Faith in a Fresh Vibe

Eye Witness Account on Gaza with Dr. Sarah Lalonde The ongoing genocide occurring in Gaza demands our attention and response. In this bonus episode we share an interview with Dr. Sarah Lalonde, who worked in the European Gaza hospital in South Gaza in 2025. Speaking truth to the atrocities happening daily. Over 50,000 Palestinians have perished, almost half are children. Sifting through all of the disinformation can be difficult, which is why we’ve brought a first hand account to the show to describe what is happening at ground level. An especially important conversation for Christians to listen to, especially those formed, or who remain, in evangelicalism. Some Christian traditions justify the ongoing violence against Palestinians because they believe destroying Palestinians is connected to ushering in the return of Jesus sooner. This abhorrent worldview clearly sidesteps the command, ironically from Jesus, to stand in solidarity with the oppressed–the least of these. This conversation may leave you feeling uncomfortable due to the content, which we make the disclaimer: some of the stories you hear, particularly about children caught in the crossfire, is hard to listen to. But stick with it. Your response to this ongoing genocide matters. Your voice counts when it comes to demanding action for a permanent ceasefire, a complete cancellation of arms sales, and the immediate expansion of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Contact your reps today. You can find one script to use by copying this statement. Bonus Episode Show Notes (00:00) Introduction with Rohadi (2:26) Rohadi shares some historical context about the region. (4:20) Interrogating malformed Christian theology that informs geopolitical opinion. (5:40) Historical overview of the region. (12:40) Introducing Dr Lalonde. (13:40) Dr Sarah Lalonde interview start. (14:38) What compelled Dr. Lalonde to go to Gaza. (18:32) Dr. Lalonde speaks to the idea of solidarity. (20:10) Discerning what is true. Speaking directly about what Dr. Lalonde saw at ground level. (23:50) But what about Hamas? (29:25) A direct eye-witness account of the atrocities committed by the IDF. (32:40) What is true about aid getting through into Gaza? (37:25) What can we do? Calls to Action from Dr. Lalonde responds. (41:00) A question for listeners. Hosted by Rohadi Nagassar. Rohadi‘s books can be found here, including his latest publication, When We Belong. Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins, and his forthcoming title (Spring 2026) called Whole & Human. Forty Meditations for Liberating Body and Spirit. Find his online church community: https://abeautifultable.ca/ Dr Sara Lalonde – Author  Dr Lalonde is an emergency and family physician specializing in community, rural, and remote emergency medicine, with a particular focus on Indigenous communities. She has gained extensive international experience, including work in Guinea with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), as well as in Albania (working with Afghan refugees), Togo, and Chad. Dr. Lalonde is also recognized as the provincial physician expert on human trafficking in Quebec. Most recently, she returned from Gaza, where she served in the emergency department at the European Gaza Hospital. She can be found on IG @dr.sarah.lalonde Additional resources courtesy of Dr. Lalonde. https://imeu.org/article/quick-facts-the-palestinian-nakba Here another reference for the 22 percent https://www.cjpme.org/history Quick Facts: The Palestinian Nakba (Catastrophe) | IMEU Arabs from British Mandate Palestine during Israel’s creation. Dr Lalonde’s presentation about Christ at the checkpoint : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKWz25R3UAA and the ecumenical letter: https://kairoscanada.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Ecumenical-Statement-in-Solidarity-with-Palestinian-and-Israel-partners.pdf CMP Anglican Church Sarah Lalonde – Christ at the Checkpoint July 29 2024 IG accounts you can follow: https://www.instagram.com/jkhoury218/ https://www.instagram.com/danielbannoura/ https://www.instagram.com/munther.isaac/ https://www.instagram.com/tony.deik/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njSqEzOPU5E&t=1550s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyufVi2mdsA ?Yousef Khoury ~ ???? ????? (@jkhoury218) • Instagram… Daniel Bannoura (@danielbannoura) • Instagram profile Munther Isaac (@munther.isaac) • Instagram profile Tony E. Deik (@tony.deik) • Instagram profile Christ at The Checkpoint

Featuring: Rohadi Nagassar, Sharifa Stevens, and Sarah E. Westfall Episode 10 in the serial series ‘Farewell Evangelicalism’, designed to name malformed pillars that shape evangelical/conservative Christian thought and beliefs. The hope is to catalyze pathways for folks to leave this faith tradition that does more harm than good. Sexuality and gender constructs are a significant pillars in evangelical identity. Any body that pushes against a white cis-gendered, straight able-bodied male gaze is a threat. In this episode, we discuss trans identity and liberation. Featuring Celeste Irwin and Dr. Che Roberto, two voices speaking on trans identity, offering us a picture of a wide ethic of liberation. Why should this conversation matter if you’re not trans? Because you’re a curious human! In this moment, 2025, trans folks are the primary target of conservative politicians and religious leaders, who better to learn from on what liberation looks like than the very folks furthest from the center? So through the example of Jesus where the last shall be first. Episode 11 Show Notes (00:00) Introduction with Rohadi (5:24) Sarah Westfall intro and her story. (7:15) When belonging starts getting complicated…. (10:44) A conversation on authenticity vs performance. (14:40) Leaving community behind and the loneliness it brings. (18:04) Resisting the attention economy. (25:00) Countering the tool of ‘fear’. (29:00) Interlude (29:44) Poetry Interlude with Sharifa (30:50) Intro Sharifa Steven and chatting about her latest book. (33:25) Holding the tension for liberation; seeking the ancestors. (37:15) The legacy of the ancestors and what it means to our liberation. (40:28) Naming the hope that is to come and what it looks like. (56:18) Outro Featuring your host: Rohadi Nagassar (he/him) Rohadi’s books can be found here, including his latest publication, When We Belong. Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins. Visit his online church community: https://abeautifultable.ca/ Sharifa Stevens Sharifa Stevens is a writer, poet, speaker, and singer. She is the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, born and raised in New York, and currently resides with her family in Dallas, Texas. She graduated from Columbia University in New York with a bachelor’s degree in African American Studies before earning a master’s in theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. Sharifa aspires to use writing as a vehicle that moves readers to intersect with the sacred and the honest. Her latest book is When We Talk to God: A Powerful New Book of Prayers and Poems for Black Women. SharifaStevens.com | IG: SharifaWrites Sarah E. Westfall Sarah Westfall’s lastest book is called The Way of Belonging: Reimagining Who We Are and How We Relate (available in both print, digital, and audio formats). Sign up for her Substack newsletter, Human Together, or check out her podcast (which happens to go by the same name). Sarah_Westfall on Instagram. Bumper music by Daniel Wheat; Intro by Jesse Peters

Featuring: Rohadi Nagassar (he/him), Celeste Irwin (she/her), and Dr. Roberto Espinoza (he/him) Episode 10 in the serial series ‘Farewell Evangelicalism’, designed to name malformed pillars that shape evangelical/conservative Christian thought and beliefs. The hope is to catalyze pathways for folks to leave this faith tradition that does more harm than good. In this episode, we discuss trans identity and liberation. Sexuality and gender constructs are a significant pillars in evangelical identity. Anything that goes against the white cis-gendered, straight able-bodied male gaze is to a threat. Why should this conversation matter if you’re not trans? Because you’re a curious human who wants to understand what a wide liberation ethic looks like. In this moment, 2025, trans folks are the primary target of conservative politicians and religious leaders, who better to learn from on what liberation looks like than the very folks furthest from the center? So through the example of Jesus where the last shall be first, this episode features two trans voices speaking to trans identity, but also showing us all what liberation looks like, a picture most of us wouldn’t come up with on our own unless we sat at the feet of trans teachers. Episode 10 Show Notes (00:00) Introduction with Rohadi (05:34) Celeste Irwin and her story. (12:00) Finding liberation escaping religious community. (16:00) Finding her whole self. (18:40) Naming malformed policies in conservative ideology/Christian right. (34:24) Pivot to Dr. Roberto (35:12) Intro Dr. Roberto Espinoza and his story. (39:20) Finding home on the land. (42:00) Finding healing in the body. (47:20) A trans take on the resurrection and signals for future hope. (57:25) The threat to our democracy and the power of stories. (1:01:00) Where is the light? Featuring your host: Rohadi Nagassar (he/him) Rohadi’s books can be found here, including his latest publication, When We Belong. Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins. Visit his online church community: https://abeautifultable.ca/ Celeste Irwin (she/her) – Trans Activist and Writer Celeste is a transgender, lesbian woman. She is a writer and advocate for transgender rights and inclusion in Christian spaces. Having survived an abusive church, she also writes about spiritual abuse. Visit her website/Substack and find her on BlueSky. Dr. Roberto Che Espinoza (he/him) – Public Theologian and Author Dr. Roberto Che Espinoza is a Transgender & Latinx public scholar, using imaginative narrative to steward more ethical futures. Find more about his resources and exoertise on his website: https://robertoche.com/. Find his Substack and Instagram. Bumper music by Daniel Wheat; Intro by Jesse Peters

Featuring: My friends, Mandy Capehart and Meghan Crozier Episode 9 in the serial season called ‘Farewell Evangelicalism’. In this episode, we lay the groundwork for the embodied work ahead when we lose a core element to our being. We name pathways to help process leaving church, including the loss of community and the mountain of grief that follows. A lot of Christianity tends to shy away from the hard things; it’s time to be honest about the road towards healing from religious trauma, grief, and loss. Episode 9 Show Notes (00:00) Introduction with Rohadi on grief and loss. (04:24) Grief Coach – Mandy Capehart (32:00) Intro Meghan Crozier (46:00) Losing community after leaving church community. (56:20) Components that help grieve. (59:00) Cautions for folks entering the deconstruction space. Featuring your host, Rohadi (from Rohadi.com) Rohadi’s books can be found here, including his latest publication, When We Belong. Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins. Visit his online church community: https://abeautifultable.ca/ Mandy Capehart – Grief Coach and Podcaster Mandy Capehart (she/her/hers) is the founder of the Restorative Grief model. Find more about Mandy and her coaching program at https://www.mandycapehart.com/. Find her latest podcast episodes and her publication on grief. Meghan Crozier – Community Catalyst and Podcaster Visit Meghan over at The Pursuing Life! Meghan lives in the Pacific Northwest. Meghan curates space to help folks wrestle with questions on deconstruction and what spiritual growth looks like. She writes about topics like faith deconstruction, spirituality, equity, justice, race, mental health, and religion. She also explore the same themes and topics on the Thereafter Podcast with my good friend and co-host, Cortland Coffey. Bumper music by Daniel Wheat; Intro by Jesse Peters Find Dr. Hillary McBride’s Holy Hurt podcast.

Featuring: Rohadi Nagassar, Janice Lagata, LetGregLive, Kristian A. Smith Episode 8. We venture through the land of deconstruction through a Black and brown church experience. Although this serial series is entitled, ‘Farewell Evangelicalism’, it’s unfair to suggest only evangelicals are susceptible to both white supremacist formation, and contributing to the political nonsense we’re currently experience through their tacit support of conservative/Republican candidates. In this episode we hear from Janice Lagata who shares her story about the eventual implosion of Hillsong New York. Followed by Greg, who provides some insight on the work of deconstruction and decolonization out of a Black church experience. Lastly, Kristian A Smith and Rohadi shoot the breeze outlining what faith looks like beyond white hegemony. All this and more, episode 8. (more…)

Featuring the voices of: Rohadi, Scott Coley, Lamar Hardwick, and Robert J Callahan Episode 7 on white supremacy, a crucial conversation for churchgoers, particularly white churchgoers, to generate awareness to the ways white supremacist thinking invades thought and beliefs. Indeed, white supremacist theology is in the DNA, a feature not an add-on, of nearly every denomination across the Americas. We’ll try to pinpoint some of the most egregious forms in this episode, with a hope that listeners will become alert to the ways you own formation/beliefs are filtered through racist understandings of the world around us. We discuss biblical examples used to support white superiority and how common they are; learn how ableism is a precursor to white supremacy; and end with naming the weird in white evangelicalism, with a side of hopeful alternatives to find your way out. (more…)

Let’s settle in friends for some quiet time…. Just kidding. Episode 6 in this serial series interrogating the malformed pillars in evangelicalism is here. We examine one of the most important elements in evangelical belief systems–perhaps THE most important religious icon–the Bible. Evangelicals claim the Bible has supreme authority in designing beliefs. It’s the “Bible alone”, used with complete disregard for malformed interpretations. You may be wondering why chat about the Bible mid-way through this series and not at the very start. After all, isn’t the Bible central to evangelicalism? It is, but not in the manner you might think. The Bible has been distorted to become a tool for religious propaganda that advances the interests of white evangelicalism. In other words, the Bible is used to define conservative and white supremacist worldviews, and believers stuck in the pew of these churches must adopt specific interpretations or risk being excommunicated (if evangelicals had such a thing.) Malformed beliefs like biblical inerrancy and literalism are not, ironically, biblical, yet are core attributes used to keep the faithful in line. Let’s talk about it, Episode 6 is here. Chapters (00:00-01:00) Introduction (02:30) Rohadi on why we’re interrogating the validity of biblical tradition in evangelicalism. (02:33-14:00) Quiet time. Just kidding. Unpacking the ways evangelicals twist the Bible to fit their own devices. (14:00-20:05) Unpacking one of the malformed pillars is used to justify: Patriarchy w/ Liz Jenkins. (20:05-22:00) Intro to Ryan Canty – Author of Deweaponize. (22:00-24:20) Naming malformed pillars including inerrancy and the Chicago Statement (24:20-33:00) Unpacking the Chicago Statement with Liz Grant (33:40) Ways evangelicals distort scripture using literalism wrong. (40:11) Rohadi and authoritarianism and the Bible. (43:40) Ryan on, What are the possibilities of change? (50:15) Possibilities of how we can reclaim biblical interpretation with Liz Grant. (59:50) Liz Jenkins with the final word on interpretation. (1:02:02) Outro Featuring your host, Rohadi (from Rohadi.com). Rohadi’s books can be found here, including his latest publication, When We Belong. Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins. Special Guests in Episode 6: Ryan Canty – Author of Deweaponize. Re-examining how we read the Bible in pursuit of a more Christlike interpretation  Former Calvinist theology nerd on a journey to de-weaponize the Bible and love others like Jesus. Find him on Substack | Instagram Liz Charlotte Grant – Author of KNOCK AT THE SKY: Seeking God in Genesis After Losing Faith in the Bible. Liz is an award-winning nonfiction writer based in Colorado, USA. She is also an online columnist for The Christian Century. Her essays and op-eds have also been published in outlets such as the Huffington Post, Religion News Service, the Revealer, Hippocampus Magazine, Brevity, Sojourners, Christianity Today, US Catholic, National Catholic Reporter, and elsewhere. Find Liz on Instagram and Threads Liz Jenkins – Author of Nice Churchy Patriarchy. If you’d like to read more, check out her now-occasional blog, her Substack, and/or her book Nice Churchy Patriarchy. Find Liz via Instagram: @lizcoolj and @postevangelicalprayers. Bumper music by Daniel Wheat.

Following Episode 4 on Propaganda, we take aim at a crucial evangelical pillar: patriarchy. Patriarchy designed specifically around religious convictions to ultimately control the bodies of women and children. It’s also a tool to support authoritarian leadership explaining the rationale behind why evangelicals overwhelmingly support authoritarian governments: it’s what they practice in their own churches. Episode 5 welcomes three exciting guests. Cait West, author of Rift, opens our conversation by sharing her story growing up in the Christian Patriarchy Movement. CPM has developed an enterprise that pulls in billions of dollars in revenue from their materials overtly supporting the values of Christian patriarchy. Cait shares her journey escaping what she would ultimately describe as a cult, but in reality looks like a lot of conservative churches out there. How to attune to your bodies and trust your intuition are two important attributes for folks still stuck in the clutches of malformed churches. Liz Cooledge Jenkins is my second guest. She is the author of Nice Churchy Patriarchy. We discuss how evangelical churches hide their patriarchy; how they might look ‘cool’ on the outside, but in fact operate with the same tools of patriarchy behind the veil. Finally, DL Mayfield returns from Episode 4 to conclude a conversation about patriarchy and the intersections of white supremacy with eugenics. “There is no finish line to healing even though we want to be in a place where you’re perfectly happy. And there is a lot of resources now to minimize symptoms and heal from it. What worked for me was trauma therapy, which is different than talk therapy….” Cait West “[In patriarchy] there’s encouragement to not trust your gut, and encouragement not to talk to other women about unequal power structures.” Liz Jenkins Episode 5 – Chapters (00:00) – Introduction (04:40) – Introducing Cait West (09:20) – The size of Christian Patriarchy Movement including Goddard, IBL, Vision Form…. (12:20) – How to notice all that ain’t right in churches that love patriarchy. (18:00) – Pathways of healing from religious patriarchy. (30:00) – Introducing Liz Jenkins (32:00) – Chatting about patriarchy that’s not so ‘in your face’. (36:30) – Culture problems in parachurch and socialization. (40:20) – Returning to a conversation with DL Mayfield. (42:00) – DL on eugenics. (46:00) – DL Mayfield teasing out aspects of liberation from malformed intersections of patriarchy. (54:30) – Outro Featuring your host, Rohadi (from Rohadi.com). Rohadi’s books can be found here, including his latest publication, When We Belong. Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins. Special guests in Episode 5: Cait West – Author of Rift. A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy Cait West lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her work has been published in The Revealer, Religion Dispatches, Fourth Genre, and Hawaii Pacific Review, among others. As an advocate and a survivor of the Christian patriarchy movement, she serves on the editorial board for Tears of Eden, a nonprofit providing resources for survivors of spiritual abuse, and cohosts the podcast Survivors Discuss. Find out more. Substack | Instagram | TikTok Liz Jenkins – Author of Nice Churchy Patriarchy. If you’d like to read more, check out her now-occasional blog, her Substack, and/or her book Nice Churchy Patriarchy. Find Liz via Instagram: @lizcoolj and @postevangelicalprayers. Author/Podcaster – D.L. Mayfield D.L. Mayfield (they/them) is a podcaster and author. After a decade of writing for Christian spaces, they now write primarily about issues of neurodivergence and healing from high-control religion. D.L. and their partner Krispin Mayfield are currently working on a multimedia publishing project entitled STRONGWILLED, which is available on Substack. You can read along here. Bumper music by Daniel Wheat.

This episode is about propaganda: the mechanisms by which evangelicals and conservative Christians are formed. Evangelicals are suckers for conspiracy (Ep. 3) and are easily swayed by propaganda. The propaganda machine has done masterful job inoculating conservatives from developing worldviews beyond their own enrichment. In the first half, I invite Scott Coley to help unpack the how and why conservatives tend to accept damaging beliefs and theologies that harm vulnerable people and themselves. Connecting the dots between conservative political aspirations that seek power to preserve white supremacy and patriarchy, and the supprting belief systems in evangelicalism, opens a pathway for folks still in, leaving, or who have already left, to begin making sense of all the weird in the pursuit of freedom and liberation. “Evangelicals favor morally problematic social arrangements and poitical policies because they just aren’t thinking about the moral salience of institutions. They tend to focus on individual piety. They tend to not think about institutional injustice. I’ve come to recognize that is an incomplete picture. It’s true, bad belief leads to bad practices, but it’s also true that bad practices lead to bad beliefs. This ‘feedback loop’ is called ideology.” Scott Coley Later, DL Mayfield joins to discuss one of the most effective propaganda arms in evangelicalism: Focus on the Family. It, along with many others, are key reasons why evangelicals are harbingers of harm to the nation (and the world). “If you grew up with Dr. Dobson or Focus on the Family parenting methods, then you are a child of a positive eugenics movement. The continuation of the white supremacist patriarchy was the entire goal and they used religion to spread their ideology.” D.L. Mayfield Episode 4 – Show Notes (00:00) – Introduction (03:00) – Scott Coley on The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (05:40) –  Why do conservative evangelicals appear to inhabit an alternate reality? (08:40) – Ideology and legitimizing narratives that provide moral justification. (11:47) – Propaganda as mechanism to bring folks into sub-culutre.. (14:30) – On fundamentalism and creation science example. (15:30) – Motivated reasoning and hermeneutics of legitimizing narratives. (21:30) – The pull of ideology, how do you know you’re on the ‘right’ side. (26:30) – Introducing DL Mayfield and Focus on the Family. (29:26) – The Strongwilled Child phenomenom. (31:00) – Focus on the Family is propaganada. (36:00) – Are folks leaving the church over the abuse they experienced as children? (40:38) – James ‘Fucking’ Dobson and white patriarchy. (47:30) – Speaking about estrangement. Featuring your host, Rohadi (from Rohadi.com). Rohadi’s books can be found here, including his latest publication, When We Belong. Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins. Special guests in Episode 3: Scholar/Author – Scott Coley Scott Coley Scott M. Coley holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Purdue University, a Master’s degree in systematic theology from the University of Notre Dame, and a B.A. in philosophy and English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research interests include philosophy of religion, moral epistemology and political philosophy. His book is entitled, Ministers of Propaganda: Truth, Power, and the Ideology of the Religious Right from Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. Author/Podcaster – D.L. Mayfield D.L. Mayfield (they/them) is a podcaster and author. After a decade of writing for Christian spaces, they now write primarily about issues of neurodivergence and healing from high-control religion. D.L. and their partner Krispin Mayfield are currently working on a multimedia publishing project entitled STRONGWILLED, which is available on Substack. You can read along here. Bumper music by Daniel Wheat.

There’s an enormous chasm between evangelical thought/praxis, and the actual teachings of Jesus found in the Gospels. In this episode, we ask: how is it possible to sway so many evangelical traditions away from Jesus? We peel back the layers to reveal the methods that shape and form malformed beliefs, before describing the impact on evangelical culture. One of the primary tools used is the widespread adoption of conspiracy theories. Jared Stacy joins to share his insights on the ways conspiracy theories are entangled with evangelicalism. We then pivot to name how the reliance on conspiracy theories shapes evangelical culture with guest Dr. Ed Ng. We discuss how the religious right is shaped to stay rooted in fear as a key to guiding belief systems. “…when it’s ancient we call it a legend, when it’s modern we call it a conspiracy theory. – Jared Stacy” Episode 3 – Show Notes (00:00) – Introduction (05:30) – Jared Stacy on a history of conspiracy theory. (12:00) – Conspiracy theory in the 20th century. (19:00) – Naming some of the mechanism propogating conpsiracy in the 20th century. (25:17) – The use of media in consipracy. (29:00) – Introducing Dr. Ed Ng (30:00) – Dr. Ng on Terror Management Theory (37:30) – Describing contirbuting social conditions in the Religious Right. (44:00) – Rugged individualism and Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. (52:00) – Outro Featuring your host, Rohadi (from Rohadi.com). Special guests in Episode 3: Theologian/Author – Jared C Stacy Jared Stacy is a theologian and ethicist and former pastor to evangelical churches. He received a PhD in moral & practical theology from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. His research focuses on the intersection of theology and politics. Specifically on ethics, extremism/conspiracy theory and US evangelicalism. Jared’s work & story has been featured on platforms like TIME, NPR, NBC News, the BBC, and Christianity Today. Psychologist – Dr. Ed Ng Ed Ng is a Registered Psychologist in private practice in Vancouver and is the founder and director of Eastgate Psychological Services. Ed has taught at Trinity Western University and Regent College in the areas of diversity and counselling. He is also the founder of the Eastgate Project and hosts its podcast, which focuses on the intersections of psychology, theology, and the experiences of the Asian diaspora. Intro Music by Jesse Peters. Bumper music by Daniel Wheat.

Episode 2 in this serial series called: Farewell Evangelicalism is here. In this episdoe we begin to peel back to layers of evangelicalism to make sense of how it’s become a broken and malformed tradition it is today. When did the wheels fall off? When did evangelicals become white nationalists? Because it hasn’t always been this way. To get to the ‘how’ evangelicals became associated with various monkers like white nationalism, we must develop cultural context, garnering information to begin naming specific components in the movement that produce harm for those outside of the church community, and those stuck within it. The hope for this episode is to start giving name to cultural moments, when the evil and broken pieces in evangelicalism started, so more folks can start making connections to their church or belief systems. We go back into time connect the dots between political movements, the use of fear to sway evangelicals, and ways evangelicals have casually sided with white supremacy to inform their beliefs. Episode 2 – Show Notes (00:00) – Introduction (00:28) – Setting the Scenes (01:35) – When evangelicals lost the plot. (05:30) – Introducing Scott Okomoto including his time teaching at Aszuza Pacific. (09:00) – When evangelicals swung hard right. (10:20) – How white was APU? Explaining culture and culture shifts. (14:00) – From Bush to Obama and evangelical militancy. (19:45) – Unpacking MAGA. (26:00) – Outro and Intro to Dr. Marlena Graves (20:45) – Unpacking the connections between evangelicals, Republicanism, and white supremacy. (26:15) – History: Moments in the 20th century when evangelicals married Republicans. (39:00) – Connecting the Religious Right movement. (42:50) – Talking about the strategy behind preserving white supremacy. (54:00) – Outro and wrap. Featuring your host Rohadi Nagassar (rohadi.com) and: Scott Okomoto – Writer/Podcaster R Scott Okamoto is a writer and musician from Los Angeles. He is passionate about AAPI identity and politics, fly fishing, sex and sexuality, cooking, and religious deconstruction. Scot is the creator and host of the Chapel Probation Podcast and the author of Asian American Apostate: Losing Religion and Finding Myself at an Evangelical University, published by Lake Drive Books. Dr. Marlena Graves – Professor/Author Marlena received her M.Div. from Northeastern Seminary in Rochester, New York and his pursuing her PhD in American Culture Studies at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH where she is researching the influence American culture has on Evangelicals’ view of immigration, race, and poverty. Marlena’s book, “The Way Up Is Down” (with IVPress) released in July 2020. Intro Music by Jesse Peters. Bumper music by Daniel Wheat.

Welcome to the Faith in a Fresh Vibe podcast. There’s space for you at the table. Come and listen and learn, bemoan and curse, celebrate and liberate, with ideas on deconstructing and decolonizing the Christian faith. This is Episode 1 in a serial series called: Farewell Evangelicalism. In this series we will interrogate the main pillars of formation in the evangelical tradition to answer the question: is evangelicalism still a legitimate expression of the Christian faith? And if not, what would it take to see more people leave the tradition? We give the insight and the tools to interrogate the movement and identify its malformed formation. It’s the first quarter of 2025, which is important to name, because depending on which side of the political spectrum you’re on, and which country you’re from, you’re either in shock of the political upheaval dumped on your country, or you everything is trending your way. Amidst waves of confusion is a simple truth: the current state wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for the unwavering support from white evangelicals. We ask the question: would society be better off if more people left evangelicalism? If you’re on the fence about that, this series will help, as we offer tools and pathways for more folks to say, Farewell Evangelicalism! Featuring your host, Rohadi (from Rohadi.com). Special guests in Episode 1: Writer/Poet – Marla Taviano Marla Taviano (she/her/) is into: books, love, justice, globes, anti-racism, blue, gray, rainbows, poems (and a hundred other things). Reads and writes for a living (and a life). Wears her heart on her t-shirts. On a mission/quest/journey to live wholefarted (not a typo). (Big fan of parentheses—and em dashes.) She is mom to some freaking awesome kids and two cats and lives in South Carolina. Find more about Marla, including her trilogy of poetry on deconstruction, on her website. Social Media Influencer – Mason Mennenga Mason Mennenga (he/him/his) is an aspiring theologian, podcaster, YouTuber, and the Internet’s youth pastor. He received his Master of Divinity from Christian Theological Seminary in 2020 and a Master of Arts in Theology from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities in 2022. Find all of his links including his podcasts on his website. Intro Music by Jesse Peters. Bumper music by Daniel Wheat.

It’s been written that the “scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is no evangelical mind…” A suggestion that evangelicals as a whole don’t stand for anything in particular when it comes to the Christian faith. That’s not to say today’s evangelicals (and conservative Christians in general) don’t have values. Rather, when evangelicals show up, it’s for themselves. A real, “I got mine and screw everyone else” attitude. Evangelicals, ironically, choose to ignore the teachings of Jesus in favour of personally enriching themselves while reaching to accumulate more social power in America and beyond. Does this sound accurate? But don’t take my word for it. Season 11 of the Faith in a Fresh Vibe podcast is here. The most ambitious project to date: a serial podcast story where we bring all of the receipts behind the outlandish claims, with nearly 20 guests including experts in their field, to say: FAREWELL EVANGELICALISM. Guests include: DL Mayfield, Robert J Callahan, Kristian Smith, Tim Whitaker, Marlena Graves, Jared Stacey, and many more. We ask tough questions including: are evangelicals, and conservative Christianity, legit? Do they faithfully follow the teachings of Jesus? Do they even care about Jesus? Cause if we take a look at those receipts along this podcast journey, we will discover that the current form of evangelicalism is not only making our neighborhoods, cities, and countries worse off, but if enough adherents leave, a lot of the systemic problems in our society ranging from rugged individualism, unfettered capitalism, racism, misogyny, queer and trans-phobia, violence, murders, the overall quality of life for everyone…would improve! Could it be? That a key component to what ails us in this moment is more folks sayin, FAREWELL EVANGELICALISM. Find out more, Season 11, on the Faith in a Fresh Vibe podcast. Coming soon….

The FINAL episode of Season 10 arrives featuring Jenai Auman! Don’t forget to rate the show and share it widely! In this episode…. Our conversation revolves around themes explored in Jenai’s book “Othered,” focusing on her experiences navigating toxic church environments and the subsequent journey toward healing and liberation. After introductions, Jenai and Rohadi dissect the dynamics of gaslighting and DARVO within toxic church environments, shedding light on the emotional turmoil and internal fractures caused by oppressive church systems. We delve into Jenai’s personal narrative of betrayal and resilience, emphasizing the profound cost of leaving toxic communities while highlighting the transformative power of reclaiming agency and identity. Throughout the conversation, we underscore the importance of boundaries and cultivating genuine belonging outside of oppressive structures, ultimately revealing the potential for liberation and renewal found in embracing one’s “otherness.” (more…)

Prasanta Verma’s debut book, Beyond Ethnic Loneliness, is the topic for our conversation. If you’re not white then you have at some point or another, maybe even recently, have fielded the question, “so what are you?” or “where are you really from?” Trying to fit into community often means assimilating, or giving up a piece of yourself in order to find belonging. That posture leaves folks on the margins unseen, in a space of loneliness, and often causing loss of cultural identity. We talk about these realities and offer some solutions of what’s beyond–how to live out our whole selves. (more…)

One of the top books for Christian non-fiction in 2024, Lamar Hardwick joins Rohadi on the show to talk about his latest book and the topic: How Ableism Fuels Racism. This eye opening connection between disability and racism will shift paradigms for listeners. This episode is released as full hour long conversation. We begin the conversation surrounding the historical formation of white supremacy in America, tied to the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and connect the dots to the root source of anti-Blackness: ableism. As soon as white supremacy becomes about bodies, something must be developed to build an understanding certain bodies (white) are more valuable than others (Black and Indigenous). What those factors are ranging from intellect to supposed inherent biological traits, are built on the ruse of “disability”. We interrogate not only historical formation but how the same factors remain at play in the present with the policing of Black bodies including other intersections like health and faith. This conversation ends with a cursory view on the theological underpinnings of ableist theology that not only look at contributing bodies of work from Black or brown traditions as inferior, but also how the disabled Christ is sanitized to accommodate white superiority and thought. (more…)

Theologizin' Bigger: Homilies on Living Freely and Loving Wholly. Title pique your interest? Pastor Trey returns to the Faith in a Fresh Vibe podcast for the second time. His first interview was so nice that we had to do it twice. We discuss expanding our imagination around the Bible. Many listeners have grown up in traditions where the treatment of scripture lacks humility. The Bible becomes a proof-text machine, applied to any sort of modern problem and often used to uphold malformed power structures. Is there a way to redeem it? That's the bulk of our conversation as we meander way through some of the key features of Trey's debut book. If you're curious about new ways of approaching faith and scripture, this episode is a good place to start. About Theologizin' Bigger: In Theologizin’ Bigger: Homilies on Living Freely and Loving Wholly, pastor, podcaster, and public theologian Trey Ferguson encourages you to re-engage your imagination and construct theologies that speak to our current contexts, just as people of faith have done throughout history. With personal stories and some lo-fi truth-telling, Ferguson leads us through topics like how we read the Bible, our inherited traditions, accountability, our value, and a faith that can shape tomorrow. Ferguson writes, “Theology requires imagination. The ability to imagine is part of what makes us human. And salvation is, in part, a rehumanization project.” Rohadi's endorsement (and no, I don't get paid for endorsements): “Every generation needs to discover new ways to relate to the Bible and faith in a modern world. It’s exciting work when you have the right guides. Pastor Trey is one, and the imagination he brings in Theologizin’ Bigger is what we need to chart pathways toward a wider liberation for all. Dig into this!” Find Trey's book online on his website. Also follow him on social media including Twitter and Instagram.

Forged: Following Jesus into a new kind of family. That's TC Moore's book title. We talk about what it looks like to redeem the language around family given so many have bad experiences in their own families, and in churches that use that type of language. You may be familiar with it, and how it can be used to harm rather than give life. We unpack what it looks like to build a new kind of chosen family with key features like sharing of your life; developing community rhythms; serving one another; and solidarity. Come through to meet T.C. learn about his story and ministry, and the possibilities of finding healthier community. Episode Summary: TC Shares his story and road as a pastor moving throughout the US from New Orleans, Massaschusetts, LA, and finally the Twin Cities. He talks about ministering in diverse churches and communities and how hat has influenced his view on 'family'. On superhero teams. X-Men vs The Guardians of the Galaxy. Unpacking the idea of 'family' and language used within Christian circles. There's baggage there. We acknowledge the problems. It's sounds 'culty'; but can it be redeemed? Finding a more life giving family. If Christianity is calling us into a new logic of "how" to do community what does that look like? First, we look to the margins. T.C. Unpacks his features of Forged Family including: sharing of your life; developing community rhythms; serving one another; and solidarity. We close with a holding the tensions of redeeming family and the paradox of having to risk disconnection in the search for new chosen family.   About T. C. Moore. He’s the lead pastor of Roots, a Moravian community, and serves court-involved youth and young adults with restorative justice practices. Since Jesus liberated him from gang-life as a teenager, T. C. has developed mentoring programs, planted churches, and worked in community-based nonprofits all across the country for over two decades. He’s a graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary's Center for Urban Ministerial Education in Boston and he lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota with his wife, Osheta, and their three children. Visit his website: https://tcmoore.net/ Connect with him on Instagram.

Season 10 continues with a season of authors and their (mostly new) books. Rohadi invites author Tasha Jun to the show to chat about, Tell me the Dream Again. Reflections on Family, Ethnicity & the Sacred Work of Belonging. This episode discusses themes from her book including: The Why behind, Tell me the dream again, and how writing projects span decades to produce. One dissociation attributed to assimilation for BIPOC/Asian folks. We discuss when a racialized person thinks they fit, and when the veil comes down. What to do with feelings associated with assimilation. A talk about embodied characteristics of fitting in. Food as a way to reconnect to your roots and ancestors. Dismantling individualization of finding one's self. (Yes, I bring up Brene Brown again.) Naming the grief with finding your community, but realizing what you've been missing for so long. Ways to bridge the gap when it comes to reclaiming yourself, your people and your culture. Why finding belong is sacred work. Find Tasha's book available wherever books are sold. Visit Tasha's website, her Substack, and connect with her on Instagram and Facebook. A little about "Tell me the dream again." Tasha Jun has always been caught between worlds: American and Korean, faith and doubt, family devotion and fierce independence. As a Korean American, she wandered between seemingly opposing worlds, struggling to find a voice to speak and a firm place for her feet to land. The world taught Tasha that her Korean normal was a barrier to belonging—that assimilation was the only way she would ever be truly accepted. But if that were true, did that mean God had made a mistake in knitting her together? Tell Me the Dream Again is a memoir-in-essays exploring what it means to be biracial in America today; the joy and healing that comes with embracing every part of who we are, and; how our identity in Christ is tightly woven with the unique colors, scents, and culture he’s given us. We are not outsiders to God. When we let all the details of ourselves unfold—when we embrace who we were divinely knit together to be—this is when we’ll fully experience his perfect love.

The Blues and Advent Advent is a rhythm of waiting. Waiting for deliverance from a darkness. That can mean different things for each of us meandering through various seasons and life. In the Christian tradition this observance awaits liberation ushered in by a Saviour. This idea, or notion in history, only means something if your faith tradition or worldview ties Jesus' victory over death as the pronounced symbol that ultimately all "that ain't right", in our lives and in the world, will and can be reversed for goodness. We hold this tension, a now but not yet, of living out the fulness of our humanity versus struggling with the defeats. A continuous cycle that clings to the hope spoken through Advent that in the end, the former will win out now and forever.