This week we replayed the very first episode of the podcast and, honestly, it was a bit emotional for me to listen to.
I remember it like it was yesterday.
I was at the Wild Goose Festival and literally feeling like my world was crashing down around me. I was questioning absolutely EVERYTHING that there could possibly be to question and I was having an internal wrestling match with my heart because although I knew deep down inside that I wanted to start this podcast …
I wanted to be real with my doubts.
I wanted to voice my concerns.
I wanted to be true to myself.
I was tired of pretending to be the Evangelical that I used to be.
… I also knew that outside of my wife and parents, I had a very, very, very, VERY small support system and a VERY LARGE group of potential and likely critics.
And so there I sat at the Wild Goose Festival listening to Doug Pagitt record an episode of his podcast and during a break he asked the crowd if anyone had a podcast or was thinking of starting one and so I raised my hand and without even asking me what it was about, he asked if I’d be open to joining him on his show to talk about it.
“Um, OK?”
And so like 3 minutes later he called me up on the stage and asked me what this potential podcast was about. I stumbled all over my shaky words as sweat poured down my forehead and out of my armpits and tried my best to explain this very vague idea I had about the “What If Project Podcast”.
He asked me what it was.
He asked me why I wanted to do it.
He asked me what need I was hoping to bring aid to in the world.
He asked me all sorts of clarifying questions and then asked me how often I was planning to release episodes AND a specific start date.
And then when I was all done he looked at me with the most genuine eyes and said, “I believe in you and this is something you need to do. Don’t put it off. Don’t wait for the time to be right. Just go and do it. The time is now.”
And so I did.
I went back to my hotel room, picked up some Bojangles, and sketched out some thoughts for the podcast and a first episode or fried chicken, steak fries, and a Dr. Pepper. About 2 hours later I opened the voice memo app on my phone, hit record, and just started talking. I then scheduled the episode to go live later the next month and got to work on brainstorming episode 2, 3, 4, potential guests, etc.
Humble, but beautiful beginnings that regardless of how long this podcast is around - another year? 5 years? Who knows? - I will forever remember.
Although the podcast looks much different 173 episodes later than when the dream was first birthed in a boat-rocking, hornet nest-kicking seminary term paper, it’s immensely more than I ever imagined or dreamed it would be today.
Today …
I have new friends. SO MANY WONDERFUL new friends. Many of them I’ve never physically met before, but I feel closer to them than 99.9% of the church people I grew up with.
I have met and recorded conversations with some authors and thinkers whose work I’ve been reading for YEARS - Brian McLaren, NT Wright, Shane Claiborne, Bart Ehrman, Diana Butler Bass, Barbara Brown Taylor, and more.
I quit my retail job of 11 years to pour as much time and energy as I can into this project.
I have a book that’s written and partially edited, set to come out in a few months.
My wife and I feel like we have been cut free from so many aspects of religious trauma, much of which we’ve worked through together as we’ve talked about podcast guests, podcast topics, and our own spiritual / life journeys.
I’ve received more kickback and hate than I was expecting, but have received more love and encouragement than I could have ever imagined.
I receive emails and comments weekly where people tell me that our work has put words on their feelings and has helped make them feel less alone.
YES - we’ve met new people, we’ve stepped into the arena to challenge the system or the machine of Evangelicalism, we’ve called religious trauma what it is (TRAUMA), we’ve taken shots at toxic theology, and we’ve created a small safe place in our corner of the inter webs where people who are hurting and lost in their walk with the Divine can come and find rest, love, and acceptance.
So many good things and it all started in that hotel room in Mars Hill, North Carolina back in July 2018.
We’re just getting started, friends. I hope that you’re as excited as we are.
✌️
Glenn || SUPPORT THE SHOW: PATREON / BUY ME A COFFEE
NEW YOUTUBE VIDEO 📺
Maybe God isn't so much interested in what we believe. Maybe we can leave the "lieve" off of "believe" and just focus on the "be" ... because maybe it's all about how to BE in the world as opposed to what to BELIEVE that will help us get into some kind of good place when we die and depart this world?
NEW BLOG POST ✍️
What if the Bible isn’t a rulebook or a guidebook for your life? And what if it’s not a list of things to do or to believe?
What if it’s something infinitely more?
What if it’s something infinitely greater?
What if our attempts to memorize it, dissect it, and systematize it have done little more than minimize it, weaken it, and rob it of its Mystery?
YES - what if?
What if the Bible isn’t so much a detailed record of human history, but an …
Always beautiful.
Always true.
Sometimes historical.
Mostly parabolic.
… Picture of the human story?
Here’s an excerpt …
“When Jesus told the disciples in Mark 9 that he would be killed, they were in shock. They didn't know what to say. For many reasons, I'm sure, but the biggest reason, I think, is because they weren't expecting a Messiah who would be killed by his enemies. They weren't expecting a Messiah who would erase all the lines that humanity had drawn so that all of humanity could be one big family at the banquet table.
They were expecting a Messiah who would fortify the lines they had drawn.
Who would defeat their enemies.
Who would destroy the other.
Who would solidify their place in the world.
Who would put them back on top of their enemies.
But in Jesus God was doing something new. Something radical. He was going back in time, showing what he had intended all along. He was widening the gate, he was lengthening the table. He was taking us back to the original call that God had given to Israel - to be a blessing to the Nations, to everyone ... everywhere. In Jesus God was showing the world how to be like the children we once were.”
1 More Patron! 🤝
We have a goal of reaching FORTY Patreon Supporters by January 1, 2022 and we’re already at THIRY-NINE!
WHAT?
CRAZY!
We are eternally grateful for the 39 people who have decided to share some of their own finances with our family. In full transparency, the money helps us buy groceries, pay the gas and electric bills, etc. I quit my job a month ago, my wife got a Part-Time job at a local salon … and THIS (along with some social media / content creating gigs) is what I do.
Will you become the 40th supporter?