Weekly Livestreams on YouTube on Wed nights at 9pm Est with hosts April Ajoy (@aprilajoy), Paul Swearengin (@unconventionalpastorpaul) and former host Jeremy Coleman (@pastorfromok). Discussing the good, the bad and the ugly of the American evangelical church, deconstruction, faith and God's love through it all. We would love you to join us so we can all grow together in community.
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Debating the Debate: WTF Just Happened
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Paul and Ashley Swearengin shared their live reactions immediately after the June 27 debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. It was a painful moment. Come process with us!
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ISH Reunion: Paul, Jeremy and April Together One Last Time
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In this episode, Jeremy returns with Paul for April's last episode as co-host of Evangelicalish. The 3 talk about the upcoming election, react to a few Evangelicringe videos and discuss plans for the future. Jeremy and April share their new endeavors and Paul talks about their plans for the future of Evangelicalish. Paul and Ashley (Paul's wife) wi…
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Everybody Goes to Hell In Somebody Else's Religion with Candi Carpenter
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Singer, Songwriter, Musician Candi Carpenter (@candicarpenter on social media platforms) joins April and Paul to discuss their new album Demonology, with the great song "Everybody Goes to Hell," and how they got to where they are after deconstructing their Christian upbringing. Follow Candi and check out her music: www.candicarpenter.com…
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The Bible's Data vs Pride Month Dogma with Dr. Dan McClellan
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Dr. Dan McClellan is back! He joins Paul and April to talk about what the Bible actually says when it comes to all of the "clobber" passages certain Christians like to use against LGBTQ people. Dan McClellan is a public scholar of the Bible and religion. He received his PhD in theology and religion from the University of Exeter. In 2022 he publishe…
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This week, April and Paul have a conversation with Sarah McCammon, the author of The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church, a 2024 book that is part memoir and part journalism, about the movement of people who grew up inside the powerful evangelical subculture and ultimately left it behind. Sarah McCammon is a Nati…
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Heaven Bent: A Conversation with Tara Jean Stevens
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Tara Jean Stevens joins April and Paul to talk about recent church controversies, such as IHOPKC, and the manipulation that is easily found in these environments. Her chart-topping podcast, Heaven Bent, a spotlights Pentecostal and Charismatic movements and helps victims and survivors find healing through telling their stories. Tara Jean has also b…
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Taking Off the Tinfoil Hat: Conspiracies in Christianity
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Cynane Shay of Taking off the Tinfoil Hat joins April and Paul for a chat about conspiracy theories within evangelicalism. Cynane is a nuclear engineer living in South Carolina. Her childhood in White Christian Nationalism (Florida-style) normalized conspiracy theories like Obama Birtherism and the Biblical apocalypse; but 2020, with COVID and Qano…
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April and Paul talk with historian Daniel Hummel on the history of Christian Zionism: what it is, how it started, who espouses it and the harm it causes today. Daniel G. Hummel is the Director of The Lumen Center in Madison, WI and a research fellow in the History Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received his PhD in American hi…
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Becoming a Guncle : From Publicly Outed to Proudly Out with Jonathan Merritt
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Author and award-winning columnist Jonathan Merritt joins Paul and April to discuss his journey from being publicly outed to being proudly out and his new children's book My Guncle and Me. He also talks about his own faith, his relationship with his pastor parents and his inspiration to write My Guncle and Me. Buy the book: www.myguncleandme.com Co…
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Hell is a World Without You - Growing up Evangelical
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Jason Kirk joins Paul and April for a fun conversation about growing up evangelical. Jason is the author of the funny ex-vangelical novel Hell Is A World Without You and co-host of Vacation Bible School — a podcast with his wife, Emily. We also react to clips of Pastor Mark Driscoll and the drama he caused at the Stronger Men's Conference this past…
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Deconstructing "Traditional" Marriage
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Dr. Dana Hicks, author of The Knot, joins April and Paul for a discussion about new ways to think about marriage. Dana has researched marriage and divorce, and lived through both himself, even when he was a pastor. His conclusion? There's got to be a better way than what some call "biblical" marriage. Get connected with Dana's work: danahicks.blog …
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1946: The Biblical Mistranslation That Shifted Culture
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Is it true the word "homosexual" was never in any version of the Bible until 1946? And, if so, how did it get into so many different english translations? Rocky Roggio, Director of the movie 1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture, joins April and Paul again to discuss their groundbreaking documentary, the heart behind and how to watch it now…
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Disruptive, Authentic, Inclusive: Pastor Kristian A. Smith
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April and Paul talk with Kristian Smith, a pastor and host of the Holy Smokes: Cigars and Spirituality Podcast. Kristian identifies as a Spiritual Humanist and is doing great work in the deconstruction space. In this episode, he discusses his journey to becoming LGBTQ affirming, White evangelicalism, the Black church and being a Spiritual Humanist.…
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You Will Always Belong: Matthew Paul Turner
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Renowned children's book author Matthew Paul Turner joins April and Paul to talk about his journey to being an openly gay Christian man and the impact his own embrace of authenticity has had on the books he writes. Get his latest book: You Will Always Belong Follow Matthew on social media: @matthewpaulturner Stay connected or support us by visiting…
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The New Evangelicals, Super Tuesday & The Election
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Tim Whitaker joins Paul and April to talk about what it means to be a new evangelical and why he started his nonprofit The New Evangelicals. We also discuss the white evangelical affect on the election, Super Tuesday and why Trump is still the chosen one. Then we react to videos in our new segment Evangelicringe. Follow Tim and TNE @thenewevangelic…
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Fearfully and Wonderfully Weird: Journey to Emotional Wellness
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Trigger Warning: This episode contains stories of sexual abuse and thoughts of self-harm. Over a year ago, Jenna of the Gianu System, appeared on an ISH episode to share about her journey with Dissociative Identity Disorder (D.I.D. - formerly known as multiple personality disorder) and saw some familiar things in Paul as she shared. Jenna joins us …
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Roe v Wade Roots in Christian Nationalism
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Rev. Rob Schenck joins April and Paul for a fascinating conversation that takes us behind the scenes of the movement that overturned Roe v Wade, showing the anti-abortion manipulation of Christians to the Evangelical Christian nationalism of today. Schenk, an Evangelical clergyman who has ministered to elected and appointed officials in Washington,…
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Paul and April talk to Kristina Hart, a faith-informed humor writer, content creator, comedian, and popular online persona about the trauma of Purity Culture and the impact it has in the decades the follower. We discuss the ramifications it has had on both dating and married life. Kristina is the spirited voice formerly behind The DTR Blog and now …
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Pro-Life or Pro-Death? The Texas Border and Death Penalty
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April and Paul dive into the thorny issue of how evangelicals reconcile their supposed stance on life with some, well, let's just say troubling recent developments. We'll be unpacking the disturbing reports from the Texas border, the ethical quagmire of the new nitrogen gas execution in Alabama, and how these realities clash with the "pro-life" lab…
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Theologizin' Bigger with Pastor Trey Ferguson
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Pastor Trey Ferguson joins April and Paul to discuss his new book Theologizin' Bigger: Homilies on Living Freely and Loving Wholly. As a podcaster and public theologian, Trey discusses many topics online and this chat is no different! We talk about the harm caused by the Penal Substitutionary Atonement theory in Christianity and how there are other…
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Paul, Jeremy, and April look back at where they were at episode 1 and cringe, laugh, and talk about what has changed since then. Thank you for being with us for 100 episodes! Here's to 100 more. Stay connected or support us by visiting our website: evangelicalish.com Follow the Evangelicalish team on Tiktok, IG, FB & Twitter: @evangelicalish, @past…
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Prepping for an ISH-y Holiday Season
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Have we all deconstructed Christmas? What do we do with stories like the virgin birth, wise men at the manger and Jesus “no crying he makes” as a newborn. Laci Bean, the co-host of the “Deadly Faith Podcast, fills in for April and the crew discuss how much, if any, losing some of those stories that made Christmas special in the past are impacting o…
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What Makes You Bloom with Kevin Garcia
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When we leave conservative faith traditions behind due to toxic theology, bigotry, and harm, do we also lose our spiritual rhythm? Kevin Garcia wants to help people see they can still gather, pray, worship and have connection to heaven - which they say is a connection already designed inside us. Join the ISH crew for this interesting conversation L…
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Janice Lagata is back as a guest host for our discussion on Thanksgiving and dealing with the holidays - family dynamics, problematic history and finding ways to be thankful in a brutal world. Follow Janice @godhasnotgiven on IG/Tiktok or visit janicelagata.com Stay connected or support us by visiting our website: evangelicalish.com Follow the Evan…
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Dr. David P. Gushee on Saving Democracy From Its Christian Enemy
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American democracy is in danger at the hands of authoritarian-seeking Christians according to Christian ethicist Dr. David P. Gushee. His newest book "Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies" calls us to sane, ethical, and compassionate politics in a world where many Christians are instigating discord and vying for power. Join April, Jeremy …
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GOP Speaker's Loud Christian Nationalism
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Jeremy, Paul and April discuss the overt Christian Nationalism of the new GOP Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson. Stay connected or support us by visiting our website: evangelicalish.com Follow the Evangelicalish team on Tiktok, IG, FB & Twitter: @evangelicalish, @pastorpaul_tiktok, @pastorfromok, @aprilajoy Or email us: evangelicalish@gmail.com…
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If you grew up evangelical like we did, you were probably taught that anything "witchy" was evil and satanic. So, let's find out the truth about modern witchcraft. Hana O'Neill, aka The Suburban Witch, joins April and Paul to talk about all about it. Hana is a Professional Tarot reader, Natal Astrologer and Witch located in Australia. Her goal is t…
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Our guest this week is Roberta Blevins, a former Hun, who left the MLM world in 2017 and began publicly educating and speaking out against it. She's been featured in the LuLaRich documentary for her time in LuLaRoe and in Bloomberg, Vice News and lots of other press outlets. She talks to us about her time in MLMs, what makes them culty and why evan…
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Emad Meerza, an American Muslim, joins us to share about his faith that is widely misunderstood in evangelical culture. Emad has served as an Imam and as the elected Amir (a Islamic religious and community leader). He has also assisted the FBI, DOH and other government institutions by providing Islamic Training lectures. He is co-host of a podcast …
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September 11 and the Church | PragerU in Public Schools
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Paul and April are joined again by content creator and former pastor Abbey Smith to talk about September 11 and how it changed our lives and the church in the last 22 years. And new rulings will allow Conservative media PragerU to teach rightwing views in public schools in Florida and Oklahoma. Abbey and April blind react to a couple PragerU videos…
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Paul, April and Jeremy are reunited and it feels so good! We're back from our summer break and catch up on what we missed. We talk Trump Trust - as people say they trust Trump more than family and if there's anything to do about it. We also discuss where we are on our faith journey and share our hate comments of the week! Stay connected or support …
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Shiny Happy People is a docuseries on Prime that is making waves. In this episode, we're joined by Tara and Floyd Oathout, who were featured in the doc. They share more of their story inside Bill Gothard's IBLP (Institute in Basic Life Principles - made popular by the Duggars), their experience with the doc, fundamentalism in general and how they g…
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A Pastor Coming Out Story with Mike Maeshiro
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Former Bethel pastor Mike Maeshiro tells us his story about coming out and accepting himself as gay man and how he realized God affirmed his identity all along. Follow Mike on IG, FB and YouTube: @mikemaeshiro https://www.mikemaeshiro.com/ ------------ Check out our new Merch ISH or join our ISH Community: www.evangelicalish.com Follow the Evangeli…
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Bad Stuff Happens in the Bathroom - Trump Indictment #2
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In this episode, we talk about Trump's second indictment and what that means for the 2024 election. Why are so many evangelicals still on team trump? (Also we are NOT legal experts and probably guessed wrong. Please look up facts on the laws of the land and not rely on our legal commentary:)) AND the SBC ousted Saddleback Church for ordaining women…
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Why do so many evangelicals seem extra hateful during Pride Month? Boycotts are everywhere - Target, Bud Lite and Chick Fil A? We discuss all this and more. Don't miss our reunion show as April returns from her sabbatical. Check out our new Merch ISH or join our ISH Community: www.evangelicalish.com Follow the Evangelicalish team on Tiktok, IG, FB …
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It’s Gettin Hot in Here: Are We the Frogs in the Kettle?
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Should we truly fear Christian Nationalism? Could it be this time in America has a rising heat of so many crazy things are happening that we don’t really realize how bad and scary things are? Guest Co-host Malynda Hale joins Jeremy and Paul to discuss on this edition of Evangelicalish Find more about Malynda here: https://malyndahale.com/…
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Guest co-host Malynda Hale joins Jeremy and Paul to discuss religious trauma. Why do we downplay or even deny the effects religion has had on us in our lives? How do we face that reality that religious created trauma responses in us and what do we do about it today? Guest Co-Host Malynda Hale hosts the "We Need to Talk" Podcast. Check it out here F…
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Discussing New Research on Religious Trauma
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So often we hear Christians say of deconstructionists "oh they are hurt." Well, turns out scientific research says this is likely true, but ought to be treated as a negative attribute of the American Christian Church, not as an excuse to victim-blame but it. Guest Darren Slade's organization, the Global Center for Religious Research, defines religi…
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Taxing the Church and Truth v. Fox News
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"Tax the Church!" is an often-heard cry amongst the deconstruction community, but is there good reason to do so? Jeremy, Paul and guest co-host Janice Lagata discuss the nuance of taxing and tithing in American churches. Also, why is Fox News the "CNN" (Christian News Network) of evangelical Christians. The team discusses why truth should be allowe…
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Joe Weston, an international trainer, coach, and—above all else—an advocate for lasting peace discusses ways to bridge divides and meaningful resolution from the lens of a Buddhist. We also look at how historically marginalized communities in our society might feel "civility" of any level of fierceness might not be possible for them. Joe joins Paul…
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In this episode, April shares some exciting news. Then the boys are joined by guest-host Janice Lagata. They discuss the Trump Indictment and the Christian nationalists response. Also, the crew discusses their spiritual practices after deconstruction. Finishing with a prophecy from Paul and a tarot card reading from Janice for Jeremy.…
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Singer/Songwriter and social commentator Dara Starr Tucker joins April, Jeremy and Paul in this episode. They discuss a wide range of topics, from the school shooting in Nashville to the white evangelical response to President Obama being elected and wild charismatic services we used to attend. Follow Dara on YouTube: @DaraStarrTucker TikTok: @dara…
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Do I Stay Christian? A Chat with Brian McLaren
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Besides being an author, speaker, activist, and public theologian, McLaren says he's a "passionate advocate for 'a new kind of Christianity' – just, generous, and working with people of all faiths for the common good." April, Jeremy and Paul talk with Brian about his newest book "Do I Stay Christian?" Get Brian's book and learn more about his work …
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Was "Homosexual" Added to the Bible in 1946?
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Rocky Roggio joins us this episode to talk about the film she directed called 1946 The Movie. 1946 is a documentary film that chronicles how the misuse of a single word changed the course of modern history - the word "homosexual" was not included in any Bible translation until 1946. We discuss the film and her own journey as a lesbian woman who was…
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In this episode, we're joined by licensed therapist Adele Martelle to talk all things religious trauma and how it affects us. Adele is a somatic based psychotherapist, certified trauma professional and spiritual integrationist. She is also speaks on topics of religious trauma, complex ptsd, intimacy development, mindfulness and body based healing. …
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Our Last Podcast Before the Rapture?
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Apparently, some Christians believe the rapture is happening on February 15 so if true, this will be our last episode before the rapture. We talk about the rapture, Sam Smith's Grammy performance that sparked Satanic Panic and we wonder how God chooses a winner of the Super Bowl since he is always thanked by the winners.... If the Lord tarries, we …
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This week, Paul, Jeremy and April had a hard conversation that wasn't the prettiest- but it ended well. We decided to talk about it - our conflict, life after working in toxic churches, and things that trigger us since leaving. We also discuss the importance of recognizing these things in ourselves to figure out how we keep from falling back into o…
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In this episode, we talk with Elora Dodd (@Online1schoolroomhouse) who is an Autistic comedian and activist who fights to improve the lives of disabled people and combat religious abuse. She shares some of her own story of growing up in the church, going to Oral Roberts University and shares stories of other people with disabilities, how the church…
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Evangelical Resolutions and House Republican Ridiculousness
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We're back for our first live show of 2023. We talk about New Year's resolutions, how we used to view them and how that's changed since deconstruction. We also talk about the fiasco that was the Speaker of the House vote and what that means for the political climate. Check out our new Merch ISH or join our ISH Community: www.evangelicalish.com Foll…
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Happy New year! To start season 3 off, we take a look back at 2022 and share a few of our favorite moments. We are thankful for this community and look forward to a new year. Check out our new Merch ISH or join our ISH Community: www.evangelicalish.com Follow the Evangelicalish team on Tiktok, IG, FB & Twitter: @evangelicalish, @pastorpaul_tiktok, …
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