#128: Mystics, mushrooms and the power of letting go (with Kevin Sweeney)

Pastor, poet and mystic Kevin Sweeney comes to The Puddcast this month to share about his journey of encountering God while high on mushrooms. And that’s just the beginning! Starting this episode, we welcome Tryphena Perumalla-Gagnon as a co-host on the show. Tryphena and I had a blast with Kevin, exploring what it means to lean into the contemplative and mystical and find God present in the everyday moments of our lives. He explained the importance of transitioning from spiritual peaks to spiritual practices, and how the key to safety, identity and fulfilment really does lie in letting go of everything. We touched on a range of topics, including vulnerability, pastoral idealism, parenting, pursuing the Spirit without the expectations of others, and much more.

Jonathan PuddleMay 5, 2022mystics, contemplative, discipleship, god's love, drugs, pastoringComment

#112: A Theology of the Ordinary (with Julie Canlis)

This week, theologian, lecturer and mother Julie Canlis comes to The Puddcast, to talk about ordinary, embodied holiness. Julie is the author of A Theology of the Ordinary, and we discussed how the Holy Spirit connects us to our bodies in normal, everyday ways and how the full life of Jesus transforms all of the mundane moments of our lives into sacred pathways of holiness. We even discussed John Calvin, as Julie’s framework for understanding Calvin’s beliefs goes contrary to much of what I thought I knew about Calvinism. I highly recommend this conversation to you, it is full of earthy hope and simple love for creation and life.

Jonathan PuddleMay 7, 2021embodiment, discipleship, theology, life, eugene peterson, calvin, bible, jesus, holy spirit, kids churchComment

#111: Cultivating wholeness through spiritual practice (with Lisa Colón DeLay)

This week I am joined by my friend Lisa Colón DeLay to talk about the healing power of spiritual practices. Lisa begins by explaining why we should acknowledge that we live in a white-dominant culture and the importance of learning about non-white spiritual practices, especially embodiment. We discussed a rubric for identifying our core areas of trauma as well as how to move them from areas of non-awareness into conscious awareness, through spiritual practices led by the Holy Spirit. Lisa unpacks many themes from her excellent book, The Wild Land Within: Cultivating Wholeness Through Spiritual Practice, which is an excellent discipleship resource.

Jonathan PuddleApril 30, 2021healing, wholeness, race, white supremacy, diversity, embodiment, discipleship, spiritual practices, trauma, contemplativeComment

#86: Justice and Happiness (with Derwin L. Gray)

On The Puddcast this week is Derwin L. Gray, pastor of Transformation Church in South Carolina, and author of The Good Life: What Jesus Teaches about Finding True Happiness. We discussed the Beatitudes as an invitation to a life of meaning and purpose, how that intersects with racial justice, how the prosperity message has crippled our witness, and our great need for leadership from those who have pastored on the margins.

Jonathan PuddleSeptember 11, 2020covid-19, pastoring, race, jesus, discipleship, justice (theological)Comment

#81: A Deeply Formed Life (with Rich Villodas)

Rich Villodas, pastor of New Life Fellowship in the heart of Queens, NY, joined me on the show this week. I’ve been hugely impressed by Rich’s depth of thought and the integration of emotional health, racial reconciliation, Holy Spirit power and more that he teaches and embodies. We discussed sexual wholeness, contemplative spirituality and discipleship all in the lens of his new book, The Deeply Formed Life.

Jonathan PuddleJune 5, 2020covid-19, discipleship, church, pastoring, spiritual practicesComment

#65: Building Resilient Disciples (with David Kinnaman)

David Kinnaman is President of the Barna Group, specialists in church-related research. He joined me on the show this week to discuss what is working in churches around the world looking to build resilient, faithful disciples. We also discussed using research as a lens on what’s happening in culture, and using that as a means of helping the church understand its times and the way forward.

Jonathan PuddleJanuary 23, 2020church, jesus, leadership, discipleship, pastoringComment

#52: How to Raise Jesus-Centered Kids (with Natalie Frisk)

Natalie Frisk oversees the curriculum development for kids from birth to high school at The Meeting House (think Bruxy Cavey). She joined me on The Puddcast to talk about parenting and discipleship of children, especially in a context of deconstruction. How do you raise kids to care about faith when you’re busy cleaning up the junk in your own spiritual life? Natalie had many amazing and insightful things to share.

Jonathan PuddleSeptember 12, 2019parenting, discipleship, kids churchComment

#43: The Church as Destiny Incubator (with Michael Brodeur)

Michael Brodeur is a pastor to pastors and a church consultant. We discussed church growth vs church health, the failing megachurch model and the differences between family churches and factory churches. Michael told me that part of the spiritual responsibility of leaders is to help people discover their unique gift mix, their unique passions and dreams, and to get them on a path towards that outcome. If you’re in pastoral ministry you should definitely have a listen.

Jonathan PuddleMay 23, 2019church, discipleship, evangelism, leadership, pastoringComment