In the Shift

• This is not revival

  Episode 109: Evangelicalism is having a moment.... some are calling it revival - but I think something else is going on here. This is a shorter episode (rather unplanned) on the contemporary Christian worship movement and the way it intersects with the revivalist hopes of Evangelicals/Pentecostals/Charismatics.  What we find is that these movements have come to shape many Christian's understanding of what "God's presence" feels like, and of what they believe a "move of God" will look/feel/sound like. And it is these very interpretations, definitions and yearnings that are coming to function as a smokescreen for fascism - both intentionally and unintentionally. 

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• Gender Expansive Faith - with Steff Fenton

  Episode 108: Steff Fenton is author of the new book "Gender Expansive Faith: How Trans Lives are Illuminating the Divine, Transforming Feminism and Ending Christian Patriarchy." In this conversation we talk about Steff's journey of coming to terms with both their sexuality and then gender identity whilst also belonging to the church. We jump into a bunch of stuff including the distinctions between sex and gender, the spectrum and diversity of human experience, and the way in which strict gender binaries can create numerous problems for all humans. We also talk through some fascinating aspects of Jesus' reflection on marriage, eunuch's in the New Testament, the creation story in Genesis, and the gift that trans and non-binary folk can be to people of faith who are looking to find more expansive ways of seeing God and being human.  You can find out more about Steff's work here and you can buy (and review) their new book via Amazon. To support the work of In the Shift, you can go to https://www.patreon.com/intheshift 

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• Non-coercive Community Pt 1: Is there a way forward?

  Episode 107: This is the first in a series of conversations with Shane Meyer-Holt about the possibilities and challenges in building non-coercive communities and collectives. In particular, we're interested in what church looks like for those of us who feel done with high-control/high-demand forms of religion, who are unable to go back to certainty, who have no desire for the "carrot & stick" based motivations for community life, and who want  something much more inclusive. This is not a "fix-it" series for the church. We get that many in the wider church are actually pretty happy with the way things are and we are not trying to convince them to listen to us. Nor are we building the next idealised model for how we think church should be. This is a series for the people who want something different... and we are going to try and tackle the variety of cross pressures that occur in modern western neoliberal culture when we hope to build non-coercive communities of care and meaning.  In this episode Shane and I talk about the church communities we help to lead. Shane co-leads a church in the inner north of Melbourne, Aus (Fitzroy North Community Church) and I (Michael) lead a church in Auckland, NZ (Edge Kingsland). We talk about why we're still doing this kind of thing... and start to discuss the hopeful things and the profound challenges that arise when trying to build non-coercive community where people are able to be honest, to care about each other and to belong in meaningful ways.

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• Holy Hell - with Elise Heerde

  Episode 106: Elise Heerde (she/her) is author of the recently published book "Holy Hell: Saved so hard I needed therapy".  In this conversation we talk about Elise's experience of growing up within a high-demand/high-control pentecostal megachurch, her journey toward becoming a leader and staff member, through to the ways in which it all fell apart. Elise has now gone on to work in the space of helping people recover from religious trauma, and so we talk about red flags and warning signs of an unhealthy spirituality, we discuss "sin journals" and spiritual gaslighting, methods of control and manipulation, as well as dive into the kind of work she does to help people work through these experiences and find healing.  Elise is a Certified Coach in Melbourne, Australia, who helps people recover from religious trauma and cultic systems. Her work is grounded in lived experience, professional training, and a passion for creating safe, judgment-free spaces with a splash of sarcasm. You can find out more about her work here. She is also a co-founder of The Religious Trauma Collective (Australia/New Zealand) You can support the work of In the Shift via Patreon. Get in touch via email: [email protected]. In this episode I also mention fundraising for an album of progressively-inclined worship music by my faith community, Edge Kingsland. You can support that project here.

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• Poly-crisis, climate-crisis, and the need for a moral imagination

  Episode 105: Dr Andrew Shepherd is a Senior Lecturer in Theology and Public Issues at the University of Otago, with a particular interest in climate and ecological issues and the wider polycrisis that relates to the convergence of current economic, political, social, cultural and ecological challenges. In this conversation we talk through these intersecting issues, and how the work of theology and spirituality - in community, over time - could renew a kind of moral imagination that could help us tell and inhabit different stories about what matters. Andrew also features on the Ngā Here podcast with James Beck, and has been variously involved in the work of the Christian environmental organisation -  A Rocha Aotearoa NZ

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