#132-B: Unpacking Katie Gaddini on single women leaving the church

The B-Side is back! Katie Gaddini’s evocative book unveiling the factors that cause single women to feel alienated in the church triggered some THOUGHTS from both Tryphena and myself. Having both served in churches for many years, we each shared some of the ways we’ve seen “the ideal Christian woman” trope play out, why this and other things are so problematic, and what we want to see happen. We talked about a deep faith in Jesus bringing about a wide embrace of people, how we each need to be doing the work of growth and introspection, how marriage can be a framework of control, church NDAs and more!

Jonathan PuddleNovember 24, 2022women, church, pastoring, patriarchy, power, b-side, dignityComment

#132: Why single women are leaving the church (with Dr. Katie Gaddini)

Sociologist and author Dr. Katie Gaddini joins us to talk about the factors forcing single evangelical women out of the church. Rather than a focus on faith deconstruction, we talked about power structures and cultural norms, such as “the ideal Christian woman,” how such stereotypes develop, and how they alienate people who don’t fit them. We touched on sexuality, purity culture, whiteness, patriarchy, affluence, wealth, and more in a quest to understand why the largest group currently leaving the church is women.

Jonathan PuddleNovember 11, 2022women, church, purity culture, spiritual abuse, pastoring, patriarchy, race, powerComment

#109: Why we silence women who tell the truth (with Tiffany Bluhm)

This week on The Puddcast, author, speaker and podcaster Tiffany Bluhm joins us to discuss why we silence women. She unpacked the imbalance of power exposed during sexual misconduct allegations, why men are excused for their behaviour and women are blamed for it. We explored the reasons women don’t always speak up and what often happens when they do. Tiffany explained why we don’t believe those women who do speak up.

Jonathan PuddleApril 8, 2021sexual abuse, metoo, churchtoo, patriarchy, power, women, jesus on women, social justice, race, justice (theological)Comment

#58: Decentering whiteness (with Gricel Medina)

My guest this week is Pastor Gricel Medina. Serving in the Evangelical Covenant Church, Gricel has been involved in planting and mentoring multi-ethnic church congregations and has served on a number of boards and committees for racial gender equity, among many other things. She shared her powerful life story and we discussed the problems of a white-centric and male-centric church leadership culture. Get ready!

Jonathan PuddleOctober 31, 2019social justice, gender equality, egalitarian, patriarchy, race, justice (theological)Comment

#40: God is a Black Woman (with Christena Cleveland)

Dr. Christena Cleveland is the Director of the Center for Justice + Renewal, and a social psychologist, public theologian, author and professor. Christena joined me on the show to discuss her exploration of the social location of God and concepts of the divine. She helped me understand the damage that the vision of God as a powerful white man has done to people of colour for centuries, and how we can repurpose metaphors to enable us to enter into forgiveness and compassion.

Jonathan PuddleMay 2, 2019theology, social justice, forgiveness, race, patriarchy, white supremacyComment

#20: Forgiving the Church (with Carol Howard Merritt)

Pastor & author Carol Howard Merritt and I had a broad ranging discussion on how the church holds up patriarchy and shames victims of abuse, forgiveness as a process, love in the face of economic injustice, and a God who offers rivers of healing and restoration to all.

Jonathan PuddleNovember 16, 2018forgiveness, healing, social justice, church, restoration, patriarchyComment

#6: Rethinking Women in Ministry

A friend of mine grew up in a strict Christian tradition where women weren't allowed to minister to men. Years have passed since then but she still finds herself feeling guilty or confused about what exactly it was that Paul said to Timothy. She asked me for my thoughts on women in ministry, and so you get a whole podcast out of it. Strap yourselves in, this one is full of fire!