key Takeaways

🌈 Safety, dignity, and belonging for queer people is Christian discipleship - not deviation.
 👩‍⚖️ When women lead at every level of national life, equality becomes ordinary - not symbolic.
 🧭 The Bishop’s role is not partisan power - it is moral presence and public courage.
 🕊️ True pastoral leadership walks with people in suffering, not above them.

⛪ About Our Guest

Bishop Guðrún Karls Helgudottir (@gudrun.biskup_) is the Bishop of Iceland - the spiritual head of the Church of Iceland (@kirkjan.is), a national Lutheran church interwoven into Icelandic cultural life, history, and state ceremonies. The Bishop’s office carries both sacred and civic weight: accompanying presidents and prime ministers at moments of national significance, offering moral clarity in public crises, and serving as a pastoral presence when the country gathers in grief, remembrance, or celebration.

Bishop Guðrún is the second woman ever to serve as Bishop of Iceland. Her pathway includes parish leadership in Sweden and Iceland, and theological formation at the University of Iceland and the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. Known internationally for her clear advocacy for LGBTQ+ inclusion, Bishop Guðrún represents a model of Christian leadership rooted not in fear or exclusion, but in dignity, equality, and the conviction that God’s creation is good.

📚 Resources Mentioned

Iceland Church Pride clip:
 https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNBnMnFMtN8/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Bishop Guðrún Trans rights clip:
 https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFvNaZ8tKeN/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Suicide-awareness clip:
 https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPCd44njMXo/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Women’s

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Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground.
For the spiritually tender—raised in or rooted in Christianity, exploring its many expressions.

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FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky)

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🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice
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🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿
Fruit of the Spirit: ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control

🎙️ 24. Rev. Gerlyn Henry (Anglican Church of Canada) – Communion over Control: The Faith that Frees

When faith becomes about control instead of communion, something sacred is lost.
 Reverend Gerlyn Henry (@gerlynhenry)—an Indian-Canadian Anglican priest whose social media content about Jesus, justice, and women in ministry has reached millions and gathered hundreds of thousands of followers—joins Alexis Rice to talk about a faith that liberates instead of dominates.

Together, Alexis & Gerlyn dive into:

• “Your first food is the Bible” — how a childhood rhythm of morning scripture shaped her vow never to mock someone for who they are
 • Deuteronomy’s grapes — living so there’s enough for those who come after
 • Canada→ India → Canada — how pluralism, study, and migration form her theology
 • Anglican 101 — common prayer and common table, not a doctrinal contract
 • Embodied faith — why Anglicans bow when the cross passes and how to make the sign of the cross: “From the top of my head to the bottom of my soul … and then: what is my call in this?”
 • Women in the collar vs. The Handmaid’s Tale @handmaidsonhulu Christianity — what happens when empire dresses up as faith
• Pastors online — how clergy can use digital spaces to amplify inclusion
• A closing prayer for everyone who feels judged or spiritually homeless

💡 Key Takeaways

❤️ The gospel is liberation, not control
 🌿 Worship extends into housing and feeding neighbors
 👩‍⚖️ Women in collars are a vital part of the church
 🌈 Pluralism is not a threat to Jesus

⛪ About Our Guest

Rev. Gerlyn Henry (@gerlynhenry) is an Anglican priest in the Diocese of Toronto and rector of Holy Wisdom—a parish formed from three historic congregations during the pandemic. She holds an M.Div. from Columbia Theological Seminary and lives in intentional community with asylum seekers. Her online ministry reaches hundreds of thousands across platforms and millions through viral reels about a Jesus of welcome, dignity, and courage.

📚 Resources Mentioned

• God Didn’t Make Us to Hate Us — Rev. Lizzie McManus-Dail | IG: @rev.lizzie
• Rev. Paul Drees | IG: @pastorpauldrees
• The New Evangelicals | IG: @thenewevangelicals
  “The Tim & April Show” — @timandaprilshow | @timwhitakerspeaks | @aprilajoy
• Praying the Psalms — Walter Brueggemann
• Consider the Birds — Debbie Blue
• Texts of Terror — Phyllis Trible
• “The Reuben Option” — Allan Boesak (sermon on refusing neutrality)

Support the show

Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground.
For the spiritually tender—raised in or rooted in Christianity, exploring its many expressions.

🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify
LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere
FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky)

🔗 Connect
🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope
🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice
🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence
📬 Nominate a guest: [email protected]

🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿
Fruit of the Spirit: ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control

🎙️ 23. John Fugelsang (Aspiring Christian) – Separation of Church & Hate

Alexis Rice welcomes comedian, author, and radio host John Fugelsang (@johnfugelsang) — whose blend of humor, history, and theology cuts through America’s culture-war fog. His NYT bestseller Separation of Church and Hate challenges both the weaponization of Christianity and the silence that enables it.

With his trademark wit, John dismantles the TV-made binary, tracing how power keeps hijacking Jesus’ message—from the Crusades to cable news—and why faithful Christ-followers still choose empathy over empire.

💡 Key Takeaways
• Why corporate media platforms outrage, not nuance
• Proof-texts un-weaponized — Luke 22 & Matthew 25 in context
• Love as resistance: turning the other cheek ≠ turning off your brain
• Beyond binaries: global, diverse, love-driven Christianity

👤 About Our Guest
John Fugelsang is a comedian, actor, and commentator; host of Tell Me Everything on SiriusXM Progress (Ch. 127); and author of Separation of Church and Hate. He’s appeared on The Daily Show, CNN, MSNBC, HBO & Fox News—bringing scripture and satire into public life.

📚 Resources & Mentions
📖 Separation of Church and Hate — Simon & Schuster: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Separation-of-Church-and-Hate/John-Fugelsang/9781668066898
🎙 Tell Me Everything with John Fugelsang — SiriusXM Progress 127
🎧 The John Fugelsang Podcast — Apple / Spotify
🕊 @itskristinahart — creator of “love your neighbor Christian, not a storm the Capitol Christian” shirt: https://www.bonfire.com/store/kristina-hart
📘 Bishop John Shelby Spong — Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/rescuing-the-bible-from-fundamentalism-john-shelby-spongjohn-shelby-spong
🎧 The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast with Father John Dear: https://www.ncronline.org/news/nonviolent-jesus-podcast-john-dear
🪶 We’re Still Here — weekly Indigenous voices segment featuring Simon Moya-Smith (@simonsaidtakeapic) & Julie Francella (@juliefranciella): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/were-still-here-with-simon-and-julie/id1464094232?i=1000723204916
🎧 Christian examples like John talking about their faith in public and how it determines their values @jamestalarico, @

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Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground.
For the spiritually tender—raised in or rooted in Christianity, exploring its many expressions.

🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify
LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere
FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky)

🔗 Connect
🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope
🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice
🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence
📬 Nominate a guest: [email protected]

🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿
Fruit of the Spirit: ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control

🎙️ 22. Pastor Joe Graves (United Methodist) – The Progressive Planter: Finding (and Building) the Church You Wish Existed

When so many are walking away from church, Pastor and Author Joe Graves (@josephdavidgraves) is reimagining what it can be—clear, inclusive, justice-rooted, and grounded in grace. From launching free stores and violence-reduction funds to writing The Progressive Planter, Joe shares how “clear is kind,” why progressives must move from gatekeeping to organizing, and how we can all help build the kind of faith community we’ve been longing for.

Together, Alexis & Joe dive into:

• Why “clear is kind”: finding churches that state values up front (no bait-and-switch)
• How the United Methodist Church holds a wide umbrella—largely contemporary, liturgical, and LGBTQ+ affirming
• Deconstruction diversity: when one person still prays with hands laid on, and another has stopped praying altogether
• Mental health as ministry—covering therapy sessions, normalizing care, and breaking stigma
• How City View Church became an incubator for justice through Little Bottoms Free Store and the Columbus Violence Reduction Fund
• The Methodist theology of prevenient grace—God’s love already everywhere
• Why progressives must stop gatekeeping and start organizing around shared values

💡 Key Takeaways

• Grace is everywhere—before, within, and beyond the walls of church.
• Empathy is the heart of the gospel. The incarnation itself is “cosmic empathy.”
• Progressives can disagree theologically yet work together for justice.

⛪ About Our Guest
Rev. Joe Graves, (he prefers Joe) is pastor of City View Church in Columbus, Ohio—a progressive United Methodist congregation formed through an innovative merger. He has helped launch or support 10+ new ministries across the Midwest and founded justice-centered initiatives including Little Bottoms Free Store and the Columbus Violence Reduction Fund.
🌐 Website: joegraves.org
🏛️ Church + sermons: cityviewcolumbus.org

📚 Resources Mentioned

• God Didn’t Make Us to Hate Us — Rev. Lizzie McManus-Dail | IG: @rev.lizzie
• The Bible for Normal People (podcast) | IG: @biblefornormalpeople @peteenns, @jaredbyas
• The Progressive Planter:  A Handbook for Ecclesial Entrepreneurs — Joe Graves (Abingdon Press) https://www.abingdonpress.com/product/9781791040116/
• New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary
• Columbus Violence Reduction Fund: cityviewcolumbus.org/give
• Little Bottoms Free Store: https://www.littlebottoms.org/

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Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground.
For the spiritually tender—raised in or rooted in Christianity, exploring its many expressions.

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