Poema Podcast
Episodes
Monday Aug 24, 2020
Poema S6 039 | Jo Luehmann on Decolonizing Theology & Faith
Monday Aug 24, 2020
Monday Aug 24, 2020
Today I'm joined by activist & writer Jo Luehmann. Jo tells her own story, her background in evangelical Christianity and journey out of this into an awareness and understanding of how it was actually part of a systemically racist, oppressive, patriarchal system, including purity culture.
Jo shares her journey out of this system and how it impacted both her marriage and her faith and how she deconstructed and decolonized her faith and found a new, more authentic understanding of Jesus spirituality.
Jo goes on to talk about how we can decolonize our own faith and theology, and how true faith/life deconstruction can only happen if it involves unlearning systemic racism and decolonizing.
Finally, Jo discusses how white people in particular can unlearn systemic racism and toxic theology, and find a faith which is free from the colonial, racist, patriarchal system which has been built around it.
Monday Aug 17, 2020
Poema S6 038 | Rev Rob Lee on Church, Mental Illness & The Pandemic
Monday Aug 17, 2020
Monday Aug 17, 2020
I'm honoured to be joined by Rev Rob Lee today. Rob is a pastor and author who has bipolar disorder, who is known for his mental health and anti-racism work in the US.
Today he shares about life of a pastor during a pandemic, the experience of living with bipolar disorder as a pastor in a pandemic, and finding the divine in the midst of times of struggle and trauma.
He talks about how we need to sit with trauma, how we can find comfort in the midst of difficult times. He also discusses the power of healthy community, including church, to support those facing mental health challenges, and his own experiences of this.
We end with some thoughts and reflections on what life, church and faith will look like post pandemic, the scars we will carry - and whether will acknowledge them like Jesus did, or hide from them.
Thursday Aug 13, 2020
Poema S6 037 | Megan K Westra on Being Born Again & Again
Thursday Aug 13, 2020
Thursday Aug 13, 2020
Today author and podcaster Megan K Westra joins me to discuss her new book 'Being Born Again & Again', and the idea that salvation isn't a product, or something we acquire - but an invitation to radical transformation.
Megan discusses how she learned how the message of the Bible has been twisted and distorted, in particular to serve political / capitalist, purposes and support oppressive, systemically racist systems. She tells me how God is forming a new family, where we all belong, and we're all connected.
Megan shares how she discovered how we can dig back to the roots of the Jesus story, and then allow ourselves to be truly challenged. She tells me the idea that the call of Jesus is a call to acquire, but a message to surrender and be radically transformed - and what this might mean for us.
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Get Megan's book wherever books are sold, and find info on her work at meganwestra.com
Monday Aug 10, 2020
Poema S6 036 | Shirley Fessell on Redemption from Biblical Battering
Monday Aug 10, 2020
Monday Aug 10, 2020
**Trigger Warning: Domestic Abuse**
Today author and domestic abuse survivor Shirley Fessell joins me to share her powerful story of living with and surviving domestic abuse, how she got free - and how she took her story and used it to help others.
Shirley shares the seven levels of confusion victims of domestic abuse can get drawn into, and several practical steps to get out from under these confusions and find freedom from abuse & the abuser.
She also talks about how evangelical Christianity and church have played a role in enabling abuse and reminds us it is possible to get free, and begin again.
Find her work at: https://shirleyfessel.com/
Monday Aug 03, 2020
Poema S6 035 | Holly Stallcup on Singleness & The Global Pandemic
Monday Aug 03, 2020
Monday Aug 03, 2020
Today my friend Holly Stallcup, Executive Director of Now She Rises, joins me to talk about the challenges of singleness - both coming from an evangelical Christian background and how the global pandemic and lockdown, have created new challenges and issues for single people.
Holly and I are both single so we were able to cover a lot of ground and share some of our own unique experiences as single people and challenges we are facing during lockdown, including loneliness and social disconnection, and its impact on mental health. We also talk about how things might look for singletons going forward in a post pandemic world, as well as acknowledging the gifts and freedoms singleness allows.
This is an important episode both for singletons and those in couples who know singletons - singleness is an issue we need to discuss and become more aware of collectively, in a culture tilted in favour of coupling, and Holly has some amazing insight into this.